
Helena immigration attorney launches app to simplify US immigration law

Shahid Haque, founder and president of Border Crossing Law Firm and creator of the app Open Borders.
Megan Michelotti
Shahid Haque has dedicated his career to bettering the lives of people coming into the United States. His most recent endeavor, the app Open Borders, acts as a TurboTax-style immigration guide.
After conducting thousands of immigration consultations, Haque said, he developed a system for evaluating cases and identifying the important factors that affect a client’s options.
“I wanted to use my knowledge of immigration law to benefit people around the world, so I spent several years writing a guide that offers a free, automated assessment of your immigration options,” he said.
Since launching on Nov. 3, the app had eight ratings of five out of five stars as of Monday. It is currently available on iPhones, iPads, Macs and the web (https://openborders.io/home).
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Haque is the president of Border Crossing Law Firm based in Helena. He was drawn to immigration law because his parents immigrated from Pakistan to America around 50 years ago.
“I always had an interest in immigration because my parents were immigrants, and that kind of gave me a greater appreciation for what immigrants go through when they come here to the United States,” stated Haque. “… Another part of it was when I was in law school, I started working with a group that was helping asylum seekers come into the United States.”
Haque attended Chicago-Kent College of Law. After graduating, he worked with a large firm, but continued his pro bono work with asylum seekers. He eventually transitioned full time into immigration law.
When Haque moved to Montana, he established Border Crossing Law Firm in 2008. He also has worked as a law professor and has 17 years of experience as an immigration attorney. He’s represented thousands of clients in navigating the complex U.S. immigration system.
Haque has worked pro bono for the six Afghan refugee families since the first refugees arrived in January in Helena, said Valerie Hellermann, executive director of Hands on Global, a nonprofit that works closely with the Afghan families.
“Immigration is a very complicated issue,” said Hellermann, adding that she considers Haque to be a very competent attorney and she believes Open Borders will work well.
Hellermann pointed out that even though the immigration process is long and difficult, the light is dawning at the end of the tunnel for some of Helena’s Afghan refugees.
“I’m so grateful for Shahid,” said Hellermann. “He’s been so wonderful, and already one of our refugee families have their green card, which is so exciting.”
Haque recharges from his work by spending time with his wife, who he calls his “best friend.” His wife works as his paralegal. They’re raising five children together.
Some of Haque’s greatest career accomplishments have been winning over 20 asylum cases and winning unanimously against LR-121 in the Montana Supreme Court, a ballot measure that denied certain state funded services to undocumented immigrants that was introduced in 2012.
It’s Haque’s vast bank of knowledge of the U.S. immigration system that he has drawn upon to develop the app Open Borders. He’s been working on the app since 2020. Haque points out that he can only be in one place at one time, but this app can help thousands of clients all at once around the world.

Open Borders’ logo in the app store.
“It has always been a dream of mine to simplify immigration law in a unique way that actually helps people understand it,” said Haque. “You know, as a lawyer, you’re sitting there evaluating all these complicated fact patterns and assessing what the outcome should be, and I realized that it wasn’t impossible to create a program that could do that… It’s kind of like creating a virtual version of myself where I’m saying everything that I would if I was actually talking to the person.”
Haque states the app is a starting point and not necessarily a do-it-yourself guide to the U.S. immigration system. He recommends that people still get a qualified attorney to help them navigate the process.
“My hope is that families get together, use (Open Borders), enter all the information and find out what their options are so at least if they want to proceed on their own or if they want to hire an attorney either way, they at least know what they can do,” said Haque. “… It lets you know what you’re eligible for, what you’re not eligible for and why.”
The app starts by asking the initial question: “Are you a citizen of the United States?”

The first question asked in Open Borders.

The question that follows if you click the “No, I am not a citizen yet” answer in Open Borders.
Depending on the answer, further options are provided.
Through answering a series of questions, a person’s case is evaluated and their options for proceeding are laid out.
The app is available in both English and Spanish, and Haque is hoping to add more languages in the future. People don’t need to create an account to use the app, and it doesn’t save data if no account is created. If someone chooses to create an account, it saves their answers and Border Crossing Law Firm can be hired through the app for their case.
“Even if nobody hired me from this app … I made the app free to use for a reason,” said Haque. “I want people to use it, and for people all over the world to just be able to understand immigration law and understand their options in a really simple, easy-to-understand way.”
Haque is looking to expand the app, adding more features such as informational video instructions in the future.
“Each individual person over the years, if you take all of those people and add them up, it adds up to thousands of people that I’ve helped, and somewhere in there, that feels pretty good to know I was able to help and make a difference in their lives,” said Haque.
A few of the legal services Border Crossing Law Firm offers along with pricing through Open Borders.
Megan Michelotti can be reached at [email protected].