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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

#241

Post by proberts »

ashconnor wrote: post #216
rsstack wrote: post #17

Thankfully I'm personally on the other side of this already (got my green card less than a year ago). With many jobs becoming fully remote, do you think it's still possible to offer relocation to employees through L-1s, O-1s and H-1Bs? On the one hand, it's hard to claim that they truly need to be in the States, but on the other hand, it could be important for the timezones to match (and it's an amazing employee bene…

I'm in Canada and will be relocating to the United States on an L1 visa next year. I was worried that PERM cannot be filed for remote employees but that doesn't appear to be an issue. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5bddb770-63de...

When you say remote, you mean remote in the US, right, such as working from home? You definitely can be PERM sponsored as a remote employee under these circumstances.

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

#242

Post by proberts »

sg47 wrote: post #239

Why is the Lincoln Processing Center moving so slowly in processing I-485s? It's issuing roughly 80 GCs a day whereas MSC is issuing in the order of 1000s.

I know that USCIS is looking to fix this by staffing up the NSC and reallocating cases.

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

#243

Post by carfacts »

yonibot wrote: post #238

I’m a Canadian software engineer but my degree is in law (I’m a self-taught developer). Do people in my situation manage to get H1B or TN visas despite not having a technical degree? Thanks a lot!

Was in similar situation, though Australian. I got a letter from an education/certification expertly that said my past experience as dev and education (also had a BA) was equivalent to a BS. Recommend you get an attorney/Peter to help you

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

#244

Post by proberts »

applgo443 wrote: post #219

As a machine learning engineer, what's the minimum criteria for me to apply and get an O1 visa? General consensus seems to be geared at having great accomplishments but I saw people without exceptional accomplishments also get it.

A lot of people in AI/ML obtain O-1s and the standard isn't as high as the black letter regulations suggest. And it isn't so much about demonstrating great achievement as checking 3 of the O-1 boxes. So, for example, a publication in a second tier journal is really no different from a publication in Nature; they both check the publication box.

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

#245

Post by proberts »

oceliker wrote: post #212
onn_h1b1 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it possible to get a H1B in January? Because H1B is only granted in October about 6 months after you apply for it before the April deadline.

Yes, my petition was approved starting October. But I'm finishing up my F-1 this semester, and will be starting the job in Jan.

It depends on how the H-1B petition was filed. I suspect that it was filed not with a request for change of status but with a request for consular notification which means that after you get the waiver you will need to leave the US and apply for an H-1B visa at a US Consulate abroad.

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

#246

Post by proberts »

carfacts wrote: post #243
yonibot wrote: post #238

I’m a Canadian software engineer but my degree is in law (I’m a self-taught developer). Do people in my situation manage to get H1B or TN visas despite not having a technical degree? Thanks a lot!

Was in similar situation, though Australian. I got a letter from an education/certification expertly that said my past experience as dev and education (also had a BA) was equivalent to a BS. Recommend you get an attorney/Peter to help you

A bachelor's degree in a related field based on an evaluation of education and experience can work in the H-1B context but is not acceptable in the TN context where a bachelor's degree is required.

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

#248

Post by satya71 »

proberts wrote: post #193
satya71 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand there’s no pathway from E2 to Green Card. E2 visa holder will need to get extensions every two years. It is a great option, but there are a few downsides.

Actually, that's not correct. There's no connection between underlying status and green card options. The connection is coincidental, not causal. An E-2 can apply for a green card. He or she just will be grounded for a period of time while the green card application is pending.

Thanks for the clarification.

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

#249

Post by proberts »

safog wrote: post #106
proberts wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would love to know more if you have pointers as well. I always assumed it was a no-go and released a few apps for free over the years.

We would need to talk but I evaluate this question - what can I do on the side - by looking at the extremes first to set the parameters. So, for example, ideating or building a product in your garage is clearly fine and getting paid cash for selling something that you created is clearly not. But in between these two extremes there are gray areas. So, for example, is creating something and posting it publicly problematic if people start using and sharing it at no cost? That seems fine, right? What if there's a cost to using this product but the cost is simply to cover and only to cover administrative costs? And does it matter if this is all associated with an individual or with a company created by an individual? And what if this creation is only accessible and used by those outside the US? There definitely are grey areas and potential arguments to be made to allow for certain seeming work-related activities.
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