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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

#301

Post by Sukotto »

Hi Peter

I'm late to the party. Posting on the off chance that you are still around. Any reply appreciated, even a couple of words.

Question:

How should I think about entering the US and gaining permission to work?

Background:

Canadian citizen, married to a (naturalized) US citizen (10+ years, kids), and am the breadwinner in our family.

Worked on System Analyst TN1 for 5+ years, switched to H1B until the renewals ran out, then back to TN1.

Moved out of the US in 2012, now living in Japan.

We're considering to move back but don't have a clear idea of what doors are open and which one to aim for.

TN work permission seems unlikely because I've had so many of them and hard to argue "temporary" when I have a US wife and kids. Greencard, on the other hand seems unlikely because they disregard my current income and earning potential and want my wife to prove she can support me. What is the smart approach?

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

#302

Post by chikathreesix »

proberts wrote: post #36
chikathreesix wrote: post #26

Hi Peter, I am planning to apply for E-2 visa but 2 concerns. 1. I've heard from an attorney that no one shouldn't have more than 50% of its share. What do you think? 2. We have raised with SAFE. Do you see any concern? Thank you!

I;m not sure that I understand. E-2s are in fact relatively easy to obtain because the requirements are pretty clear and it's really just a matter of checking the boxes. In short, regardless of the number of owners, the company needs to be at least 50% owned by citizens of your country and there needs to be a substantial investment into the company by citizens of your country. SAFEs concern future ownership so they a…

This is really helpful, thank you so much!

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

#303

Post by jonny_eh »

proberts wrote: post #160
ameen wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't this entail that the parent company have a branch in the U.S. also wouldn't he be limited to working at the company (for a maximum of 5+2 years)?

Yes, the foreign company would need to have operations in the US to qualify for an L-1 and you would be allowed to work in the US in L-1 status for 5 or 7 years depending on your level within the organization.

Here can apply for a green card while on the L-1 to stay longer, right?

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

#304

Post by tsuyoshi »

Sukotto wrote: post #301

Hi Peter I'm late to the party. Posting on the off chance that you are still around. Any reply appreciated, even a couple of words. Question: How should I think about entering the US and gaining permission to work? Background: Canadian citizen, married to a (naturalized) US citizen (10+ years, kids), and am the breadwinner in our family. Worked on System Analyst TN1 for 5+ years, switched to H1B until the renewals ra…

Your wife could move to the US, get even a minimum wage job, and sponsor you for an IR-1. This would require living apart for probably at least a year.

Or, if she has any family or friends in the US, they can sponsor you. This is what I did for my wife's visa - my brother sponsored her.

Or, if you have some savings, you can use that instead of income. Savings counts 1/3 as much as income.

Or... you really should not go to the US on the visa waiver program with the intention of filing for adjustment of status after arriving. But, if you do enter the US without that intention, you can then file for adjustment of status.

I would not bother filing for any other type of visa, personally. Permanent residence will, among other things, make the job search easier.

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

#305

Post by chriswoodford »

copperx wrote: post #288
chriswoodford wrote: post #250

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.

After the <5min interview he didn't believe that I qualified for the TN-1 Visa. Even though I had been granted the initial one 2 years prior. Since the decision is solely at the discretion of the CBP agent, that's all there was to it.

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

#306

Post by kobeya »

leventov wrote: post #286
kobeya wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Well for example I know someone that was able to get an O-1 visa on the basis of being the expert on a piece of technology because he had for years been a major contributor to a business critical open source project. It's not enough to just point to github though, as your lawyer will tell you, you need prominent business people to vouch for your credentials. They are used to doing this though, if your company has the right connections.

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

#307

Post by enra »

mabbo wrote: post #129
bflesch wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did he overstay? I don't understand how people can run into trouble with H1B visas.

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.

Perhaps obvious in hindsight but in that situation I definitely would not leave the country and especially try to re-enter the country unless my paperwork was in perfect order (lawyer prepared it for you). One mistake like that can ruin your visa situation forever.

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

#308

Post by gesman »

whodathuh wrote: post #226

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. I'm Canadian and have had two TNs working in the USA. Is H1B the only path to a green card? My recruiting firm seems to think that due to my specialized skill set and work of national significance they can fast-track me to green card? I'm not sure what that means... is that even a thing? Thanks!

I'm Canadian citizen entered USA using normal TN (skilled worker) in August 2015. In June 2017 all my family (wife, 20 yo son and daughter) - all got green cards.

Lawyers for company I working for oversaw the process and tried to apply for H1B but it was refused or something. However they used some other method and succeeded and i think we got results pretty fast.

I think lawyers did amazing work. If you (or anyone) interested - will be happy to give reference.

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

#309

Post by vikascoder »

LusoTycoon wrote: post #118
Roritharr wrote: post #75

Hi, currently (and for the forseeable future) I'm a 29 year old CTO at a VC backed Startup with 40 employees in Germany, I've had this position now for nearly two years, before (and on paper now in parallel to) that I've been managing director of a web-development agency for 3 years. I've had several software dev positions before that while working on starting my own companies, a process which made me drop out of uni…

Also curious, for the average european developer how easy could it be to move to the US? Also without a degree

As easy or hard as any skilled tech immigrant from anywhere else. We are all in the same boat and I am not aware of any special agreements between Europe and US in terms of easy transfer of skilled migrants (as Canadians have under NAFTA). So you a) study in the US and get in line for H1B b) work for a multinational in Europe and get transferred to US on L1 visa c) If you are a well published researcher, O1 will be good but it is very difficult to obtain.

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

#310

Post by pm90 »

tucaz wrote: post #184
proberts wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

They can definitely start it right away. There is no need to wait.
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