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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

#111
post #14

I'm sure you saw the article recently about the H1B visa program requiring significantly higher pay for visa holders. How do you think this will affect current visa holders? Obviously it varies case by case but I'm hoping you'll have insight into this that I don't have. https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-announces-...

The higher prevailing wages don't impact the present wages of those currently in H-1B status; they will only apply to extensions and new filings.

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

#113
I am a software engineer at a large American software company on TN status. Previous to the pandemic, I was living and working in the Seattle area, but since March I have been working from Canada.

Due to various ties I have been maintaining (even before the pandemic) tax residency in Canada.

Are there any issues with my setup that I need to dig deeper about with a tax professional?

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

#114

I have a question about EB-2 NIW. I have a Ph.D. (Elec. Eng.) from a non-U.S. university and have lived in the U.S. on a J-2 (dependent) visa; my spouse was working as a researcher at a U.S. university. During that time, I worked (on an EAD) for a U.S.-based R&D company, serving as a principal investigator on Govt. (DoD) funded research projects. I have publications, have served as reviewer for intl. academic journal…

My friend who was on J2 had to leave the US for two years despite having his EB2-NIW i140 approved. You cannot escape the 2 year home country requirement. You can apply for i140 but you can't get the green card/immigrant visa until you satisfy it.

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

#116
post #10

Hi Peter! What is your advice on finding a good attorney in general (not just immigration one)? Thanks!

Go through an experienced attorney you trust. It's pretty easy for attorneys to find good attorneys even if outside their area of expertise.

In my case there is no "experienced attorney I trust", are there any tips you can share?

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

#117

I have a PhD from Cambridge, a degree in CS, etc. I have a great biotech startup idea and some funding secured in the EU. However, I would prefer to execute it in the US as I prefer how the startup ecosystem looks over there. Is it worth the trouble / doable in terms of immigration laws to move there and bring my cofounder and some employees?

From an immigration standpoint, it appears absolutely doable, using a combination of O-1 and E-2 (and maybe even H-1B) visas. Email me if you would like to discuss in more detail.

Thanks, much appreciated! I'll drop you an email once I'm prepared to discuss this further.

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

#119
Hi Peter,

Thanks for this AMA.

What do you think "remote SW Eng around the world" (non US citizens, non US residents and NRA - non resident aliens) COULD/SHOULD do to make the process easier to be hired from US companies or startups? (question is more oriented to legal or tax liabilities and work permissions than meet all technical requirements from job offers)

EDIT: work directly to those companies (as a contractor or, if possible and viable, as an employee - with benefits), not through intermediaries or as a SW shop (B2B deal)

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

#120
Hi Peter, I'm sponsoring my wife's green card and we're pretty type A and have filled out all the forms and gathered copious evidence of relationship, evidence of financial sufficiency, etc. But we're worried about the current political climate and are considering working with Fragomen just to de-risk. We've heard the current administration is rejecting applications for every little reason (e.g. field that should be marked n/a is left blank, etc). Do you have any advice on this? Thank you so much for what you do.
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