How to Automate Family-based and Green Card Applications

The Modern Law Firm series delves into how AI can streamline your law firm — whether it’s by saving you time and money, eliminating mistakes and redundancies or making your workflow more efficient. 

Immigration cases can take a long time — and the many steps required can lead to mistakes or even the possibility of something falling through the cracks. To help avoid errors and complete applications turn to automation. 

Learn more about why you should automate family-based and green applications.

Why Automation Is Necessary in Immigration Law

Immigration law can change the lives of one family for generations to come — a lot can hinge on how lawyers handle their cases. Because there are so many moving parts and so much at stake, leaning on automation can make a life-changing difference. Automation can keep you more organized and give clients more peace of mind as they can get more frequent updates on where their cases stands. More importantly, if you and your team no longer have to worry about administrative tasks, you can dedicate more time to making progress on their cases. 

In 2023, the American Immigration Lawyers Association held a roundtable discussion to break down the importance of these technological enhancements. “Successful law firms know that they must stay ahead of the curve to thrive,” the event page read. “Automating tedious tasks can help your firm stay organized and efficient, allowing you to focus on what matters most — serving your clients.” 

How Noodle Helps Immigration Lawyers File Family-based and Green Card Applications

Noodle creates checklists, sends reminders and collects information from petitioners and beneficiaries. Here is how automation can make a difference to your firm:

General Information About Beneficiaries and Petitioners

At the beginning of the process, gathering this information seamlessly can help speed up the time it takes to complete the case. Noodle can automatically collect this information as soon as a client initiates their case.

Forms that can be automatically populated with AI include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Green Card Applicant Questionnaire
• I-30 Document Checklist for Mother of US Citizen
• I-30 Document Checklist for Father of US Citizen
• Marriage Based: I-130 Document Checklist for Spouse of LPR
• I-130 Document Checklist for Children, Adult Sons and Daughters and Married Children of U.S. Citizen

Background Information That Requires Documentation

As you move along through the case (and even after you file the case), you will need to collect documentation. Noodle can send reminders to your clients so they can send needed information whenever it is convenient from them — they can even upload these files from their phones when they’re away from their computers. When clients upload their documents, everyone working on the case will receive updates, cutting down on extra communication. That’s one (or many more) less email(s) you’ll have to send. 

Here are a few checklists Noodle can help you with: 

• Immediate Relative: I-485 Document Checklist
• Criminal History Document Checklist
• Foreign National Income Checklist
• Secondary Evidence of Birth in India
• Request for Evidence Checklist

Retainers and Fees

Collecting payment is a necessary part of running a business. Instead of you and your team spending time sending invoices and reminders to pay said invoices, Noodle can handle this part of the business for you. And you can get back to working on taking on new clients. Here are some of the invoice and retainer types that Noodle can help collect for you:

• Initial Attorney Fee Invoice
• Remaining Attorney Fee Invoice
• Filing Fees Invoice
• Family Based Case, Retainer Agreement (signed by US Citizen/Legal Permanent Resident)
• Family Based Case, Retainer Agreement (signed by Green Card Applicant)