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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

#51

Post by proberts »

srtanzim wrote: post #43

Hey Peter, I am the Co-founder and CEO of an early stage start-up incorporated in Delaware. I am originally from Bangladesh and have just closed our pre-seed round of $300k from an investor in the United States. Which of the following options would be the best for me? 1. International Entrepreneur Parole: Raised >$250k so should be eligible. 2. O1: By my understanding, I meet the following criteria: Award- $300k USD…

The IEP seems like the best option and a good one. The E-2 would require investments by you and/or other Bangladesh citizens into the US company and then expenditures by the US company. Based on the information provided, I would put the O-1 odds at less than 50%.

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

#52

Post by philipkiely »

proberts wrote: post #42
philipkiely wrote: post #40

Hi Peter, Taking a look at the IEPP webpage, I saw some vagueness that is common when looking at entrepreneurship visa programs in the US and elsewhere, for example: "The start-up entity has received a significant investment of capital from certain qualified U.S. investors with established records of successful investments;" In this context, what is "significant investment?" 100K? 1M? 10M? In this context, what is a…

These terms are actually defined in the regulations.

Ok cool, for others reading I found it:

Substantial Investment is $250K of funding or $100K of grants (Just YC funding would not be enough to qualify on funding)

The qualified investor must be a US person or entity who regularly makes this type of investment, has invested $600K in the past 5 years, and their investments have created 5 qualified jobs in the US. So it looks like most VCs and some larger angels would qualify.

Edit: source: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-9...

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

#53

Post by proberts »

zamalek wrote: post #50

Thank you so much for sharing your time with immigrants - hopefully there are more clear skies going forward for us. I'm currently looking at expediting my EAD (spousal) by means of a job offer. I've done a good amount of research, but would love to know if you've seen anything improve the odds of EAD expedite. Have a great weekend!

It really depends on what you would be doing since most people need the O-1 to work so that alone can't be the basis to expedite. I've seen expedite requests for teachers and government workers get approved as well as those involved in vaccine development and COVID treatment. But the vast majority of expedite requests are denied unfortunately.

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

#55

Post by proberts »

srtanzim wrote: post #47

Hey Peter, D you happen to know how long the processing time for IEPP might be?

That's the big unknown. No doubt USCIS will be flooded with applications in the coming months and hopefully sufficient resources have been or will be allocated to their processing. But this just a wait and see right now.

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

#56

Post by proberts »

throwaway902100 wrote: post #54

Hey Peter, after a deportation for visa overstay on B-2 (6 months allowed-canada, 3 months over) - is there any recourse? Does I-212 ever work?

Yes, 212 often works particularly after a lapse of some time.

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

#57

Post by proberts »

philipkiely wrote: post #52
proberts wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These terms are actually defined in the regulations.

Ok cool, for others reading I found it: Substantial Investment is $250K of funding or $100K of grants (Just YC funding would not be enough to qualify on funding) The qualified investor must be a US person or entity who regularly makes this type of investment, has invested $600K in the past 5 years, and their investments have created 5 qualified jobs in the US. So it looks like most VCs and some larger angels would qu…

Thanks for providing! I would recommend that everyone interested in the IEPP read the form instructions on the USCIS web site. The form is 941. While they do not answer every question, they do provide a lot of good and clear information about the requirements.

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

#58

Post by throwaway902100 »

proberts wrote: post #56
throwaway902100 wrote: post #54

Hey Peter, after a deportation for visa overstay on B-2 (6 months allowed-canada, 3 months over) - is there any recourse? Does I-212 ever work?

Yes, 212 often works particularly after a lapse of some time.

Thank you Peter.

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

#59

Post by proberts »

paulgb wrote: post #46
proberts wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's right, sometimes where clear USCIS error is involved, USCIS will expedite the processing of an I-131.

That's good to know. Is it something I should get a lawyer for, or is it fairly straightforward to submit one?

I don't think you need a lawyer for this. Just make sure to be clear about what happened.

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

#60

Post by j1_h1b »

Hello Peter, thanks for doing this. Supposed someone has been on a J1 visa for last couple of years and had changed it from student scholar to research scholar (moving the 2 year timeline to 5 year timeline). In the midst of pandemic he/she had to move back to India to care for my parents and got my J1 expired.

Now can they go back to US on a J1 visa, is it possible ? Can they apply for H1b non exempt positions (those which aren't subjected to lottery) instead and if not. What would be the best course of action generally do to ensure they get some kind of working visa in US assuming they have B1/B2 visiting visa.

Thanks in advance.

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