After personal tragedy struck a chord in our lives as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we've dedicated our services and attention to others struggling to find their way home. Driven by the horrible sense of despair we've felt, our goal is to help anyone connect with their family regardless of location. The complexities and nuances between varying immigration policies and mandates make the process of migrating between countries during this age a bit of a complicated process; however, we strive to connect individuals with their regions' best legal professionals in order to assist them in their journey.

Our founder, Eli Keldsen, was prompted to start this organization when the challenges of separation between a vital figure began to take a toll–not only on himself but–on others. Eli's love of distinct cultures and languages has led him to learn and study various languages for several years. Along his journey, Eli connected with a unique Mandarin teacher from the Chinese Capital, Beijing, who was adept at conveying the information in a precise manner. Through the time span of a few months, Eli and his Mandarin teacher developed a special bond that often resulted in a deep discussion of Chinese philosophy and history. With this unique bond with his teacher, Eli's interest in the Chinese language and culture multiplied exponentially eventually leading to the collection of various language awards for Mandarin Chinese.

Unfortunately, March, 19th, 2020 would be the final date Eli would get to see and talk with his Mandarin teacher in person. After numerous lockdown orders and restrictions were enacted throughout the community regarding the gathering of individuals in an educational environment, it made it virtually impossible to meet together in-person. Feeling a bit discouraged, Eli began to sit through a seemingly endless amount of arduous online meetings with his teacher. While many of the meetings faded into the distant past, a single meeting stood out. Once class ended, Eli felt the impression to ask about his teacher's life circumstances. Learning that his teacher's spouse and only child have been stranded on the east coast for several weeks while she's on the west coast and the fast-approaching date of their visa expiration all while the COVID-19 pandemic is raging throughout the world made Eli yearn to help out his teacher. Imagining the situation of begin stranded and separated in a foreign nation while a global pandemic effectively shuts down all forms of international travel and the expiration of one's visa, Eli began thinking about how to fix the circumstance to the best of his abilities.

Making numerous phone calls and emails, Eli eventually connected his Mandarin teacher with an immigration attorney in the area to help with sifting through the legal documents needed to get home with her family in this time of crisis. Eventually, Eli's teacher and her family met in Los Angeles through the help and guidance from their attorney and even were able to collect the correct documents for foreign nationals as mentioned by the United States Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to travel safely home despite the exterior conditions. Once safely home in Beijing, Eli's Mandarin teacher mentioned other foreign nationals in the area that need the same assistance as she did in traveling home. Releasing that he couldn't do this indefinitely, Eli established Bridges Between Nations to embody the story of his Mandarin teacher and help others in precarious situations get home to the security and assistance they deserve. Bridges Between Nations–since the reallocation of Eli's Mandarin teacher back home– has expanded to help over two dozen communities in 12 distinct states since its founding during the COVID-19 pandemic.