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I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
231–240 of 334 posts
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#232What 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.
Thanks for doing this AMA. I'm a Canadian who just got his TN visa (Systems Analyst) but in practice, my salary/responsibilities will be pretty similar to that of a Software Engineer. As far as the law is concerned, where is the line drawn between those two occupations?
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#233Hi Peter,
My wife and I are Canadians working in California on TN visas. I'm at a small startup that doesn't sponsor H1-B but I might start my own business in the future. Should I look switching to a larger company in order to get H1-B so I have the freedom start my company?
Thanks for doing this AMA.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#234Earlier quoted context omitted.
Many petitions get rejected - without recourse - because they're not submitted/prepared properly and it's much easier to deal with the lottery and resolve issues with premium processing.
Does this mean that premium processing circumvents the lottery whatsoever?
No. Premium processing only affects the speed of processing - the lottery odds remain unchanged.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
i'm deleting this comment because it was a bunch of practical (as in non-legal advice) info about running an LLC that could potentially get someone in trouble if taken as advice.
This is interesting, do you know where I can get more information on this? Thanks in advance
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Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#236Hi,
Can you describe in practical terms how the requirements between an O1 and an EB1 differ? If I got my O1 recently, can I reuse the reference letters directly?
Thanks
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#237Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. I've been applying to YC for the past 4 years and never gotten an interview, I'm starting to suspect it's because of my background (hence they never reply to you with the reason of rejection). I'm born in Canada, meaning I'm Canadian, but I never managed to finish my college CompSci Degree so I'm not eligible for a TN-1 visa. However I do have around 6 years of professional web dev ex…
FWIW, I'm also a Canadian who didn't complete his bachelor and managed to get a TN visa (Systems Analyst).
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#238Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fair statement but USCIS can be really tough on new/small company L-1s so these need to be done right and supported by extensive documentation of the U.S. and foreign companies' operations.
Does this mean you could: 1. Open a UK small business with yourself as the director and sole employee. 2. Set up a pass-through corp in the US for remote work. 3. Wait a while to establish the pass-through, then send yourself a job offer from the pass-through to the UK. 4. Get a visa as an employee of the pass-through - which you also own and control? Or will the UCSIS laugh at that?
You don't need to do it that way. I followed this pattern.
1. Set up the UK company. It has to have been running for a certain time, and you have to be an employee of it for at least a year. The business has to be actually trading and real, have an office and financial results.
2. Apply for an L-1A, saying you will transfer yourself to the U.S. to start a new business. You then have a year to set up the new company and get it operational. You will need to invest at least $100,000 in the business. It took me less than a month to get the visa.
3. Renew the L1 for up to seven years. Before then, if your company grows you can change to a green card. If, like me, your company fails, you'll have to head back home :-(
4. It may be easier just to go for an E2 visa, where you invest $150,000 in a business. There's no path to a green card though.
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#239Earlier quoted context omitted.
Legal fees aside, the filing fees are $1575 for a company with less than 25 FT employees and $2325 for a company with 25 or more FT employees. These are the fees for regular processing which can take months at present, so premium processing is required for quick decision and this costs an additional $1125.
Thank you! I know that mileage varies, but could you give a ballpark for what legal fees might be for a "plain vanilla" case? At the other end of the spectrum, what are the highest fees you've ever seen from one individual?
One good thing to remember is that USCIS refunds the entire $2,325 or $1,575 application fee, if you do not win the H-1B lottery. So applying for someone is fairly low risk, cost-wise.
Attorney fees vary, but some will only charge part of their fee initially, and the rest is only payable if your engineer wins the H1B visa lottery and their visa petition is approved.
I just googled, and one[1] attorney ("Zhang and Associates, P.C.") splits their effective $2400 fee in two: they charge $1200 for the application, and only charge another $1200 if the the person wins the lottery and their application is approved. Another[2] charges $895 for the application, and no more.
With the Zhang & Associates, the total cost of just trying to get your engineer an H1B visa is $1200. If they win the lottery (odds: 1 out 3) and get approved, the total cost rises to $4,725. With premium processing, it's $5,950.
Even though tempting, it might be better to avoid lower cost attorneys (e.g. that charge below $1000). A good highly knowledgeable (thus, more expensive) attorney is strongly preferable. Even the slightest error can jeopardize an application. In addition, USCIS issues various rules and notices from time to time, and it's good to have an attorney who's on top of all of that.
[1] http://www.hooyou.com/h-1b/attorneyfee.html
[2] http://www.usavisanow.com/h-1b-visa/h-1b-visa-attorney-servi...
Re: I am Peter Roberts, an immigration lawyer who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#240Uhm. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I was slightly disappointed by the result of this. They might want to change the format in the future to promote fewer longer answers. "You might try X Y Z visa" doesn't really use his expertise very much. We also didn't really get an answer to the most obvious questions like if you can actually attend YC legally or if a temporary worker in the US can also run a company. Still a good thing of course, but a bit more structure would go a long way.