Read the full article on TechCrunch.
Ellis is a startup founded by Sampei Omichi, who has encountered firsthand the barriers that many international students face when arriving in the U.S. – phone plans, bank accounts, visas, taxes, rent, travel and immigration documents. He was rejected for an H1-B visa in 2021.
Omichi believes that “college campuses are the modern-day Ellis Islands for high-skilled immigrants and entrepreneurs in the U.S.” (e.g. Elon Musk, Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai), and thus has created an app that compiles basic documents to create a profile that will automates many of the complex and tedious processes international students face, including applying for work authorization (CPT, OPT, sponsorship).
Ellis recently raised $5.6 million in seed funding and is well on its way to building out global partnerships.
