Find the Best Immigration Software

Immigration can be a tricky affair, even for the most seasoned globe-trotters. Traveling from one country to another requires a bunch of documentation, proof of intent, and petitioning in accordance with a foreign country’s immigration laws, which can be challenging given the ever-changing traveling norms, especially after the pandemic. 

Typically, all visa petitioning processes involve three different parties –  a petitioner (i.e., the person willing to immigrate), a beneficiary (i.e., sponsor/organization supporting them), and a legal body (attorney or law firm). To make an immigration petition a success, all parties mentioned above must collaborate and exchange information securely. 

Companies and legal firms that manage such cases frequently for multiple beneficiaries and multiple clients respectively find it very difficult to coordinate with multiple parties, ensure proper digital documentation and ensure the safety of confidential information simultaneously. This is why many such organizations and firms use immigration software.

Immigration Software: What is it, and how can it help you?

Immigration software is a specialized solution created to simplify and improve the efficiency of petition filing and other immigration processes. They help boost coordination between multiple parties involved in the petitioning process, improve transparency and help create appropriate petitions to boost visa approvals. 

Immigration solutions can help different parties involved in the petitioning process simultaneously, helping them manage, control, and streamline the petitioning process. Let us take a look at how they benefit different parties involved in the immigration process:

1. Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are individuals willing to immigrate to a foreign country. They could be employees of an organization or dependents of other individuals residing in the said country. Immigration software helps beneficiaries collaborate directly with sponsors/petitioners and legal entities and create immigration applications with utmost precision and data security.

Certain immigration solutions such as Imagility also provide them with the necessary know-how and suggestions. They also make the petitioning process more transparent and help in digitally exchanging files, significantly improving the chances of approvals.

2. Petitioners

Petitioners are individuals or entities that sponsor and support beneficiaries in the immigration process. They typically help beneficiaries immigrate to their desired country while ensuring compliance and managing their petitioning process.

Immigration software allows petitioners to keep track of the documentation and actions required on applications, increasing the chances of approval and reducing the RFEs (Request for Evidence). Advanced immigration solutions such as Imagility also help automate the workflow of the immigration process and notify petitioners about pending actions.

3. Attorneys & Law Firms

Immigration attorneys and legal entities that oversee the petitioning process and guide beneficiaries and petitioners are also benefited through immigration software. Typically, such clients manage hundreds of such clients simultaneously, making it difficult to keep track of each case and the compliance guidelines associated with them. 

Immigration solutions help them collaborate and exchange documents digitally with beneficiaries and petitioners based on the visa type. Attorneys can also be notified about pending actions or documentation through such applications, making them necessary for such firms.

How Immigration Software Makes Firms More Efficient?

Using immigration software helps firms become efficient in the following ways:

1. Simpler Petition Creation & Editing

The petitioning process for immigration is long and arduous, requiring petitioners and attorneys to collate elaborate and complicated documents. However, the entire process can be digitized with the use of automated software and AI software. Immigration solutions help create different beneficiary profiles and match forms based on the visa type chosen. Further, such forms can be fine-tuned using such solutions. We also help create and edit documentation and identify errors, saving time and effort.

2. Easy Client and Beneficiary Intake

The immigration process usually begins with clients having to answer an array of questions in writing, most of which may not apply to their case. However, with the use of immigration software, firms can digitize the entire process and send out personalized questionnaires, which saves a lot of time for all parties involved.

3. Efficient Collaboration and Delegation of Cases

Apart from expediting the form creation process, immigration software can also help firms' or petitioner's case management. As such, cases can be assigned to different members of a law firm according to their expertise through such solutions. Additionally, time-sensitive cases can be assigned deadlines, allowing the application to provide reminders automatically. Attorneys can also provide personalized notes while giving cases and do not need to switch between multiple applications during case assignments.

4. Data Security

Immigration software also helps secure the storage and exchange of confidential information between parties. They help in the storage and secure remote access of data over the cloud, ensuring that only the right individuals can access the data through password-protected logins.

5. Keeping up with the latest guidelines

Immigration agencies like the USCIS (the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services) frequently update their immigration guidelines and roll out changes in their application forms. Thus, it is vital to keep track of the latest information and norms to create successful petitions. Immigration solutions such as Imagility closely track such changes and offer the latest insights and forms to petitioners, beneficiaries, and attorneys. Moreover, they offer suggestions on how applications can be improved further based on the most recent immigration guidelines. 

Things To Consider While Choosing An Immigration Software

The following factors must be considered before choosing any immigration solution:

1. Ease of usage

The immigration process can be quite complicated, and you don’t need software that makes it even more difficult for you to navigate the entire process. Beneficiaries and petitions seldom have an in-depth insight into the immigration process, and an application with a complicated user interface may baffle them further. Hence, you must choose a solution that is easy to deal with and easily explainable to others.

2. Petition Creation & Analysis

A good immigration solution should allow you to create petitions easily with the help of templates and also enable you to analyze weak areas in your application. Further, it should suggest corrective actions on your petitions to improve the chances of your success.

3. Automation features

The immigration process often requires parties to do repetitive tasks, and in the case of firms handling such cases, the workload can be substantial. This is why it is wise to choose a solution like Imagility, which reduces your administrative burden and allows you to automate workflows. 

4. Compliance & Security

Data protection and privacy laws are updated throughout the world each day. This is why leading immigration platforms ensure compliance with the latest GDPR guidelines and ensure that data is always secure and can be 

5. Digital Coordination

The immigration software chosen must also allow petitioners, attorneys, and beneficiaries to coordinate digitally and exchange files safely. Additionally, it must also allow all parties involved to communicate directly to reduce to and fro.

