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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

#181

Post by Trias11 »

paxys wrote: post #180
Trias11 wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

US Citizenship is essentially an IRS trap. She'll be forced to pay taxes on her worldwide income for life, regardless of where she lives. I'd think twice. She can have all the benefits with just a green card for next 7-8 yrs.

Citizenship has nothing to do with it. You are still taxed on worldwide income if you are a permanent resident or in many cases even if you are here on a work visa.

But if she can find a great business or financial opportunity overseas or built successful online business - she can leave USA, return GC and escape the IRS tax racket.

Not so fast if she's citizen. Think twice.

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

#183

Post by paxys »

proberts wrote: post #29
throwaway-09221 wrote: post #22

Hey Peter! Thank you tons for your contributions here! I'm an Indian in the US on an H1B visa and working in software. I've also made a product for fun on weekends (which my company knows about and approves of). I was thinking of opening access to it for the world, but as it'll involve substantial costs on (cloud) infrastructure, I'll have to ask people to pay for usage on it. I don't plan to profit from this in any…

It is a gray area but I don't see any issue if you release it for free. Getting paid, even if to cover your expenses, is more problematic, however. I wouldn't say it's a complete non-starter but it would have to be structured very carefully and properly to avoid crossing any lines.

Every attorney I have spoken to in the past has said that something like this is a clear and obvious violation of H-1B visa terms, so I'm curious what the "gray area" you are referring to is.

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

#185

Post by onn_h1b1 »

1. When talking to a US startup or US company, how do you ease in and tell the recruiter or the HR about the H1B1 which is easy and totally different from the onerous H1B?

Because most of them have never heard of the H1B1 and many of them get scared when they hear H1B1 because they mistakenly think it is H1B.

2. How cheap and quick is it to get a new H1B1? In dollars and in days.

You are overseas right now and not in the US.

3. What signs can you use to predict which YC companies can support visa?

By their employee count, funding amount, founder origin?

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

#187

Post by proberts »

yibg wrote: post #163
proberts wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unbelievably popular. Based on my own limited experience, we've seen a lot of entrepreneurs return to Canada and operate their US business from Canada and come to the US as needed or simply decide in the first instance to base their company in Canada rather than the US. This all might change, however, as the pandemic continues to get under control.

Are there any tax implications with this type of setup? e.g. equity granted in the US, but then perhaps eventually vest and get exercised in Canada.

That I don't know. You would need to consult with a corporate/tax accountant or lawyer.

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

#188

Post by victorhn »

I am currently working on a TN2 visa (Mexican citizen), my company wants to sponsor me my H1B and then, if i got it, sponsor my GC. I heard that there is a route where you can go from TN2 visa directly to GC, but that the process is risky if not handled carefully. What is your view on this?

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

#190

Post by proberts »

vasili111 wrote: post #3

Stay with b1b2 visa was extended by US government and total stay in US is 8 months. When person leaves to home country after how much time he can return to US with same visa?

Yes but he or she needs to be very careful because he or she likely will be scrutinized and questioned aggressively by CBP when traveling back to the US.
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