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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

#181

Post by nniky »

proberts wrote: post #158
nniky wrote: post #155

Hi Peter, thanks for your time. This year it seems there is a significant delay in H1B processing and their effective dates. As an example, I was selected in the lottery but have not heard anything from USCIS since May. Is there anything I (or people in similar situations) can do? Have you heard anything in regards to when applications should expect approval? In addition, I have heard that USCIS has been rejecting H1…

Regarding your first question, unfortunately, that's not unusual and nothing can be done other than wait. Regarding your second question, there's definitely risk associated with changing jobs before the petition is approved in the current environment but still, as a general rule, strong H-1B petitions are getting approved.

Thanks, Peter!

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

#182

Post by proberts »

lelLlL wrote: post #148

Hi Peter, I'm Canadian and had some questions about the E-2 visa :) Can I work a random job in the U.S. while holding an E-2 visa? What if I want to segue into a green card? Or another kind of visa? Will the attestation of leaving the U.S. conflict with that? Can E-2 visas be extended indefinitely with ease? (much like TNs) If I have a startup I just started, how many people can I safely bring over with the E-2 emplo…

The E-2 is a great visa and is good for 5 years initially and theoretically can be renewed indefinitely as long as the company is operating and generating some U.S. jobs. There's no legal limit on the number of E-2 employees a company can have but the company also needs to employ U.S. workers (although there's no requirement of a certain ratio).

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

#183

Post by ThrowawayUry »

Hello Peter, I'm a non-resident and non-citizen selling consultancy and development services to U.S. companies (as a contractor, filing a W8-BEN). I hold a B1/B2 visa (only used for conferences and training so far).

Are there any potential immigration issues if I do U.S. based work for a couple of months on my B1/B2 visa? Could I do that more than once in a year or would that be a red flag for immigration services?

I don't want to move to the U.S. but I do want to be able to work onsite during crunch times, pushes to production or similar events, without risking my visa.

I also want to allay fears of potential customers that I don't qualify as an employee, but that's not an immigration question I guess :)

Thank you for taking your time for answering!

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

#184

Post by suyoghc »

proberts wrote: post #104
Myrmornis wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a Brit doing PhD in USA and did exactly this (except I was on J1 for grad school), and then returned to USA for an industry position on H1B and subsequently green card and it was all fine (latter stages with help of Peter and his colleagues as it happens).

And without that kind of background, I suspect that you also would have a strong O-1 if the timing of the H-1B doesn't work.

Thanks, that's helpful to know! Do you believe an O-1 would be equally easy to obtain whether I go into academics or industry? How reluctant are companies when it comes to interviewing someone who isn't presently in the US?

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

#185

Post by proberts »

titanomachy wrote: post #168
proberts wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strangely, it seems that there will be no major changes to the TN under the new agreement.

Since you find it strange, what reforms would you have expected?

Given the open hostility to NAFTA by the current administration, I thought that the categories would have been reduced and made more onerous and restrictive.

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

#186

Post by eqdw »

Hi Peter,

I am a Canadian citizen in the US on a TN temporary non-immigrant visa. I live with a girlfriend, who is quite interested in marksmanship.

As I understand it, non-immigrant resident non-citizens are essentially barred from owning firearms. This is fine; I don't feel the need to own any. But my concern is about my girlfriend. I have heard it said from some firearms enthusiast friends of mine that, because me and my girlfriend live together, if she owns a firearm and keeps it in our house, this could be considered placing one "in my possession", which would be illegal.

First question: is this true? Does the fact that I am a non-immigrant non-citizen mean that firearms cannot be kept in my house, even if I am not the one who owns them

Second question: If this is true, are there any ways in which my girlfriend could own a firearm without myself being in violation of the law?

If it matters, we're in Texas, although I understand the relevant law to be federal.

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

#187

Post by proberts »

besiegednerd wrote: post #156

Hi Peter! Thanks for taking the time to answer immigration questions! Back in June, there were reports that CIS had formed a task force in order to identify people who lied on their citizenship applications and to denaturalize them. How often does this happen? Have you dealt with any denaturalization cases? Asking for a friend, of course. :-)

Right. This was and is really scary and seems to harken back to the days of Senator McCarthy. I haven't seen or heard this happening yet, however.

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

#188

Post by proberts »

ThrowawayUry wrote: post #183

Hello Peter, I'm a non-resident and non-citizen selling consultancy and development services to U.S. companies (as a contractor, filing a W8-BEN). I hold a B1/B2 visa (only used for conferences and training so far). Are there any potential immigration issues if I do U.S. based work for a couple of months on my B1/B2 visa? Could I do that more than once in a year or would that be a red flag for immigration services? I…

Unfortunately, that's not allowed on the B-1 visa.

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

#189

Post by lovehashbrowns »

proberts wrote: post #85
lovehashbrowns wrote: post #82

I have my DACA expiring next year in late 2019. Since it has been cancelled and can't be renewed, do I pretty much have no option but to leave the U.S. next year?

It can be renewed. There's information about this on the USCIS web site.

Wow, I had a completely different understanding of everything. Thank you for replying!

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

#190

Post by proberts »

eqdw wrote: post #186

Hi Peter, I am a Canadian citizen in the US on a TN temporary non-immigrant visa. I live with a girlfriend, who is quite interested in marksmanship. As I understand it, non-immigrant resident non-citizens are essentially barred from owning firearms. This is fine; I don't feel the need to own any. But my concern is about my girlfriend. I have heard it said from some firearms enthusiast friends of mine that, because me…

Wow. That's an interesting question and something that I've never looked into. Email me as a reminder and I'll look into.
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