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I'm buildingan open-source way to fill U.S. immigration forms without fighting clunky PDFs Github: https://github.com/athos2113/fillvisa-os https://github.com/

I'm buildingan open-source way to fill U.S. immigration forms without fighting clunky PDFs Github: https://github.com/athos2113/fillvisa-os https://github.com/athos2113/fillvisa-os Demo: https://fillvisa.com/demo/ https://fillvisa.com/demo/ US Immigration still relies on outdated XFA PDFs - you can't fill them on your browser. Most immigrants end up printing the form and fill it manually. So, I converted the PDF forms into smart web forms. They are replica of the official USCIS forms and follow conditonal logic. In the output, you get the official USCIS pdf form filled.

Cider9986 15d ago
That's cool. How are you gonna get it in the hands of people that would need it?
- junaid_97 15d ago
  Thanks! Primarily by sharing the web version (fillvisa.com) on subreddit and FB groups. People complain about the USCIS PDF regurlarly, so, I just pitch them the website
yboris 15d ago
I was stuck unable to fill out a PDF I-864 for immigration because the required fields were non-editable. And opening the PDF in a PDF editor or Photoshop would require a password that was not available. So I had to create a PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF pipeline: https://github.com/whyboris/PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF https://github.com/whyboris/PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF
- junaid_97 15d ago
  Interesting approach. How would turning the PDF into JPG allow you to edit/write inside?
  - yboris 14d ago
    Resort to Photoshop / editor at that point. I still prefer that over printing, writing, and then scanning.
mvanzoest 15d ago
Interesting. I downloaded some PDFs for the adjustment of status forms recently and most of them were editable but only partially - the conditional fields couldn't be edited it seemed.
- junaid_97 15d ago
  Yup. Those fields are dynamic, encoded in XFA -> JS. But, you can only access them via Adobe
kittensmittens 15d ago
I hope this becomes obsolete by no longer being necessary
- junaid_97 15d ago
  USCIS is working towards turning it's forms into web-forms. Some forms are available to file online : https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-online https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-on... But, I'm guess it'll take some time
schainks 15d ago
Apple preview and the add text button got me through all the USCIS forms. You can use AI computer control to do this stuff now, right?
- Shank 14d ago
  > You can use AI computer control to do this stuff now, right? Speaking as someone who had to do a lot of immigration work to move to Japan, I can think of no work I would want to have a close eye on than immigration paperwork. One error is all it takes for a clerical rejection or similar. I had a professional lawyer working on mine and still cross checked every detail, and found errors!

Cider9986 15d ago

That's cool. How are you gonna get it in the hands of people that would need it?

junaid_97 15d ago
Thanks! Primarily by sharing the web version (fillvisa.com) on subreddit and FB groups. People complain about the USCIS PDF regurlarly, so, I just pitch them the website

yboris 15d ago

I was stuck unable to fill out a PDF I-864 for immigration because the required fields were non-editable. And opening the PDF in a PDF editor or Photoshop would require a password that was not available. So I had to create a PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF pipeline: https://github.com/whyboris/PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF https://github.com/whyboris/PDF-to-JPG-to-PDF

junaid_97 15d ago
Interesting approach. How would turning the PDF into JPG allow you to edit/write inside?
- yboris 14d ago
  Resort to Photoshop / editor at that point. I still prefer that over printing, writing, and then scanning.

mvanzoest 15d ago

Interesting. I downloaded some PDFs for the adjustment of status forms recently and most of them were editable but only partially - the conditional fields couldn't be edited it seemed.

junaid_97 15d ago
Yup. Those fields are dynamic, encoded in XFA -> JS. But, you can only access them via Adobe

kittensmittens 15d ago

I hope this becomes obsolete by no longer being necessary

junaid_97 15d ago
USCIS is working towards turning it's forms into web-forms. Some forms are available to file online : https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-online https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/forms-available-to-file-on... But, I'm guess it'll take some time

schainks 15d ago

Apple preview and the add text button got me through all the USCIS forms. You can use AI computer control to do this stuff now, right?

Shank 14d ago
> You can use AI computer control to do this stuff now, right? Speaking as someone who had to do a lot of immigration work to move to Japan, I can think of no work I would want to have a close eye on than immigration paperwork. One error is all it takes for a clerical rejection or similar. I had a professional lawyer working on mine and still cross checked every detail, and found errors!