flock

Flock empowers international students & professionals to chase their dreams in the U.S. With personalized roadmaps, an AI chatbot, & a supportive community, we turn visa stress into confidence.

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Inspiration

As international students ourselves, we often found ourselves overwhelmed by the complexity of visa rules, deadlines, and paperwork. There were countless moments of confusion, asking ourselves, “Now what?” - whether it was figuring out how to apply for OPT, understanding H-1B quotas, or simply keeping track of critical deadlines. As we dive deeper into researching this problem, we have found that these experiences were not unique to us; they are shared by thousands of international students and professionals who face similar challenges every day.

In the 2024 academic year, over 1.1 million international students studied in the U.S., marking a 7% increase from the previous year (SEVIS Data, 2024). However, as the job market grows more competitive, navigating the complex U.S. immigration system has become a significant hurdle. A 2023 study by the Migration Policy Institute revealed that fewer than 25% of international student graduates secure H-1B visas due to strict quotas, leaving their futures in the U.S. uncertain. Compounding this issue are confusing visa rules, missed deadlines, and unreliable information, which lead to missed opportunities, financial stress, and even legal problems for thousands of students and professionals. citation

Witnessing these struggles inspired us to create Flock. Our vision is to empower international students and professionals by simplifying the visa and career journey, allowing them to focus on their careers and dreams rather than bureaucratic hurdles. We believe that everyone deserves a clear, reliable, and supportive path to achieving their goals in the U.S., and Flock is here to make that vision a reality.

What it does

Flock is an all-in-one platform designed to simplify the visa and career journey for international students and professionals. It offers:

  • Personalized Visa Roadmaps: Step-by-step guidance tailored to each user’s immigration status process.
  • AI-Powered Chatbot: Instant, verified answers to visa and career questions.
  • Community Forum: A space for users to ask questions, share experiences, and get verified answers from legal experts.

How we built it

  • Figma: UIUX design
  • LangChain, LangGraph: Agentic logic for chatbot
  • OpenAI: LLM API
  • Next.js: Frontend
  • Better Auth: Authentication for forum
  • PostgreSQL: Database for forum
  • Docker: Local testing
  • Railway: Backend for database and chatbot API
  • Vercel: Frontend deployment

Challenges we ran into

connecting the python backend to the front end

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Site design RAG Chatbot implementation Making an impact for international students

What we learned

How to write an API for a Python app + integrate it with Next.js Caching for faster chat response

What's next for flock

  • Connect the backend RAG chat to the frontend (see github backend folder)
  • Expanded features for the forum: voting system
  • Expanded functionalities for the chatbot: document uploading, access chat history

Built With

  • betterauth
  • docker
  • figma
  • langchain
  • langgraph
  • nextjs
  • openai
  • postgresql
  • railway
  • tailwind
  • vercel
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