For decades, the U.S. immigration system has been known for its complexity. There are thousands of pages of regulations, dozens of visa categories, changing policies, endless paperwork and lengthy processing timelines which have all created an ecosystem where even highly qualified professionals often struggle to determine where they fit.
Immigration attorneys spend countless hours preparing petitions, employers wrestle with compliance, while skilled workers frequently lose opportunities simply because they pursued the wrong immigration pathway.
It’s been said that for most people, the challenge is not a lack of qualifications. It is the inability or lack of know-how in navigating the system. And that is the problem an African-founded immigration technology startup, Immigify, believes its artificial intelligence platform can solve.
Fresh off a $1 million pre-seed investment led by Gener8tor, alongside M25, Invest Nebraska, Nelnet and NMotion, the company is quietly building an AI-powered platform that could fundamentally change how immigrants, employers and legal professionals interact with the U.S. immigration system.
The funding, according to the company, is not the main goal so to speak, but a validation that one of the world’s oldest legal processes can be streamlined and simplified through technological reinvention.
One technology solving multiple work-life problems
As of January 2025, about 53.3 million immigrants are living in the United States, according to Pew Research Center. This is a pretty huge figure, which makes immigration one of the country’s largest administrative ecosystems.
Interestingly, prospective immigrants and those already living and working in the country spend a lot of time researching visa categories and other information they need to pursue their residency goals.
Employers often rely on HR teams to monitor immigration compliance. Immigration attorneys also manually assemble petitions, organise evidence and track deadlines, knowing that missing a document or misunderstanding eligibility can derail an otherwise qualified applicant.
But for Immigify’s Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Emma Olorunsheyi, this complexity is precisely what inspired their company.
“U.S. immigration is complex on purpose,” he said. “There are over 50 million immigrants in the U.S., and these immigrants go through a strenuous immigration process. We have consultants, businesses and even international students who need to stay compliant and move through that process in a more streamlined way using AI.”
He said instead of asking users to decode immigration law themselves, Immigify’s platform analyses an individual’s background and recommends immigration pathways that align with their qualifications.
The software then guides applicants through structured workflows, helping them prepare documentation, organise evidence, monitor deadlines and navigate the process with significantly less uncertainty.
“We’re building the biggest immigration support platform in the U.S., making sure anyone going through the immigration process has access to a streamlined platform that guides their experience.
“Whether you’re from Nigeria, anywhere in Africa, India or even Canada, Immigify has simplified your process,” Olorunsheyi explained
How AI is simplifying immigration laws
While much public attention around AI has centred on chatbots and content generation, Immigify says it is applying artificial intelligence to workflow automation and legal process management.
Its technology is designed not to replace immigration lawyers but to make their work significantly more efficient. This was the submission of the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Legal Programmes, Diana Melendez.
Melendez noted that one of the biggest inefficiencies in immigration today lies in repetitive administrative work. And beyond speeding up documentation, the platform also tackles one of the most common mistakes prospective immigrants make.
Helping applicants identify the right immigration pathway early, she said, dramatically improves efficiency for both applicants and legal professionals.
In her words, “One of the biggest mistakes immigrants make is not knowing which petition best fits their profile.
“Our platform supports attorneys, paralegals and consultants by streamlining the process and making it easier to prepare immigration petitions. Petitions are submitted up to 10 times faster with our software system,” Melendez noted.
Beyond automation, a community helps too!
The startup is also building what it describes as one of the largest digital communities for immigrants and aspiring immigrants.
Its online platform enables users to ask questions, share experiences, access guidance and learn from others navigating similar immigration journeys.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Ayodeji Niyi-Adesola, said the community is just as important as the software.
“We’re building the biggest and largest community for immigrants in the United States,” he said.
“Wherever you are, we’ve built a platform where you can communicate with others, share your concerns and discuss your experiences.”
The community, Niyi-Adesola noted, has already attracted more than 5,000 members. According to him, the long-term vision is far more ambitious.
“We’ve onboarded over 5,000 immigrants into our community, and we want every immigrant in the United States – all 50 million of them – to have access to it.”
An African startup solving a global challenge
Immigify represents a growing wave of African startups building products for global markets rather than local ones. Although founded by Nigerian entrepreneurs, its customer base spans multiple countries, with its technology designed for anyone navigating U.S. immigration.
That global outlook has now attracted international confidence.
The company, based in Nebraska, USA, is backed by Techstars and has secured support from Gener8tor, M25, Invest Nebraska, Nelnet and NMotion, which are investors known for backing high-growth technology companies.
For Olorunsheyi, the investment is about accelerating execution of the Immigify vision.
“We just raised over one million dollars in our pre-seed round to build the biggest immigration support platform in the U.S.,” he said.
“Watch how we’ll transform the entire U.S. immigration landscape by simplifying the process for more than 50 million immigrants.”
Meanwhile, Immigify’s activities increasingly extend beyond software development. The company has extended its impact over the past one year, as it successfully hosted multiple editions of the Uplift Hackathon, providing funding and visibility to emerging African technology startups that are tackling local and global problems through innovation.
It also hosted the Global Leadership Roundtable, bringing together professionals, entrepreneurs, policymakers and innovators to discuss leadership, the future of work, global mobility and the role African talent can play on the international stage.
Together, these initiatives reinforce the company’s broader philosophy around global talent, leadership and opportunity. Yet as immigration systems grow increasingly complex, Immigify is betting that artificial intelligence can become the connective layer between people, policy and possibility.
If that vision succeeds, the startup will not simply have built another legal-tech platform. It may have successfully redefined how millions of people experience one of the world’s most complicated bureaucratic systems.
