How would you rate a senior engineer's odds at qualifying for an O-1 visa? Can they get by on career/work history alone or does it require a level of public notoriety?
I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
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Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#12How does one with a H1B, TN, H1B1, or E3 visa move from their current US employer and start their own company legally while living in the USA?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#13Can founders of a startup who have majority ownership & with appropriate board having the power to fire them sponsor green card through their startup? Founders are currently on H1b with approved I-140. Thank you
Excellent question. The answer is yes but substantial ownership is problematic in the PERM green card context, where it is not an issue - and in fact is often helpful - in the national interest waiver (NIW) and extraordinary ability (EB1A) green card contexts. Substantial ownership in the PERM context almost always will trigger an audit and substantial delays.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#14Hi Peter, thanks for doing this.
How would you recommend an H1B holder go about transitioning to founding/working for their own startup?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#15Can I sell my own software as a H1B worker? E.g. my own apps in App Store?
Another excellent question. Any compensation for services rendered - for productive work - must be specifically work authorized, so as a general rule selling a product created by you - whether it's an application or a widget - requires work authorization.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#16Can I drive for lyft part time on an H1B?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#17How does H1B and remote work? Say, can I work in Nashville remotely from home for a company in San Francisco and have a valid case for getting H1B?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#18Hello, Is it possible to do YC, if the founders are initially registered as 'tourists'?
Initial admission as a B-2/WT tourist allows the individual also to engage in B-1/WB business visitor activities, such as participating in a program like YC, but the facts here do matter, such as what was represented by the person when he or she initially was admitted.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#19What are the options for an h1b who wants to start up?
we can't lose our jobs to maintain the h1b status. will yc care that we are not working on the idea fulltime by the time of applying to yc? (will certainly quit the job if accepted to yc.)
what are the common attitudes of companies, like google, microsoft, apple, facebook, toward employee moonlighting?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#20What process would you recommend for a startup looking to relocate software developers immediately from the UK to the US?
The H1B process officially kicks off in April, so am interested to hear about types of contractual agreements that might allow employment from now for the next twelve months whilst processing is underway.