‘I really want to fix this’: Microsoft vet launches Seattle startup to transform work visa applications

Priyanka Kulkarni loved her decade working at Microsoft. She believed she was contributing to meaningful projects, but they weren’t hers. So when the folks at AI2 Incubator heard she had an entrepreneurial yen and offered her a spot at the highly regarded organization in Seattle, Kulkarni definitely wanted it.

But there was a hitch.

Kulkarni was working in the U.S. first on an L-1 temporary work visa, then an H-1B for workers in specialty occupations. To join the incubator and ultimately launch a company, she applied for an EB-1 visa — a so-called “Einstein visa,” which is granted to foreign nationals with extraordinary abilities and is a step towards becoming a resident.

The paperwork took more than three months working with a prominent law firm. Over the painstaking journey to land the visa, Kulkarni decided this was the problem she wanted tackle as a business.

“As someone who spends so much time building foundational AI, there’s 100% an opportunity for us to truly transform this whole industry,” Kulkarni said. “I really want to fix this. I want to change this.”

She launched Casium in April to bring artificial intelligence to bear on immigration applications by businesses seeking to hire talented workers and for founders creating startups. By July, she already had paying customers.

Applying for the different kinds of work visas requires applicants and employers to make their case to the U.S. government for why the individual is deserving of the opportunity, citing education, work experience and other factors.

The Casium platform will use algorithms to first assess the best route for an applicant, which could be a temporary work visa or seeking permanent residency. The startup uses AI to autonomously gather information for an application and prepare the document. Casium works with immigration attorneys to guide the process and represent the visa applicants.

Kulkarni’s goal is to shrink the timeline from months down to days.

“What we’re doing is beyond just a digitization of forms,” she said.

The name Casium is a portmanteau, Kulkarni explained, of “case” and “premium” to indicate that users are getting a high-quality service in pursuit of their case.

There are other companies working to improve the legal immigration experience — including fellow Seattle startup Boundless Immigration, which spun out of Pioneer Square Labs in 2017 and helps immigrants connect with lawyers and file applications for spousal visas and U.S. citizenship.

Boundless, which has raised more than $43 million, is one of the largest consumer-focused family immigration companies, and provides services for business-related visas.

Casium aims to differentiate itself with the performance of its proprietary AI technology, allowing it to handle complex, non-standard cases.

The startup has not raised any outside capital, and receives support from AI2 Incubator. The team includes about six people.

While the technology replaces some of the work done by legal experts, many attorneys practice alone or in small firms and it can be difficult to manage the more tedious paperwork required by the visas, Kulkarni said.

“We are actually noticing more attorneys wanting to work with us because they get to do the fun part,” she said. “They get to do the strategy, they get to do the advice, where we take care of all the operational pieces.”

An area of uncertainty for the sector is what happens to immigration numbers following this year’s presidential election. During his past administration, Donald Trump reduced legal immigration and he continues pushing a hard stance against illegal immigration. Vice President Kamala Harris has also spoken out against illegal immigration and said she will “reform” immigration and pathways to citizenship.

Kulkarni said that immigration for skilled workers and family members should keep growing regardless of who is in leadership and what is happening with the economy.

“The American Dream is really strong,” she said, “and I love being a part of this whole process.”