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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

#181

Post by schwap »

cperciva wrote: post #179
klipt wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canadians can work on TN (treaty NAFTA) visa if your profession is on the list. http://canada.usembassy.gov/visas/doing-business-in-america/...

TN requires a degree, though. That said, I don't think there's any good route for a Canadian high school grad to immigrate to the US. So my advice to shpx would be to spend the four years to get a degree, and then go for TN.

You --can-- substitute applicable work experience for a degree.

Edit: Nope you can't, I conflated TN and H1-B

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#183

Post by infocollector »

I am currently on F1 (Alien from India, getting my PhD in early 2016, Computer Science) and am planning to apply for either the EB-1 or NIW. I have one publication (and multiple submitted), and my work has mostly gone in supporting Department of Defense. Do you recommend EB-1 or NIW route, or perhaps something else? I do have strong letter writers both in the DoD and Academia/Industry.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#184

Post by OSButler »

There was a post here a while ago about s.o. coming to the US on a tourist visa asking to do volunteer work in return for a place to stay. I'm just curious if you've ever dealt with similar cases, where people came into the country with the wrong visa, found a place to live/work, but then had to get their papers sorted out to be able to stay? Were they actually able to stay or did they have to go back and apply from outside the country (US) again?

And more of a personal anecdote than a question, but during my own immigration process I've noticed that there appear to be mostly people who are either extremely over-prepared (have all the documents filled out in advance with additional papers/proofs/documents for every single step), or they are not prepared at all. My fondest memory was a man walking into the embassy asking to immigrate right now. No papers, documents, nothing. Just walked in, went to the clerk's window and asked to immigrate today. Even the clerk was a bit dumbfounded by the demand.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#185

Post by proberts »

mindvirus wrote: post #89

What are the typical visas for a Canadian who gets accepted into YC, and afterward/during raises seed funding and sets up shop in the USA?

There are several options depending on the ownership of the company and the amount and source of the funding but typically the post-YC options are the TN, the E-1 or E-2, and the O-1. The H-1B, because of the cap among other things, is the least utilized.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#186

Post by mydpy »

As US citizens, how can we help our international friends trying to get H1-B support? It is really hard to watch friends get denied, and I really wish policy makers would admit more very talented people from highly competitive countries.

One of my good friends from China is gay and if he goes back home, he could actually be in danger.

I feel helpless and I want to do more.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#187

Post by SeoxyS »

ameen wrote: post #169
SeoxyS wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

H1B, L1, O1, etc. are all non-immigrant visa. You must be able to show non-immigration intent. (Except for O-1 which allows dual-intent.) Edit: I may be wrong about this. IANAL.

Can O1 holders apply for a GC or do they need to move to an EB1 before applying for a GC?

The EB-1 is a the immigration petition that gets you the green card. Getting approved for the EB-1 is how you get that green card. The green card is a two-step process: first, you apply for an I-140; this is the EB-1. Second, if approved, you can apply for an "adjustment of status," which is the green card. That one is mostly a bureaucratic process, but you're pretty much guaranteed to get it.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#188

Post by ameen »

proberts wrote: post #151
PameVls wrote: post #81

Do you need a visa to attend a 3 month program like YC or Techstars?

Citizens of certain countries do not require visas to come to the U.S. as tourists or business visitors for up to 90 days, and business visitor status can be an appropriate status to attend a training or non-degreed education/learning program.

Can those with a B1/B2 engage in those activities (to attend a training or non-degreed education/learning program.)

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#189

Post by proberts »

infocollector wrote: post #183

I am currently on F1 (Alien from India, getting my PhD in early 2016, Computer Science) and am planning to apply for either the EB-1 or NIW. I have one publication (and multiple submitted), and my work has mostly gone in supporting Department of Defense. Do you recommend EB-1 or NIW route, or perhaps something else? I do have strong letter writers both in the DoD and Academia/Industry.

As a general rule, if there is a clear national interest being served, an NIW green card is a much easier route, although EB-2 so the process is very slow for Indian nationals. Without seeing your CV it's hard to say but the EB1A is the only avenue for getting a green card now.

Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#190

Post by patrickddaniel »

Let's say you're working toward getting an O-1A, and you fulfill the three categories out of eight, how broad can you make the scope of work that you can do? (since the category includes sciences, education, business, or athletics)

For example, if you are not set on one career, and have pursued 3-4, and you get the O1 for one career (where you can show extraordinary proof), can you still do work in other areas? In other words, how broad can you define the O1 so that you could do almost any type of work as you could do with a greencard.

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