Is it okay to enter the US on a B1/B2 visa in order to work on a personal project (that's funded by myself only) for a couple of months, and look for partners/investors? Thanks for the AMA!
Unfortunately, as a general rule, no.
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
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
As someone on a TN, can you expound a bit on that?
Yeah, as someone also on a TN, I'd love to hear more. I'd also love to know what the renewal process has been like for people that have been in the USA for a while (I've been here for 4 years and am looking to renew next October).
CBP (and USCIS) is just getting tougher on TNs, sometimes applying standards/requirements that don't exist, and really gives no deference anymore to the issuance of a previous TN when the TN is being "renewed."
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
But you will still be coming to the U.S. to work for the sponsoring H-1B company? If so, then you should be fine even though your employment in India has changed.
Yes. I will be working for the sponsoring company. The USCIS has not got back to me after the h1b interview(3.5 months ago). Is the scrutiny on startup employees more than multinational companies? I am the first employee of my employer to sponsor an h1b.
That's odd. You might want your employer to reach out to a Congressman's office to follow up with the Consulate. Were you given any reason at the time of your interview?
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#64Is lack of college degree an obstacle for getting a work visa? I’ve been working professionaly in web development area for 10 years but didn’t graduate.
Not necessarily because in the H-1B context, an individual can have the equivalent of a bachelor's degree based on professional experience and in the O-1 context, education in and of itself is largely irrelevant.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#65Don't know if this is the forum to ask or you have the knowledge but i'll ask anyway. Is there a reason why India alone receives more than 70% of all H1b visa (more than twice every other country combined)? Is this by design or accident? (Also I find most immigration question forums tend to be dominated/overwhelmed by Indians and their specific immigration questions) *update with relevant link: https://www.recode.net…
Here's the PDF if you want to crunch the numbers:
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Re...
This is FY 2011-2012, not sure if there are more recent PDFs.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#66[deleted]
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#67Is there an immigration path for people who incorporate in the US (LegalZoom Delaware LLC / Stripe Atlas C Corp) and do reasonably well, pay taxes, etc? If yes, what would be the route and what would be a reasonable bar?
Oftentimes founders/entrepreneurs qualify for green cards through the extraordinary ability or national interest waiver route.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#68[deleted]
That's outside my area of expertise unfortunately.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#69Don't know if this is the forum to ask or you have the knowledge but i'll ask anyway. Is there a reason why India alone receives more than 70% of all H1b visa (more than twice every other country combined)? Is this by design or accident? (Also I find most immigration question forums tend to be dominated/overwhelmed by Indians and their specific immigration questions) *update with relevant link: https://www.recode.net…
Here's the PDF if you want to crunch the numbers: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Resources/Re... This is FY 2011-2012, not sure if there are more recent PDFs.
We can go for the raw data.
https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/performancedata.cfm#...
170+ MB .xlsx. Tried doing some stuff with it on a 12 core 64 GB RAM workstation. Took way too long and LibreOffice crashed a few times.
Google Sheets doesn't want to touch it even.
Re: I’m Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#70[deleted]
Isn't there a clause that says the note isn't valid without confirmed fund transfer? I would imagine that since the other party hasn't fulfilled their duty to you then the contract is null and void.