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

#1

Post by proberts » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:39 PM UTC

I’ll be here for the next 3 hours and then again at around 12 pm for another 3 hours. As usual, there are countless possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with but as much as possible I’d like to focus on the recently reinstated International Entrepreneur Parole Program (or IEPP). Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won’t have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll try to do the same in my answers!

Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.

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

#2

Post by obblekk » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

We’re a 5 person startup with a small amount of angel funding. One of our engineering interns is from China and we really want to convert her to full time.

What’s a good resource to learn about what that even requires, costs, and feasibility at our size?

Thanks for volunteering your time!

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

#3

Post by WrtCdEvrydy » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:43 PM UTC

I saw your AMA in Reddit years ago, what can the software engineering divisions do to help you?

I had a friend who realized that the lawyers didn't really have tooling that was perfectly sized.

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

#4

Post by adorearun » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:47 PM UTC

I am in H1B visa.Can I invest in a company as Board of Directors and use that to apply for GC?

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

#5

Post by throwawaytax31 » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:48 PM UTC

Hi Peter, this might not be directly from your ballpark, but perhaps you have thoughts on this.

I wonder what is your recent experience on SaaS businesses and tax liability? With recent changes across the globe, SaaS companies are responsible for emitting sales taxes in the country of the customer.

Do early-stage startups try to handle this on their own (using specialized accountants) and services like TaxJar, or do you see a movement to use Merchant of Record providers, who handle all taxation on the SaaS' behalf (like paddle.com)?

What are the potential liabilities for neglecting these issues for too long?

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

#6

Post by plaidfuji » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:49 PM UTC

Thanks for your time. Do you see any political movement one way or the other for opening up H1B quotas or otherwise making that process more likely to succeed in the next couple of years?

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

#7

Post by digianarchist » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:50 PM UTC

How much on average does it cost, in legal fees, to process a TN visa and an EB-2 Green Card application?

I've had two US employers now and both have promised to bring me down and then backed off because of costs (I'll be covering relocation).

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

#8

Post by proberts » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:51 PM UTC

obblekk wrote: post #2

We’re a 5 person startup with a small amount of angel funding. One of our engineering interns is from China and we really want to convert her to full time. What’s a good resource to learn about what that even requires, costs, and feasibility at our size? Thanks for volunteering your time!

To be clear, do you want her employed full time in China or the U.S.? If the latter, this was complicated before the pandemic and has become even more complicated with the ban on travel from China and other countries. But, depending on the intern's background, the standard options are the H-1B, L-1, and the O-1 as well as the J-1 but the J-1 is for trainees and interns and is generally limited to 12 or 18 months. The USCIS and State Department websites actually provide pretty good - albeit general - descriptions of the work visa options.

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

#9

Post by gmanis » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

Hi Peter,

Thank you for doing this. I asked this question earlier but missed seeing your reply so I’ll state it again.

Can someone who has some unused time on H1B from long time ago, use it if they have a job offer from a US tech company and is presently outside the US?

It’s been 11 years since last present in US and the visa was approved a year earlier I believe.

Thank you.

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

#10

Post by proberts » Sat, Jun 19, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

plaidfuji wrote: post #6

Thanks for your time. Do you see any political movement one way or the other for opening up H1B quotas or otherwise making that process more likely to succeed in the next couple of years?

That's a great question. I don't know if the political numbers are there but this is definitely something that is being pushed.