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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

#231

Post by proberts »

aabiji wrote: post #210

Hey Peter, I'm currently in high school in Canada and I know that I want to live my life in the US. Ideally I would also like to school in a US university. I also don't have any familial ties in the US. As an immigration attorney, could you map out how I could immigrate to the US, in terms of the visa I need and the process of acquiring a green card? Thank you for your time.

Hey. Probably the best way is to go to university in the U.S. on an F-1 visa. The challenge is the strict limitations on working when attending school but after you graduate, you will get 1-3 years of largely unrestricted work authorization and the TN as a work option as well. Or go to university in Canada and then when you graduate, work in the U.S. on a TN.

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

#232

Post by proberts »

winter_blue wrote: post #170

What do you think are the odds of any sort of legal[1][2] immigration reform passing Congress in the near future? [1] Whether that's raising the EB cap (or exempting one from the EB limit & allowing AOS after 2 years of waiting). [2] Delegating legal immigration control partially to the states (e.g. states being able to issue EB IVs or work NIVs beyond federal caps), since something like that might be more palatable…

Unfortunately, I don't see any significant changes and I only say that because fundamental change in U.S. immigration law, even in the best of political times, is rare.

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

#233

Post by proberts »

jewelry wrote: post #207

I'm managing a software engineering team for a medium size startup (400 engineers) and one common question is about the source income restriction of H1B employees. One example is that O'Reilly reached out to one engineer on a book deal, and it seems to be impossible to proceed considering he's on H1B. Any angle to work around it?

Good question. Separate income streams are complicated. A concurrent part-time H-1B is sometimes an option for other employment. The problem with this specific situation is that a concurrent part-time H-1B would have to be structured, at least in part, as paid employment.

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

#234

Post by alsodumb »

Hi! Thanks for doing this! I am a PhD student planning to apply for EB-1 soon (that's the only path that could work for me due to my nationality).

I am trying to understand what it takes for a successful EB-1 application and have a few questions:

1. From what I've seen, the application packet I will send would be hundreds of pages (with all the expected evidence). I am assuming the officer reviewing my application wouldn't have the time and expertise to go through all of it. What exactly would they be looking for? (in your experience) Is it the executive summary? What matters the most?

2. After the AI and LLM age, citations counts are all over the place. It's fairly common to have hundreds of citations as a grad student these days. However, if you are working in a niche area, how would you prove that your relatively low citation count is okay in your area?

3. F-1 visa is non-immigrant visa. However, I've seen many PhD students apply for EB-1 and successfully get it as a F-1 student. How exactly does that work? Would a pending/succesful EB-1 visa mean I'd never get OPT? (assuming I am waiting for my priority date).

Thanks for your time!

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

#235

Post by proberts »

neilsharma wrote: post #221

If I'm a citizen and want to sponsor my parents to get green card, do they have to spend 6 months/year in the US? Is there a way around this requirement? Life abroad is better for them so 6 months/year in the US is a lot, but having the flexibility to come and go would be nice without having to deal with visas.

The short answer is no, they do not have to spend at least 6 months a year in the U.S. We have many clients whose parents essentially live in two countries. Certain easy steps just need to be taken in advance.

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

#236

Post by proberts »

kingstoned wrote: post #200

How would a new bootstrapped startup founder maximize his or her chances of being approved for an O-1 visa? Would it be better to focus on the E-2 visa instead, where the criterion is mostly money invested?

The E-2 is a more check the box kind of visa while the O-1 is a good bit more subjective and really just tougher to get. The issue with the E-2 for new companies is that a substantial portion of the investment (a typic minimum investment is at least $100k) must be spent before the E-2 applicant/investor can apply for the E-2.

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

#237

Post by afavour »

klipt wrote: post #220
arcticbull wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't really matter which crossing, IME, you may always encounter a power-tripping officer, and officers at each kind of entry port have the same power. I've been waved through no questions asked at land crossings, pulled into secondary and interviewed by 6 officers in pairs of 2 at an air crossing - and vice versa. Ultimately, admission is at the discretion of the officers unless you're a citizen. Even a green…

> Even a green card holder can be denied re-entry on the basis that they 'abandoned their residency.' If you're actually living in the US and just taking occasional vacations abroad this is extremely unlikely. Where people get caught out is when they're trying to basically snowbird between two countries while still on a green card. In that case it's better to first serve your 6 years in the US to earn citizenship. Th…

> extremely unlikely

Very true. But the point the OP is making is that your entire fate is in the hands of a CBP officer and they are a very, very mixed bunch.

I repeat OP's advice to avoid a land crossing, I'm not sure exactly what it is but I suspect partly that land crossings have much less time pressure. I've had my car pulled over and partly taken apart looking for "anything suspicious". We were two men in our mid twenties and I think the agents were just bored, honestly.

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

#239

Post by mandeepj »

sass_saas wrote: post #193

From India! I have an I129 (Successful H1B lottery selection) with an old firm, but never got stamped an H1B in the past due to Covid. Will this affect my visa approval in the future as I am working on a startup which will be incorporated in US?

NAL! From what I know, stamping is only required if you want to leave the country (US in your case) and come back.
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