How Is ImmigrationHelp Free?
Written by Jonathan Petts.
Updated January 12, 2023
Dear Community,
I’m the co-founder of ImmigrationHelp and a lawyer. My dad immigrated to the United States in 1975 in search of the American Dream. Even though he did not have a college education, he worked tirelessly to give my brother and me a chance at a better life. After many sacrifices, he achieved his dream — his two sons became lawyers.
As a public interest lawyer, I have dedicated my career to keeping the American Dream within reach for immigrants like my dad. Sadly, that dream has been moving further and further away from too many immigrants. Immigration forms have multiplied in length and complexity, and immigrants are now faced with hundreds of pages of dense legalese when they apply for even the most basic statuses.
People need legal help to apply, but few can afford to pay an immigration lawyer thousands of dollars. My team and I created ImmigrationHelp.org to solve this problem. Our mission is to make first-class immigration help free for everyone, everywhere.
How Is ImmigrationHelp Free?
1. We use first-class technology to prepare your immigration application.
We believe that most people can safely apply for immigration statuses like DACA, Green Cards, and Citizenship without a lawyer when they have access to the right tools. That’s why our team of lawyers and technologists has built world-class technology that prepares immigration applications for users who have straightforward cases.
Most people will be eligible to use our free tool safely and successfully. If you do not qualify for our service, we will tell you and refer you to other resources so that you get the help that you need. Because our technology automates the application process, it does not cost us very much to provide this free tool.
2. We are funded by people who believe in our mission.
We received money to start ImmigrationHelp.org from Harvard University. Since then, we have been fortunate to receive funding from charitable foundations like the Emergent Fund, the Charles Koch Institute, KKR Relief Fund, and Google.org. We also receive funding from successful entrepreneurs like Miles Lasater who want to give back, and from dozens of small-dollar donors who generously give what they can to support our work. Our donors make this work possible, and we are incredibly grateful for their support and belief in our mission.
3. Some users pay us for extra help.
Most people use our free tool, but some decide they want a little more hands-on help. These users pay for 1-on-1 consultations with our legal team in the form of strategy calls and document reviews. The revenue from these paid services helps us maintain our free tools.
How Does ImmigrationHelp Spend Money?
Our number one expense is salaries for our team members. We want to create a culture where talented lawyers, technologists, and content creators can do the best work of their lives in support of our mission. Attracting and retaining these talented people costs money. We also spend money on office rent, software, insurance, and marketing. In addition, we spend a small amount of money on accounting, team building, and office supplies.
Who Owns ImmigrationHelp?
ImmigrationHelp.org is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. This means that Americans like you own ImmigrationHelp just as much as my team and I do. We’re all in this together, and we are honored to work with you to make America a more welcoming place for immigrants. I hope that you found this information useful and that we can help you on your immigration journey. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email us at help@immigrationhelp.org.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Petts
Co-Founder