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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

#71

What's your take on the widespread abuse of H1B visas by large tech firms? How could the H1B program be adjusted to protect both the visa holder and the American worker?

We don't represent large tech firms; our focus is on mid-size companies and startups and honestly I don't see abuse with these companies. What specfic abuses are you referring to?

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

#74

US citizen here. How do I escape the dystopian hellscape that California and its politically connected tech companies are turning the US into? Lists of entrepreneur and investment visa countries with stable and less evil governments would be appreciated.

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

#75

Hi Peter, I'm a Canadian student. I recently received a summer internship offer starting in May 2020, however I would like to enter the U.S. in January. (1) Could entering the U.S. while the J1 application is being processed (in January) cause issues (e.g. due to an updated I-94 for instance)? (2) Could I get the J1 visa to start in January so I don’t need to return to the border come May 2020? Thanks Edit: grammar &…

I would need to know a lot more to be able to answer these questions. Please email me separately.

Will do. Thanks for taking the time!

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

#76
Hi Peter, I'm in the UK and have an approved I-140 (EB2 NIW). I'm waiting for IVP but due to COVID19 and the various visa bans, the London Embassy is apparently only scheduling interviews based on National Interest Exception grounds. I'm co-founder of a new startup in my research field (same basis as NIW, cloud computing), looking to move to the US to register the company, raise a seed round and hire. Do you think that NIW could provide grounds for a National Interest Exception?

Thank you!

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

#77
Hi Peter,

- Are J1s being issued for software engineering interns for next summer? I thought these were paused, but not sure what the latest is.

- Would it cause problems if an H1B holder relocates to a different US state (one where the sponsor company doesn't have an office), but keeps working remotely for the same company?

Thank you.

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

#78

Peter -- what's your take on the various COVID-related presidential proclamations vis-a-vis the incoming presidential administration? Is Biden likely to unwind these immediately, or not? Second, is there anything in the whisper network about how forthcoming US embassies have been with National Interest Exceptions for the above. There is basically no information available online about what categories of people can get…

My sense is that the travel bans and bans on the issuance of H-1B and L-1 visas will go away soon after Biden takes office (although they might be replaced by quarantine requirements in the US). Regarding the NIEs, I agree, the process is very frustrating because the information is hard to come by and varies from Consulate to Consulate but based on my experience, NIEs to the ban on travel have been freely granted if one is returning to the same company and position in the US.

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

#80

US citizen here. How do I escape the dystopian hellscape that California and its politically connected tech companies are turning the US into? Lists of entrepreneur and investment visa countries with stable and less evil governments would be appreciated.

Your welcome in the Netherlands 🇳🇱: https://ind.nl/en/work/working_in_the_Netherlands/Pages/Star...
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