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

news.ycombinator.com

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

#221

Post by suyash »

proberts wrote: post #167
maddynator wrote: post #159

I am on H1B for last 12 years. Born in India so standing at the end of never moving line. Basically dont see when I can get 485 or green card. Is there a way for people on H1B to start a company? I don't know anyone from India or China who has done this. Reason I am picking India and China because they have the longest wait time. I have been waiting for 12 years and would guess I need to wait another couple of years…

It is possible but it's a challenge because there's a prohibition against self-employment in the H-1B context. The options are the O-1 (a high standard but self-employment isn't really an issue) or the H-1B but with cofounders so that the ownership and control are diffuse.

I thought one can't work for one's own company in O-1 just like H1B no?

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

#222

Post by Andre84 »

CyberRabbi wrote: post #210
Andre84 wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it depends. In my opinion, each case/ impact is individual while some cases might impact negatively the native american [ in reservation? born in US? or to which extent native?], others might impact them in a positive way

The existence of individual cases does not negate the fact that a systemic effect exists. What is that systemic effect?

there is certain good in diversity which comes from immigrants from different locations altogether with skills and natural resources it was a factor that allowed US to build the most powerful economy in the world. However, times change. I remember from lessons of History in the Univesity that every civilization has phases: Establishing, Prosperity, Decay. It is obvious that average impact at each of the three phases might be different. Also it might be that in the North and in the South the impact is opposite.

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

#223

Post by Andre84 »

rickmz552 wrote: post #95

Hi Peter, Thanks a lot for doing this. What are the risks for an F1 student on OPT to run an llc a the US?

What do you imply by "to run"? OPT doesnt restrict from registering llc, hoowever to work for own llc difficult buerocratic proocedures might need to be completed also refer to the answer in the post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25232444, please

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

#224

Post by Andre84 »

hozsgeek wrote: post #136
Andre84 wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

online masters doesnt grantt visa for H1B you will need a sponsor

yes but it's a master's, does that affect the decision making process is my question.

exactly. Havng a proof of skills [ e.g. as Univesity degree] will add chances over similar applicants that do not have one

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

#226

Post by phonebanshee »

sunir wrote: post #196
nrmitchi wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pardon? If you are a resident in the US, you pay taxes (whether you are a citizen or not).

This person wants to live and work from within Canada. Hence they are outside the US and do not owe US taxes.

They want to be an employee of a company in California, while living and working in Canada. This sounds like it's going to be complicated, and a blanket answer of "you don't pay US taxes" seems unlikely to be correct. They're also going to face issues like on day 1 when they walk into the office and they're going to have to go through the whole I-9 thing (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central) - waving hands and saying I'm going to live in Canada seems like it's not a solution.

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

#227

Post by jariel »

sunir wrote: post #155
jariel wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am 100% not a lawyer, so understand that. But having gotten a few TNs at the border, they've never really asked about residency. With your degree, a letter from the employer highlighting the constraints (role, salary), they ask you some questions and that's it. If you are young, the border guards might get stuffy that you make 2x their salary, I found that to be the case. The Mexican border officials I found have n…

You have to ask for a NAFTA officer. You should do your research where the NAFTA officers are and cross at those border entries at the times they are present.

The staff at the Mexican border had absolutely no idea what 'NAFTA TN Visa' was, there was no response of "We don't have a NAFTA officer on duty now, come back later or go to XYZ border crossing" it was "What are you talking about? We have no idea, go away."

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

#228

Post by phonebanshee »

Moodles wrote: post #132
sjs7007 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unrelated, but if you don't mind, how did you/your employer manage to get a EB-1A filed?

I just asked and they did it, haha. I work for a big company with a big lawyer team. I came here on an O-1 and it was basically just resubmitting all that paperwork. I was actually pretty pissed off at the time, because they just filed it super fast after I asked, without even getting my final approval on the full application. I thought the standard for EB-1 was much higher so I was worried, but it turned out fine I…

t seems like you're exactly the sort of person that both the letter and spirit of the law are supposed to help. It's not supposed to be a system just for, say, Nobel Prize winners.

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

#229

Post by CyberRabbi »

Andre84 wrote: post #222
CyberRabbi wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The existence of individual cases does not negate the fact that a systemic effect exists. What is that systemic effect?

there is certain good in diversity which comes from immigrants from different locations altogether with skills and natural resources it was a factor that allowed US to build the most powerful economy in the world. However, times change. I remember from lessons of History in the Univesity that every civilization has phases: Establishing, Prosperity, Decay. It is obvious that average impact at each of the three phases…

Are you an American politician or a practicing immigration attorney?

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

#230

Post by maddynator »

loganu wrote: post #166

You can move to an O-1 or other visa, if you want to move from H-1B employer to doing your own thing. Since you've got a priority date already, you can keep that when you move to the new company, so the wait isn't completely lost. I've helped 10ish founders go from H-1B employees to being a founder on O-1 this year, would be happy to chat through the playbook.

So do you retain priority date on O-1 that we get on H1b? can you please DM me info on how I can reach out to you for next step?
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