The State Department's CEAC portal times out constantly. Session expires, you lose progress. Every tool that solves this charges some money, or bundles you into an attorney service.
So I built a free interface to fill your DS-160 comfortably at your own pace - then a one-click bookmarklet autofills the CEAC portal for you. No account. No data leaving your browser. 100% free.
~10M+ nonimmigrant visa applicants file this form every year.
I'm building free immigration software for DIY applicants [1]
It's a free USCIS form-filling web-app(no Adobe required). USCIS forms still use XFA PDFs, which don’t let you edit in most browsers. Even with Adobe, fields break, and getting the signature is hard.
So I converted the PDF form into modern, browser-friendly web forms - and kept every field 1:1 with the original. You fill the form, submit it, and get the official USCIS PDF filled.
I found out SimpleCitizen(YC S16) offers a DIY plan for $529 [2]
So, a free (and local-only) version might be a good alternative
I'm building free immigration software for DIY applicants [1]
It's a free USCIS form-filling web-app(no Adobe required). USCIS forms still use XFA PDFs, which don’t let you edit in most browsers. Even with Adobe, fields break, and getting the signature is hard.
So I converted the PDF form into modern, browser-friendly web forms - and kept every field 1:1 with the original. You fill the form, submit it, and get the official USCIS PDF filled.
I found out SimpleCitizen(YC S16) offers a DIY plan for $529 [2]
So, a free (and local-only) version might be a good alternative
I'm building Fillvisa: Turboxtax for Immigration [1]
It's a free USCIS form-filling web-app(no Adobe required). USCIS forms still use XFA PDFs, which don’t let you edit in most browsers. Even with Adobe, fields break, and getting the signature is hard.
So I converted the PDF form into modern, browser-friendly web forms - and kept every field 1:1 with the original. You fill the form, submit it, and get the official USCIS PDF filled.
I found out SimpleCitizen(YC S16) offers a DIY plan for $529 [2]
So, a free (and local-only) version might be a good alternative
It's a free USCIS form-filling web-app(no Adobe required). USCIS forms still use XFA PDFs, which don’t let you edit in most browsers. Even with Adobe, fields break, and getting the signature is hard.
The core product is free 100%. I'm building a paid version for lawyers/law firms (https://plus.fillvisa.com/).
In my case, building a free product helps in:
- genuinely helping users/immigrants
- it helps in word of mouth, growth
- We use the same forms for Free and Plus. So, more feedback = more improvements.
Note: It's still in developement. But, the early feedback has been positive.
First of all: kudos on building this app. I think it's really impressive to build and showcase your project at such a young age.
I'm actually a user of https://wip.co/ . I think it's quite similar to your project. You should check it out.
Also, check out https://peerlist.io/
Social platforms/marketplaces are genuinely difficult, cause it only works if you have enough users (both, demand and supply).
Since it's your early projects (I'm assuming), I think you should built it purely for the sake of learning and feedback. Even if it doesn't work out, the experince is extremely valuable.
Later - if you are serious about a sustainable project - I would recommend that you study your alternatives/competitors (such as the ones I just shared), and figure out what works for them and what are their users missing.
Thanks. I get your point. Perhaps, in the long run, the free website should offer more info around immigration process. Right now it's a specialized form filler.
Just google "uscis adobe site:reddit.com"
Lot's of people experience this pain point on how to fill/edit the USCIS PDFs. For now, that's my entry point
Idk if your comment was bot/AI generated. Nevertheless, I'll reply:
1. Our web forms are exactly based on the official USCIS's PDF, with smart logic. If you fill A -> section B is hidden -> jump directly to section C (you get the point)
2. Regarding high risk: When a user fills our form, they get the official USCIS PDF filled. All the instructions are given in the PDF. At the end, the user has to submit the form by themselves.
3. "The "free alternative" positioning also creates a distribution problem..." "The people who most need this are the least likely to find a developer's side project on HN or GitHub" - you are right. I just shared what I'm building on HN. I share my project on immigration subreddits + FB groups. Thats where my audience is. So far, I've received positive review. In the long run, I'm leaning on: community + word of mouth + SEO
4. "..., but the actual competition is immigration attorneys at $2,000-5,000 and free legal aid clinics". Fillvisa is aimed at DIY applicants. People who need legal advise should absolutely hire legal help.
5. "One more operational risk worth flagging: USCIS revises forms regularly and without much warning..." - fillvisa.com is 100% free. That said, I'm also building a paid version (plus.fillvisa.com) for immigration lawyers/law firms. Both the apps utilize the same form + mapping.
Thus that cares of revenue + I have incentive to maintain the forms.
I'm building a free alternative to SimpleCitizen (YC S16).
It's a free USCIS form-filling web-app(no Adobe required). USCIS forms still use XFA PDFs, which don’t let you edit in most browsers. Even with Adobe, fields break, and getting the signature is hard.
So I converted the PDF form into modern, browser-friendly web forms - and kept every field 1:1 with the original. You fill the form, submit it, and get the official USCIS PDF filled.
This is not the ideal solution, I know. But, this is what I do:
- I own a Kindle. I also have the Kindle chrome extension.
- Anytime I came across an interesting article/blog, I use the extension and send the article to my kindle
- Pro: I end up actually reading the articles
- Con: My library is filled with hundreds of articles