‘Exhausting, confusing and career-limiting’: Ex-Microsoft engineer builds AI platform to help workers, employers navigate US visa system
An Indian technology professional has developed an artificial intelligence platform to help employers and workers navigate the complex US visa system.
Priyanka Kulkarni, a 34-year-old machine learning scientist and former Microsoft engineer, spent nine years on a visa before deciding to create a faster, technology-driven solution. His startup, Casium, offers a digital portal that streamlines employment-related immigration formalities.
Casium allows businesses to manage visa applications from start to finish, replacing spreadsheets and reducing reliance on expensive law firms. The platform is designed to adapt to changing US immigration policies, particularly after the Trump administration introduced a rule imposing a $100,000 fee for each new H-1B visa application, she told Business Insider.
Casium claims its system can speed up visa processing by automating data collection and document preparation. The platform has already helped hundreds of candidates with assessments, compliance checks, and filings, with some cases apparently going from application to employment in less than a month, Business Insider reported.
Founded in 2024, Casium recently raised $5 million in seed funding, led by Maverick Ventures, with participation from AI2 Incubator, GTMfund, Success Venture Partners and angel investor Jake Heller, whose company, Casetext, was acquired by Thomson Reuters in 2023.
Applicants start by filling out an admission form. Casium’s AI “agents” then analyze public data such as research papers and patents to build a detailed profile. In just a few minutes, the platform produces a file that is reviewed by independent lawyers and paralegals, who recommend the most appropriate visa category: H-1B, O-1 or EB-1A.
Kulkarni said Casium’s technology can reduce document preparation time from months to about ten business days while reducing errors that can delay approvals.
Born and raised in India, Kulkarni joined Microsoft straight out of college and worked on AI strategy for products like Office while on an H-1B visa. “Honestly, it was exhausting, confusing, and could feel very career-limiting at times,” she told Business Insider.
His own experience inspired Casium. After joining Seattle’s AI2 incubator last year, she applied for the EB-1 visa, often called the “Einstein visa” for people with extraordinary abilities. Reflecting on her journey, she said: “Everything I have done has led to this point. »
