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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

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Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#181

Post by proberts »

y248zhao wrote: post #178

Hi Peter, Thanks for the AMA, it is extremely helpful. I am a Canadian citizen looking to Incorporate a c-corp in US and move to the bay area in the near future to work on the business. What is the best route to take with regards to visa. The company will be based out of the bay area. Background: I graduated from University of Waterloo last year and have worked in the bay area previously on TN visa.

As a general rule, CBP and USCIS will not approve TNs for founders or owners of the sponsoring employer so your options would be an E-2 (based on an investment) or O-1.

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#182

Post by yagyu »

proberts wrote: post #177
yagyu wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for your reply, that's encouraging. Follow up question: I can see how the points - Evidence of your original scientific, scholarly, artistic, athletic, or business-related contributions of major significance to the field - Evidence of your authorship of scholarly articles in professional or major trade publications or other major media are fairly easy to fulfill. Which one would you attack as the third?

Association memberships and journal review work.

Thanks for your time!

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#184

Post by tucaz »

proberts wrote: post #38
sthada02 wrote: post #33

Im on an H1B and hoping to get my employer to sponsor me for a green card when my 6 year H1B term is up (2020). Are there benefits having already worked for this employer, or will the green card application be the exact same as if filing for a foreign national who wasn't already working at the company?

It's generally helpful to be currently employed by the sponsoring company but the amount of time with that company has little bearing on the success.

As a follow-up to this question, Peter, is there a need to wait for the H1B VISA to be over or could the employer start the GC process right away?

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#185

Post by proberts »

hellojebus wrote: post #143
proberts wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The marriage-based GC route but she'll need to get a waiver.

I'm on the same boat, how difficult is it to get the waiver? (Keep in mind that I have no proof of entry)

Not easy. It's based on hardship to U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or child.

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#186

Post by cosureshe »

proberts wrote: post #170
cosureshe wrote: post #161

Hi Peter, I have a question about EB2-NIW (or EB1-NIW). * I'm a recent PhD graduate in Electrical Engineering with a focus on defense related projects. * I do not have any peer reviewed publications, but several conference publications. * I have several nationally acclaimed fellowships from national labs and federal organizations. * Currently, I have an offer that will set me up as a post doc in a completely differen…

That's a tough one. I'm not a big fan of NIWs anymore. I'd need to review your entire background but my gut is to go the EB1A route after your 5 peer-reviewed publications. I assume that there must be some connection between your EE work/background and your career in education. Is it STEM education?

It is STEM Education. I'm form India, which makes an EB2 route exceptionally long. Good to hear that EB1A is a possibility. Regarding the publications, do I need to wait for them to garner citations? or am I good to go as soon as I have them published?

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#187

Post by y248zhao »

proberts wrote: post #181
y248zhao wrote: post #178

Hi Peter, Thanks for the AMA, it is extremely helpful. I am a Canadian citizen looking to Incorporate a c-corp in US and move to the bay area in the near future to work on the business. What is the best route to take with regards to visa. The company will be based out of the bay area. Background: I graduated from University of Waterloo last year and have worked in the bay area previously on TN visa.

As a general rule, CBP and USCIS will not approve TNs for founders or owners of the sponsoring employer so your options would be an E-2 (based on an investment) or O-1.

Thanks Peter!

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#188

Post by proberts »

ProblemFactory wrote: post #174
proberts wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An H-1B as a U.S. graduate is a good option and an O-1 through your own startup might also work but I'd need to know a lot more about your background and potential startup.

What are the realistic "extraordinary achievement" conditions of an O-1 visa? The information online makes it seem that it is for olympic medal, nobel prize and oscar winners.

It's nuanced so it's hard to define but oftentimes the creation of a company that is doing something novel is enough to support an O-1 even if the company has limited funding or clients.

Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

#189

Post by spacejockeys »

Peter - thank you for doing this!

For founders that have non-citizen employees: What is the best approach for assessing the risk that Trump's travel ban and/or immigration restrictions will affect your team? How much should one worry about the team's dependents (spouse, kids, parents) either because your team member is affected, or because they are independently affected? (eg, a US citizen employee is married to a non-citizen.) What are the key risks of new policies? If we have folks on different kinds of visas, are some "safer" than others? Any guidelines that founders should put in place in order to avoid risks created by new policies?

Thanks for help, there is a lot of FUD on this topic.

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