Children of undocumented parents create innovative application to simplify the ITIN procedure
Source: Claudia Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Communications, [email protected]
August 12, 2024 – Navigating the U.S. financial system without a Social Security number is a substantial obstacle for many immigrants. This challenge impacts their ability to access essential services such as banking, credit, driver’s licenses, proof of residency, insurance, and even paying taxes. As children of undocumented parents, Latino entrepreneurs Robbie Figueroa, Luciano Arango, and Siggy Bilstein witnessed these hardships firsthand and decided to address these barriers by creating Maza , an innovative app designed to empower Latino immigrants, both documented and undocumented, in the United States.
The Maza app provides the immigrant community with the tools needed to navigate the complex U.S. financial system by offering essential services such as applying for an ITIN. It is more important than ever for immigrants to have their ITIN given the current political landscape in the United States. Having an ITIN allows individuals to file tax returns and comply with U.S. tax laws, which can be beneficial for them to obtain their immigration status in the future and be able to provide services to businesses. Maza helps them with the process and provides advice through the application.
“We are children of immigrants who came to the United States and saw the challenges our families faced in navigating the American financial system,” said Maza co-founder Robbie Figueroa. “We created Maza to simplify the creation of the financial future for Latinos in the United States and empower them to build their wealth, which includes wealth, assets and property.”
More than 21 million Latino immigrants live in the U.S., of whom more than 7.4 million are undocumented. Hispanic immigrants are more likely than other immigrant groups to have limited English proficiency, be non-citizens, have lower incomes, lack health insurance, and have lower levels of educational attainment.
Maza’s mission is to raise awareness about financial inequality and the importance of financial education within immigrant communities, so that families can build their own wealth. To learn more about Maza, visit www.conmaza.com or download the Maza app on your mobile device.
