Earlier quoted context omitted.
On an EB2 people like me have decades of wait time to get my GC. I think a sustainable way is to have professors and universities collaborate with H1B employees directly, to allow for them to publish papers and get in via the EB1 route. It won't work for every one, but could work for some and improve their situation and free up the Eb2/3 queues. We already have grants from the industry to universities to do research.…
Isn't the long wait due to the arbitrary cap of something like 50K GC/country/year. Seems like Congress should just fix that as part of comprehensive immigration reform.
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
181–190 of 273 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#182Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cultural differences are not necessarily bad, and people can adapt and learn how to work together over time. You cannot change timezone differences no matter what you do.
In my experience, cultural differences can be way worse than the timezone differences. There are true, critical cultural differences between the US and say the middle east, or asia. In some cultures it is really bad to ask questions when something is unclear, it is really bad to take any sort of initiatives, it is really bad to push back on unreasonable requirements. To me this is the true reason massive out-sourcing…
Still, some people will be offended by this. Are there exceptions? Absolutely. Is this a common pattern and generalization? Yes.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#183Hi Peter, thanks for doing this again. I'm a startup founder from India who'd love to learn more about how to gain access to US capital markets and startup ecosystem. (e.g. Annual VC deal volume in US is typically 25x that of India). I'd love to know what you think are some practical ways of going about this, any common gotchas etc.: 1. Opening a delaware c corp via stripe atlas, any common mistakes you've seen? 2. F…
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#184Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#185Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#186I am a regular Software Engineer at a FAANG company. I have a Bachelor's degree in CS and no papers or patents. What's a reliable route for me to file a successful EB-1 application? What kind of hackathons I can judge/other industry events can I speak at/be in the press to satisfy the requirements of EB-1? How can I get those opportunities?
I am a PhD dropout but as a startup founder i was able to get an EB1 in the business category (not technology/science which is the common route, even though i was CTO and had a couple papers). Something for founders or senior business leaders to consider.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#187Hi Peter, Thanks for this AMA. I have an L1 visa but was out of country and couldn't return and lost my job in April. Now I am being offered the same job again in January 2021. 1. Can I re-enter the US in January 2021? (my visa doesn't expire till later that year and I plan to file an extension). 2. Can my company file a greencard application on my behalf as soon as I enter the US? (I have asked for it as a part of m…
Not a lawyer but having been there... please do this. That goes for anyone else reading this as well. There isn't really a waiting period as far as I am aware. Companies take their sweet time because there's no incentive to do otherwise.
Even if you are not from the two backlogged countries, a successful application will most likely take years to complete. In the mean time, you would be dealing with the stress of the concurrent L1 or H1 extensions, which have become much harder lately, are RFE-prone and sometimes you get crappy 1 year extensions.
Another thing to note, specifically for L1: you need to prove you have company-specific skills that can't be found elsewhere, which is why they need to transfer you. That's different from H1, where you need to prove you have skills that can't be easily found in the workforce, but they don't need any company-specific knowledge.
But, for the PERM process, you have to prove that you have skills that are difficult to find in the broader US labor pool - and generally, that you had those skills before you were employed by the company (because, if you didn't have them, it means that they could hire a US worker without those skills and train them, just as they have 'trained' you). In fact, they will ask how long would it take to train a worker on your 'skill' level.
So you can see how the two skill sets (for L1 and PERM) don't overlap and how complicated the application can get. Another reason why you should start early.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#188I am a regular Software Engineer at a FAANG company. I have a Bachelor's degree in CS and no papers or patents. What's a reliable route for me to file a successful EB-1 application? What kind of hackathons I can judge/other industry events can I speak at/be in the press to satisfy the requirements of EB-1? How can I get those opportunities?
(I can't publish, as most of my work would be viewed by my employer as trade secrets).
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#189Hi 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…
Greencard for a wife should not be an issue. Tip for the pro: if you don't have a middle name, write N/A and not "none". Source: me. I became Michael N. Familyname
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#190Hi Peter, Immigration being one the most convoluted laws to declutter, really appreciate you taking out time to answer some of our questions. What would be the best way for someone holding a H1B visa to startup in USA? what are the legal complications one must be aware of? Does partnering with American citizen make it easier? Also, being a software engineer does the current employer have claim on your idea even if it…
Best way would be to get a green card or change to another visa. H1B won't let you do this.