Case Study: CitizenPath

CitizenPath uses FormAssembly to streamline complex forms which can be quite complicated and difficult to understand. CitizenPath offers step-by-step guidance through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications and forms, and walks applicants through each question to make sure that they fill in the right answers and receive all of the benefits for which they qualify. People can then complete, download, and successfully file forms on their own.

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After evaluating various form providers, CitizenPath decided on FormAssembly because of the API and feature set.

“FormAssembly allowed us to give a more streamlined approach to USCIS forms,” said Nik Vale, Chief Web Officer.

To steer the applicant down the right path, for example, CitizenPath makes use of FormAssembly’s conditional logic. The first page of any form determines an applicant’s eligibility, which is an important process. If an applicant doesn’t realize she’s ineligible, she could spend a lot of time filling out a form, only to find out later that she never qualified in the first place. With conditional logic, the applicant can find out right away whether it’s the right form to complete.

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Save & Resume is another key feature for CitizenPath. Many USCIS forms are extensive and require a significant amount of information. The U.S. citizenship application, for instance, is 21 pages long and takes about 40 minutes to finish. And most applicants are unable to complete a form in just one sitting, because the required info isn’t readily available.

For instance, applicants are often asked to look up numbers and dates. If an applicant and his family has traveled out of the country on multiple occasions, he may need to enter all the dates of travel and information for his wife and children, which he may not have on hand. “The ability to save progress is critical,” Nik said.

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The customizability of FormAssembly is also central to CitizenPath. When a certain piece of information is required, CitizenPath can provide details to where applicants can find it. If the number from a green card is needed, for example, applicants can click for an example. The CitizenPath form will show a picture of a green card and highlight the number’s location.

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In addition, FormAssembly reduces the risk of errors and typos with validation rules and regular expressions. “We can limit the number of characters in a field, since the value will eventually end up in the PDF, where there’s a restricted space for the answer,” said Nik. Applicants are unable to enter invalid values, and are less likely to make mistakes.

Finally, when an applicant has finished her form, she can pay through the Authorize.Net integration. Through the use of FormAssembly’s API, CitizenPath converts the values from the forms and fills pre-formatted PDFs with the data, which makes it easy for CitizenPath users to download the ready-to-file USCIS forms and send them in, or have the forms mailed to them via USPS.

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Thanks to CitizenPath for sharing their use-cases with us! We’re proud to be of service to their business.

About CitizenPath

CitizenPath helps immigrants and their families complete USCIS applications and forms. Similar to tax software for do-it-yourself tax filers, CitizenPath guides people through USCIS forms with instructions in simple, everyday language, and helps them avoid common mistakes and pitfalls.

For more information on CitizenPath’s services, visit citizenpath.com.

 

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