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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

#281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hooli? Are you kidding me

I;m not sure that I understand. What's your follow-up question/concern?

Hooli is a fictional company from the show Silicon Valley.

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

#282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hooli? Are you kidding me

I;m not sure that I understand. What's your follow-up question/concern?

Hooli is the fictional company from the show Silicon Valley.

Perhaps the company name the questioner meant to write got autocorrected but their username also contains "hooli" so I guess it's use is deliberate.

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

#283
post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was first at Amazon in Seattle (later moved back to Toronto) it became known that if you had a TN visa, you didn't cross at a specific Vancouver-area crossing. There was just one guy there who had decided he didn't like the TN visa program, and tore up every single one he saw.

That's horrible. I hope the worker was reported and sent to prison.

> sent to prison.

It's too risky to have a man like that out on the streets. He could tear up visas any time.

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

#284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, why would you convert to an H1B?

Primary reason: The E3 is a non-intent visa, meaning that you can't apply for the Green Card on it. Your only choice is to convert to H1B first and then apply. Other reason 1: You can transfer to another job easier while remaining in the US (if they do an H1-transfer). Doing so with the E3 is a huge grey-area with various blogs saying different things. Other reason 2: If I get fired I have a few days to pack my life…

I successfully went from E3 to Green Card without getting a H1B first.

It's a more annoying path (there was a ~6 month period in which I couldn't leave the US) and riskier (more ways to end up rejected). That said the H1B route would have taken significantly longer even if I won the lottery.

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

#285
post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's very hard to answer in the abstract but those are the two options that many Indian and Chinese nationals look at - and oftentimes, the EB1A is a real option for bright and talented individuals. Again, the EB1A standard, while high, isn't as high as most people think.

Is the EB1A similar to O-1?

EB1 has stricter requirements than an O-1

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

#286
post #99

Could you elaborate on these misconceptions about the standards for extraordinary ability for O-1 ? I almost tried to get a O-1 but I was admitted in the H1B lottery. The criteria are indeed very opaque and you can read very conflicting accounts on HN and elsewhere.

Pretty much anyone with a Ph.D, core contributor to a major open source project, inventor of record on multiple patents, speaker at conferences, OR otherwise able to demonstrate that s/he is an expert in their field can get admitted on an O-1 visa, if they have good legal representation.

Could you elaborate on "core contributor to a major open source project"? Do you know examples of that?

I'm a relatively core contributor of druid.io project, struggling to get a touristic visa (2 failed attempts).

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

#287
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something to do with changing jobs, then having the new job fall through a month later. He thought he had 60 days to get a new job (which is pretty easy for developers these days). The border guards had not heard of such a rule.

>The border guards had not heard of such a rule. Because there isn't any. There is no grace period at all.

IANAL, but that's not true since Jan 2017. There is a 60 day grace period, but only once per validation period.

http://www.immi-usa.com/60-days-h1b-grace-period-2017-final-...

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

#288

As someone who has worked with Peter in the past, I can say from experience that he is the real deal! Helped me and my family get back into the US after a CBP agent denied my TN-1 renewal. Peter, here's my question for you. If Trump pulls out of or re-negotiates NAFTA, as he claimed he would do in his first 100 days... What, if anything, would that mean for TN visa holders? Would it be an instant, no questions asked,…

Why did the agent deny your renewal, if I may ask? I thought TN renewal denials were pretty rare.

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

#289

As someone who has worked with Peter in the past, I can say from experience that he is the real deal! Helped me and my family get back into the US after a CBP agent denied my TN-1 renewal. Peter, here's my question for you. If Trump pulls out of or re-negotiates NAFTA, as he claimed he would do in his first 100 days... What, if anything, would that mean for TN visa holders? Would it be an instant, no questions asked,…

SO interested in this as I am in the same boat, but I'm Mexican

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

#290
post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The border guards had not heard of such a rule. Because there isn't any. There is no grace period at all.

IANAL, but that's not true since Jan 2017. There is a 60 day grace period, but only once per validation period. http://www.immi-usa.com/60-days-h1b-grace-period-2017-final-...

I wonder if the person in question had his problems before January.
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