Immigra8 streamlines visa application for foreign workers 

The Business Council of Westchester’s Westchester Innovation Network is helping Richmond Community Services find employees by matching it with an artificial intelligence-powered platform that streamlines foreign worker visa applications. 

The BCW WIN matched Richmond Community Services with the software platform Immigr8 to speed up the hiring process through the federal H-1B visa program for specialty occupations. The Mount Kisco-based Richmond Community Services supports children and adults with developmental disabilities. 

The BCW WIN is an initiative that invites companies from around the world to embed their products with BCW members to drive innovation and economic development in the county. 

In recent years, Richmond has been hiring foreign workers through the visa program to work in group homes or in its day programs that care for people with disabilities, some who are medically fragile. 

“We will be looking to decrease our cost for immigration services by using Immigr8’s product, but also there are other features of this product which will allow us to track and follow up on all the certifications or the things that we would need to do for the people that we’re bringing in,” said Paca Lipovac, Richmond’s president and CEO. 

Immigr8’s platform enables employers to auto-generate visa petitions, automate task and track applications with the goal of cutting the cost of visa applications by 25% or more. Daniel Milne, Immigr8’s founder and CEO, described the U.S. immigration process as highly fragmented and decentralized. Immigr8’s solution is to consolidate communication and records processing among multiple federal agencies, employers and prospective immigrants on one platform. 

“We’re the TurboTax for immigration,” said Milne, “although that’s an oversimplification because TurboTax deals with one agency, the IRS, and with immigration, Immigr8 deals with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Labor, the Department of State and potentially the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” 

Richmond Community Service’s use of an AI-powered platform aligns with the BCW’s AI Alliance 360° program, a yearlong series of in-person and virtual events that explores the technology’s implications with the goal of helping BCW members understand how AI will affect their sectors.