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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

#151

Post by proberts »

arunpn123 wrote: post #141

What are things I could do to improve my resume for EB1 category Greencard in the next year or so? I am currently on H1B working as a SWE at a top Silicon valley company (think Google/FB). I have a Master's degree in CS from a top US university and have a couple of years work experience. According to the company attorney, I qualify only for the EB2 category. Unfortunately, the EB2 queue is extremely long since I am f…

I would need to explore your background further but some options are to do journal/conference review work (this is more available than many people realize) or try to obtain a higher level of membership at IEEE, for example, or other similar organizations.

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

#153

Post by shafyy »

shafyy wrote: post #75
princekolt wrote: post #46

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!

If you are setting up a business for operations, meeting potential partners, attending events or doing market research, you should be fine. As long as you are not employed by your own company. That's the whole point of the B1 visa. Am I right, Peter? :P

To the person who downvoted this. Why?

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

#154

Post by te_chris »

nawgszy wrote: post #143
proberts wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That could be viewed as self-employment which is prohibited and regarding how you get paid, you should contact a U.S. tax accountant because my understanding is that you still would be subject to the payment of U.S. taxes.

Thanks for your time. That's interesting. I guess this might be a little more nuanced than I thought. So, despite the fact that the company would be a Canadian entity, I would be considered self-employed. Would a simple workaround be enough to thwart this, such as having a friend own the business, and proceed to hire me as a remote employee?

Not OP, but there's two concepts you're confusing: Residency and Tax Residency. Tax residency, for mortals, is normally where you live and work, so for you, even with the Canadian company, it'll probably be the US.

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

#155

Post by fggosselin »

In general, how safe is it to travel (to Canada) once I've received my EAD for a green card through marriage (to an American citizen). I entered the US on a TN visa. Do you know of cases where parolees have been rejected at the border upon return (assuming a short 2-3 week trip)?

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

#156

Post by silentsea90 »

Hi Peter! I hold an H1B visa and am currently employed at a startup, but got an RFE. 1) Does the increased scrutiny in h1b applications bias towards approving applications only for well known companies? 2) Unrelated question, what are the requirements if I want to open my own startup as an H1b holder? Would I need to move to another visa, does my company need to have a US citizen as a cofounder etc.

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

#157

Post by joering2 »

proberts wrote: post #148
joering2 wrote: post #121

Thank you for your time. How hard is it to overcome the Labor Certification requirement these days? For example.. if I have remote worker in Europe that worked in our custom built ERP/CMS system for a year... would my company be able to sponsor said employee on US soil, solely on the fact that they have this unique skills of knowing how to operate custom-built CMS?

Yes, a Labor Certification could work under such circumstances.

Thank you. Are there requirements on 1) how many years said contractor had to work in such system abroad prior to being eligible to apply for H1B, 2) What are Government requirements to proof a bona-fide partnership with this contractor? Will invoices from Europe suffice?

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

#158

Post by nafizh »

proberts wrote: post #123
nafizh wrote: post #114

What is the requirement in practice for a PhD student(in STEM, specifically bioinformatics, on F-1 visa) to get a green card on extraordinary abilities after they finish?

This is very case-specific so it's impossible to say but as a general rule, many PhDs, because of what it takes to get a PhD, qualify for an extraordinary ability green card. Publications, journal/conference review work, original research, etc. can support a strong application.

Can you mention a citation number for publications on average it takes for the green card to be approved? I know it's difficult to get to a number, but I am just curious to know from your experience.

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

#159

Post by hdivider »

If a non-US citizen works with a US LLC remotely, with changing responsibilities (basically as an informal partner in the firm), is there any immigration path to bring this person into the US?

[Side note: thank you for doing these repeated AMA's, Peter. You address a vital, often deeply emotional problem for countless people. Hats off to you for taking the time to de-mystify so much of this.]

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

#160

Post by dmorden »

Hi Peter,

My co-founder is a Canadian PhD on a J-1 visa. he has been in the country on the J-1 for 8 years. We incorporated as a C-Corp in June. He plans on switching to a TN eventually. I assume I cannot issue an RSPA (with vesting) or Consulting agreement without violating his J-1, but the TN I think I can. Will this work? What other issues should I be worried about?

Thanks.

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