Types of Immigration Software

Immigration software can be used by organizations, beneficiaries, and legal bodies, either individually or in unison. Their primary task is to simplify the application process and ensure the success of your petitions. As such, immigration software can be of four types:

1. Case Management Software

Organizations dealing with a large number of immigration cases on a regular basis often use case management software. They offer a central repository where all case-related data, including correspondence, files, legal information, deadlines, etc., can be accessed by team members.

All parties involved in a case can also send notifications about pending actions and documentation through such applications. Case management solutions typically collect applicants’ information through questionnaire forms and are primarily used by law firms for family-based clients having limited corporate immigration capability. However, such applications leave behind the possibility of significant denials and RFEs due to legal gaps.

Main Players:  Dockwise, Clio, CitizenPath, PinPoint Immigration

2. Case & Practice Management Software

Practice management solutions are useful for managing the operations of law firms and offer features that improve the internal processes and workflows within such organizations. Such applications help improve internal processes such as invoicing, billing, calendaring, time tracking, and workflow management to improve how cases are processed. 

Practice management solutions focus mainly on handling cases and how they are processed, saved, and filed. In addition, they help legal practices with billing, reporting, and form creations. Professional law firms of various sizes primarily use them.

Main Players: INSZoom, Lawlogix, Cerenade 

3. HR Compliance Immigration Platform

These platforms are designed to help corporations that regularly process visas for employees. Hence, their primary task is handling beneficiary data, collating them, and interfacing with legal firms. In addition, they act as a medium between beneficiaries, practitioners, and law firms, ensuring that the petitioning is done in a compliant manner. 

Main Players: Envoy global, BridgeUS, Tracker 

4. End-to-end Immigration Solutions

End-to-end immigration platforms take care of all the needs of the stakeholders involved in the petitioning process. Rather than partially automating tasks in the immigration workflow platforms offer an array of tools that take care of all immigration requirements.

They allow attorneys, petitioners, and beneficiaries to work on applications and manage visa applications jointly. End-to-end immigration software help create accurate, robust, and detailed petitions, ensuring smooth approvals and reduced RFEs. Such applications improve the transparency of the application process and offer graphic workflows and timelines to simplify petitioning and enable better compliance.

Further, they provide templates to save users’ time and help with the review and analysis of applications. Such applications also have provisions for storing and viewing private and public access files, FDNS visits, etc.

Main player: Imagility

Top 5 Immigration Software for 2022

Let us now look at the some of best immigration solutions for 2022:

1. Imagility

Imagility is an end-to-end cloud immigration software that offers beneficiaries, petitioners, and attorneys a novel combination of automation, security, transparency, and collaboration.  Imagility packs powerful features to streamline and simplify immigration tracking, case management, digital documentation, and client management.

Additionally, the application helps automate several processes and improves visa outcomes for all stakeholders while reducing the chances of denials and RFEs. Imagility improves user experiences for all stakeholders involved in the immigration process (i.e., petitioners, employees, and law firms) by offering an automated, efficient, and collaborative way to improve visa outcomes.

The application features a shared virtual timeline to help all stakeholders visualize the progress made during the entire lifecycle of the application and also suggests how they can be improved and expedited. In addition, the application covers all immigration and compliance requirements while offering a hassle-free user experience through features like RFE response building, petition analysis, letter templates, virtual adjudicator, compliance management, and document management.

2. Docketwise

Docketwise is a feature-packed legal firm and advocacy solution designed to serve both SMEs and enterprises. Docketwise offers immigration solutions designed for law firms. In addition, this online advocacy platform provides features such as document management, case management, email management, CRM system, client portal, and legal case management, all under a single interface.

3. Cerenade

Cerenade’s eImmigration doubles up as an immigration and case management solution that offers top-notch security and easy access from multiple devices. The application offers contact management, process & configuration management, report management, questionnaire tracking, filing, billing, and a bunch of other useful features to help law firms and beneficiaries with immigration software.

4. Lawlogix Edge

Lawlogix Edge is a feature-rich document management software designed to serve law firms. Lawlogix Edge offers end-to-end solutions designed for seamless petition building windows. This platform provides records and task management, case notes, document management, and calendar management features, all under a single roof.

5. CampLegal

This highly secure case management solution helps legal firms of all sizes with billing/invoicing, reporting, and client management. CampLegal allows you to send reminders via email or text and helps you keep track of multiple applications simultaneously. The platform also offers smart PDF forms with bi-directional syncing, making remote collaborations easier.

Immigration Software Trends For 2022

Let us look at some of the major immigration trends for 2022:

1. High Demand For Foreign Talent

Despite the pandemic, more than 80% of employers expect their overseas employee headcount to increase in the coming year. The global recession is also one of the key factors driving this trend.

2. Stabilized Green Card Sponsorships

After pandemic-related border closures and changing immigration software guidelines, the Green Card sponsorships are finally stabilizing, and the number of sponsors is on the rise.

3. Immigration System Reforms

Even government bodies like USCIS are thinking about changing their approach and guidelines toward immigration after receiving feedback from businesses/institutions and law firms. This is to prevent employers from facing the consequences of the government’s actions.

4. Artificial Intelligence

The role of AI in enhancing the efficiency and security of immigration services has impressed many. In the future, AI will help reduce the administrative burden and have a significant role in predicting errors and analyzing applications.