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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

#41

Post by legolas2412 »

not-my-account wrote: post #28
proberts wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The H-1B lottery this year was riddled with fraud - so much so that USCIS will be conducting a second lottery soon - but it appears that there was no reduction in the numbers despite layoffs in certain industries.

Where is there opportunity for fraud in the H-1B system? Fake / Shell companies sponsoring workers?

Calling it fraud is stupid. They deliberately reduced the work that is required, allowing people to file applications easily and cheaply. They deliberately allow people to file multiple applications, that I have not seen a single legitimate employee file. This is all deliberate, not a loophole or fraud.

Also, it is stupid to call H1B a high-skilled visa when you hand it out via lotteries. I wonder if people consider winning powerball as a skill?

But to answer your question, many people filed 10-20 applications each through fake companies to get H1B. The H1b acceptance rate was down to 13% and more than half the applications were filed by people with multiple applications.

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

#42

Post by simonbarker87 »

UK couple, both have engineering PhDs and 10+ years experience in engineering (dev and automotive), not rich but not poor. Is there a sensible path to US immigration that doesn’t leave them in the H1B bind or always on the verge of being deported?

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

#45

Post by proberts »

PointyDog wrote: post #29
pasoevi wrote: post #11

Are there cases where someone without any university degree has been able to obtain H1B visa? E.g. by having years of experience but no degree.

This was my path, so it's possible. I dropped out after year two of my degree to join a startup and worked for 10 years in industry. I converted 8 years of that experience to 2 years of a bachelor's degree to make the full 4 required, and had a University professor provide a letter of endorsement. I was applying from Europe, and even then it was apparently a fairly expensive process for my sponsor.

Absolutely correct. The requirement is a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree or it's equivalent which can be a foreign degree or a combination of education and experience (or even just experience) evaluated to be the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree. The rule of thumb is that 3 years of professional experience is the equivalent of 1 year of college education.

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

#46

Post by proberts »

matchbox wrote: post #39
neodypsis wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is premium processing?

To get the visa application processed in two weeks, else it will take up to 4 months or so.

All correct! But with an H-1B to H-1B transfer, the filing alone allows the sponsored employee to work so sometimes there's no need for premium processing.

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

#48

Post by tehsauce »

PointyDog wrote: post #36
kecupochren wrote: post #31

How common are H1Bs for people without a degree but with 12+ years of experience? Is that a legit thing?

I replied elsewhere - but this was my (successful - now an LPR) path. My lawyer told me you need a 4 year degree equivalent, and 4 years of experience can convert to a year. If you have zero university education, that would be 16 years' experience required, based on that lawyer's legal instruction.

8 years of real experience equated to 2 years of university? That is such a shame.

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

#49

Post by Maciek416 »

neodypsis wrote: post #22
proberts wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is some range depending on the size of the U.S. workforce and whether the petition is filed with premium processing. A rough range for a company with less than 25 FTEs would be $4,000 to $5,500. For a company with at least 25 FTEs, add $750 and if the petition is filed with premium processing, add $2,500.

What is premium processing?

It's like TSA pre but for certain steps in the USCIS flow chart.

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

#50

Post by brianbreslin »

How can startups more effectively use the OPT program? (I work at a university) I see a lot of graduating international students who would love to stay in the US post graduation and work at startups but navigating that seems difficult for startups.
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