New Website Offers Immigrants What “TurboTax” Does For People Navigating IRS Rules

[Kaylara 814]

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/money/2014/01/27/new-website-offers-immigrants-what-turbotax-does-for-people-navigating-irs/?intcmp=obinsite

MIAMI (AP) – South Florida native and former White House fellow Felice Gorordo wants his new tech startup to become like a “TurboTax” program for immigrants navigating the labyrinthine U.S. immigration benefits system.

Clearpath Inc. was founded by former U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Chief Michael Petrucelli in 2009 as a private sector solution to simplify the United States’ complex visa application process. Like the online tax program TurboTax, users are guided through a website as they answer a series of questions to help them fill out their forms.

The cost per form, about $70 to $200, is generally cheaper than going to an attorney. Government fees are separate.

Gorordo said Clearpath seeks to provide a simple process for those with straightforward cases who are intimidated by the system, yet he is quick to note that people with complicated immigration situations should still seek professional legal advice. He said the Clearpath website repeatedly checks in with users to let them know if they should continue their application, and the company doesn’t charge until the forms are successfully submitted.

“The wizard-based system has more than 5,000 rules that check along the way to ensure that the user who is applying for the benefit is eligible for the benefit,” Gorordo said.

[bdrew612 1,071]

Am I reading this right? $70-$200 for a free form? If their cases are so straightforward, what are they paying for?

Forgive my cynicism this evening :-D

[carton025 38]

There are many companies offering free tax return filing and also offer free professional tax help. Just go to www.irs.gov and look for free tax filing. To get state income tax returns done for free go to your state's revenue website for help locating a company that offers free state income tax return filing. Companies like the one on this post have only one goal, and that is to make money! In this case, this company is relying on people who don't know about the federal and state income tax return filing processes. In other words, charging from $70 to $200 per form is definitely a "RIP-OFF!"

[aussie_jason 195]

I can guarantee that no company would file your taxes for you completely for free, they may not charge you anything but they are getting paid somehow and ultimately you get what you pay for. However this has nothing to do with tax, this is about a company providing a guided way to complete immigration paper work. Admittedly I would never pay for such a service but there are a lot of people that would benefit from it including some that post here, for example it would prevent a lot of the RFEs for starters.

[sqtb 0]

Has anyone tried this out yet? It seems promising?