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

news.ycombinator.com

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

#271

Post by proberts »

dev_throw wrote: post #233

Would applying for a green card on a TN Visa be considered a violation of the non dual-intent of the visa and prevent me from renewing/applying for TN Visa at the border? Context: naturalized Canadian citizen (Indian born) on a TN Visa working in the states. From what I have read, green card applications are determined by country of birth, and for India are upwards of 3 years. So, I would like to know if an applicati…

Yes, although you can apply for a green card while in TN status, a green card filing could compromise your ability to obtain TN classification in the future.

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

#272

Post by proberts »

gvsi wrote: post #229

Hi, I received a full-time offer to work as a software engineer at a company in the Bay Area after my graduation in May 2018. They are willing to sponsor my H-1B, but I am also looking into other options in case I don't get it. Now, I am an undergraduate student in the UK. I am also finalizing the contract with the same company for remote part-time work (20 hours/week) during my final academic year (around 9 months o…

No, unfortunately. For employment to count toward the year of qualifying employment for L-1 purposes, it needs to be full-time and the individual needs to be employed as an employee not as an independent contractor.

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

#273

Post by calvinbhai »

proberts wrote: post #257
calvinbhai wrote: post #248

I've used up all 6 yrs on H1b (including recapture) and currently transitioning to F1, I'm exploring the O-1 visa. I'm an Indian citizen, born in India. Question 1: Can I qualify for an O-1 visa if I'm part of a company as a co-founder/CXO that's been accepted in Y-Combinator or similar programs? (does that satisfy the "attained membership in associations that require outstanding achievements....."?) Question 2: In t…

Regarding your first question, acceptance into YC definitely carries a lot of weight and can go a long way toward supporting an O-1 petition. Regarding your second question, as long as you are not receiving any value for your work (with value not being limited to cash compensation), then I see no issue with your release of a free app to help others.

Follow up question based on "value not being limited to cash compensation"

So it'll work well until getting accepted into a program like ycombinator, but I'll have to explore the O-1 visa options after getting accepted? Thanks.

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

#274

Post by proberts »

amingilani wrote: post #267

I'm currently in the process of gaining recommendations for my EB2-NIW visa. Would you have any advice for the recommendation? Also I made a web app to make it easier for people to write recommendation letters for me[1]. If anyone here has critique, I would greatly apprecate HN PLEASE DON'T POST IT, I PLAN ON MAKING A SHOW HN NEXT WEEK. But you're welcome to recommend me and share the fact that you recommended me via…

Without knowing more about your background and the basis of the application, it's impossible to say but for NIW GC applications to be successful, the applicant needs to show a history of achievement as well as future employment in service of the national interest.

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

#275

Post by proberts »

calvinbhai wrote: post #273
proberts wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first question, acceptance into YC definitely carries a lot of weight and can go a long way toward supporting an O-1 petition. Regarding your second question, as long as you are not receiving any value for your work (with value not being limited to cash compensation), then I see no issue with your release of a free app to help others.

Follow up question based on "value not being limited to cash compensation" So it'll work well until getting accepted into a program like ycombinator, but I'll have to explore the O-1 visa options after getting accepted? Thanks.

It's a bit more nuanced than that, meaning that a work visa isn't necessarily required.

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

#276

Post by proberts »

gcdvl wrote: post #270
proberts wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regarding your first question, you should consult a tax accountant but the short answer is that the penalty provision doesn't apply unless and until you have been a permanent resident for at least 8 years. Regarding your second question, this can be a real issue and one option is to hire an attorney for the sole purpose of having your green card delivered to him or her. Whoever this is should charge you next to nothi…

Thank you for your answer. I had read about the 8 year rule but was afraid that there might be any other condition (like making more than ~ 100K in one year) Regarding the address, I didn't know hiring an attorney was possible for that because I keep reading that the address must be a residential address. It's ridiculous that this can't be updated after one lands, but such is life and bureaucracy. I still have a few…

The mis-delivery of green cards and work cards isn't uncommon and can really mess up the process so it's better to be conservative.

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

#278

Post by proberts »

vira28 wrote: post #192
proberts wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is legal but you just can't be compensated for services rendered to the startup unless you have work authorization to do so.

Thanks Peter. So, to get the work authorization I need to apply for a H1B Concurrent visa. Correct me If I am wrong.

That's right.

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

#279

Post by cltxp »

Two questions; thanks for the AMA!

- Does Premium Processing I-140 actually decrease the total time to green card for concurrently filed cases? (i.e. does USCIS really do work on 485 even before 140 is fully adjudicated?)

- How early would it be "safe" to quit job and start a tech startup after green card is issued for a software engineer at a bigco?

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

#280

Post by user-on1 »

proberts wrote: post #254
codingbear wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the same question as well.

That's right, in the H-1B context, there needs to be an employer-employee relationship between the petitioning company and the sponsored worker and this (in the eyes of USCIS) ultimately means the ability of the petitioning company to fire the sponsored worker and otherwise control his or her employment.

So basically for a person on H1B to startup, can we take below as steps ? Please correct me if i am wrong !

1. A decide's to startup.

2. A find's 2 US citizens B & C as co-founders.

3. A gives idea to B & C and asks them to build a PRODUCT.

4. A takes 49% ownership, B & C takes 25.5 % ownership.

5. B & C finished building a MVP or SLC PRODUCT.

6. B & C apply for VC Fund.

7. B & C get X fund from Z.

8. B & C incorporate a COMPANY.

9. COMPANY sponsors H1B for A and hires A as co-founder.

10. A joins COMPANY.

11. A & B & C continue building their PRODUCT.

12. PRODUCT becomes successful.

13. A applies for STARTUP based Visa.

14. A becomes US Citizen

15. A starts COMPANY B.

Kindly tweak or update to fix any mistake in this process. I think it will be of great help to many and benefit everyone.

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