According to TechCrunch, startup JustiGuide is using AI to help people navigate the complex US immigration system with a platform that has already attracted 47,000 users. Founder Bisi Obateru, who went through the immigration process himself after studying in the US, developed an AI called Dolores that was trained on over 40,000 court cases sourced from the Free Law Project. The platform helps immigrants understand visa options, fills out forms faster, and connects users with immigration lawyers in 12 different languages. JustiGuide recently won best pitch in the Policy + Protection category at TechCrunch’s Disrupt conference and is even pursuing law firm registration to directly connect users with its own lawyers.
The AI Immigration Reality Check
Look, I love the ambition here. The US immigration system is genuinely broken – it’s expensive, confusing, and life-altering decisions get made based on paperwork mistakes. But here’s the thing: immigration law involves real people’s lives, families, and futures. Can an AI trained on court cases really grasp the nuance of individual circumstances?
And there’s the privacy question. Obateru says they store everything on-prem and encrypted, which is good. But we’re talking about incredibly sensitive information here – people’s entire immigration histories, personal details, potentially even status issues. The stakes for data breaches are literally life-and-death for some users.
The Lawyer Problem They’re Trying to Solve
Basically, JustiGuide wants to make lawyers more efficient by handling the paralegal work – form filling, document compilation, that sort of thing. Obateru envisions a future where immigrants only need lawyers for final review rather than the whole process.
But immigration attorneys I’ve spoken with are skeptical. They argue that the “simple” form filling is where many cases go wrong – missing deadlines, incorrect information, failing to include required evidence. Handing that off to AI sounds efficient until someone gets deported over a technicality the algorithm missed.
Scaling Uncertainty
The platform apparently started by scanning social media and messaging people who needed help. That’s… aggressive customer acquisition. I wonder how many users actually found that helpful versus how many found it creepy.
And with 47,000 users already, the scaling question becomes critical. Immigration law changes constantly through court decisions, policy memos, and presidential administrations. How does Dolores stay current? Court cases from the Free Law Project are essential, but they’re historical data. Immigration is live-action.
Broader Implications
This isn’t just about one startup. We’re seeing AI move into increasingly high-stakes domains – healthcare, finance, now immigration. The pattern is familiar: identify a broken system, promise technology will fix it, scale quickly.
But when you’re dealing with something as fundamentally human as people seeking safety and opportunity in a new country, maybe efficiency shouldn’t be the primary goal. Accuracy matters more. Compassion matters more. Due process matters more.
I want JustiGuide to succeed because immigrants deserve better than what they’re getting now. But I’m skeptical that AI alone can solve what’s ultimately a political and humanitarian problem disguised as a paperwork problem.
