Hey Robert,
My question is what all are the different ways for a student under F-1 visa to be co-founder for a start up and will I be able to do it as an OPT and apply for a H-1B visa at the same time.
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
21–30 of 384 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#22I'm going to graduate with a B.S next year and already have a startup. We're raising a significant round late this year and i have a cofounder who is US citizen. Is it possible for me to have a majority stake in this company, work on it under OPT and file for an H1B or does someone need to have the ability to fire me?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#23Hey Robert,
My question is what all are the different ways for a student under F-1 visa to be co-founder for a start up and will I be able to do it as an OPT and apply for a H-1B visa at the same time.
Thank you
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#24Hey Robert - My Question: What do you think would happen to tech in America if H1b's were done away with and all foreign workers had to leave?
Related question, would Donald Trump actually be able to do away with the H1B as he suggested he would a couple of months ago?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#25Hey, I have done BS CS and six years of industry experience outside of US. Can you refer some existing documents/link that can help me understanding and starting this whole process. Thanks for your time.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#26Hey Peter, thanks for this.
Have you heard about SimpleCitizen? (https://simplecitizen.com/)
My wife and I were recently married and are currently considering this for getting her green card.
Any thoughts?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#27Any thoughts or experience with the EB5 route, and founding a startup on arrival? (assuming you have the required 500k or 1m, and you are investing in something unrelated to the startup).
Is it a good choice for canadians?
What is the best way to find a qualifying and legitimate investment?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#28Hi .. I am curious about how the final-part of the green card process works for a married couple living in different countries: say a dependent spouse is outside the country while the sponsoring spouse (say someone who applied via EB-1 or Eb-2) is inside the US. Is it possible for one (the dependent) to use consular processing and the other to do a change of status while inside the country? Thanks so much!
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#29Hi, Peter! as a Mexican, could I get an E2 visa investing $50k of my own money into my startup? Or what's the lowest investment needed for an E2 visa? In order to reach that threshold, could my investment be complemented with VC or angel's money?
Thanks!
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#30Thanks for taking the time. For Canadians or Europeans with PhDs and a sufficient track record to make EB1 feasible, is it better to work at a research institution while one gets a green card, or is it better to just plow ahead with a startup and then do the EB1? Can you discuss pros and cons? I've seen many colleagues delay their startup aspirations while they wait for immigration reasons .. I want to understand if…
Interesting question but it really varies. There are advantages from a green card perspective to starting your own company because the successes of the company can be attributed to you. That being said, the esteem of getting a PhD or doing a post-doc at a prestigious institution also helps. My general feeling about all this is not to let immigration drive these decisions because immigration usually takes care of itself if one does what one loves and wants to do. This is a general statement but I rarely see a positive outcome when one defers making a decision, whether to start a company or change jobs, because of immigration considerations.