Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

251–260 of 409 posts

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

#251

Post by proberts »

gottorf wrote: post #117
proberts wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> The rule of thumb is that 3 years of professional experience is the equivalent of 1 year of college education. I know you don't make the rules, but on the surface it would seem that these numbers are switched around ;-)

You're probably right!

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

#252

Post by arcticbull »

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…

If you want to 'snowbird' like that without waiting for (or ever planning to get) citizenship, you can apply for an I-327 Re-Entry Permit. [1]

You can apply with form I-131 and like $575.

While it can take 3-12 months to process, if you apply more than 60 days before travel and complete your biometrics appointment, you can leave and pick it up at a foreign embassy or consulate. This helps you avoid the presumption that you abandoned your US residency.

[1] https://rjimmigrationlaw.com/resources/what-is-a-re-entry-pe...

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

#253

Post by morpheuskafka »

Laaas wrote: post #96
morpheuskafka wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is not currently any specific "pathway to citizenship" designed for people who are currently in the country illegally. They would have to qualify for a green card on the same basis as anyone else, then apply for citizenship after that. However, they often are not eligible to do so because of their illegal prescence. If one has been in the US illegally, as an adult, for more than 180 days, they have a three-year…

The child rule makes no sense to me. What was the motivation?

I'm almost certain that the reason is to prevent people from entering the US as a visitor when pregnant, having a child, and then immediately being able to have the one-day old child petition for the parents. Or having a child while facing removal proceedings. As it stands currently, the child still becomes a citizen immediately, but cannot petition the parents until they are an adult.

If the rule stays, then US citizen children can be left with no adults in their life legally able to raise them in the US. On the other hand, if having a child in the US becomes an automatic ticket to citizenship, there will be a significant increase in children being born for this reason only that may be neglected, and people who want to overstay and are willing to have a child are basically guaranteed the ability to do so.

Another side effect if removed would be that the US border folks may be unwilling to admit pregnant visitors even with very legitimate reasons, because they know there is nothing to stop them from obtaining a green card if desired.

edit to clarify: even without this rule, you have to have entered legally, so just illegally crossing and immediately having a child wouldn't work--you would have to enter as a tourist or otherwise.

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

#254

Post by proberts »

returningfory2 wrote: post #167
HDMI_Cable wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What changes specifically? I'm lucky in that I am American, and honestly have never had to deal with immigration, so know nothing about it. Do immigration procedures become harder/easier to navigate? Are quotas (if there are quotas) reduced?

I'll give you some concrete examples: - During the Trump administration, the number of RFEs (request for evidence, often step 1 of denying a petition) for H-1B petitions increased significantly. I'm reading that 40% of H1Bs were RFEd in fiscal year 2019 under Trump, versus 16% under Biden in 2021 [1]. I was personally affected by this: both of my H-1B petitions were RFE'd under Trump (I have a math PhD from a top 20…

Another very concrete example, during the Trump administration, USCIS revoked it's long standing policy of giving deference to previously approved H-1B petitions when adjudicating extension petitions with the same employer. This was a significant reason for the above-referenced explosion in RFEs. Soon after Biden took office, USCIS reinstated the policy and RFEs dropped significantly.

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

#255

Post by proberts »

tiredofspam_k wrote: post #191
proberts wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Without knowing all the facts, no; another U.S. company could sponsor you for an H-1B after your current H-1B expires without having to put your name through the H-1B lottery again.

Thank you for answering! I do have a clarification question though. Will I have to go through the lottery again in case I try before my H1B expires?

No.

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

#256

Post by ShivTheShiv »

Laaas wrote: post #96
morpheuskafka wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is not currently any specific "pathway to citizenship" designed for people who are currently in the country illegally. They would have to qualify for a green card on the same basis as anyone else, then apply for citizenship after that. However, they often are not eligible to do so because of their illegal prescence. If one has been in the US illegally, as an adult, for more than 180 days, they have a three-year…

The child rule makes no sense to me. What was the motivation?

They want to discourage birth tourism and “anchor babies”

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

#258

Post by proberts »

longtree wrote: post #201

HI! I am a US citizen living abroad and want to apply for US citizenship for my 1 year old son through the grandfather clause. I understand that after filling the N-600K we will need to go for an interview in the US. We will need to apply for a visa for my son and my wife will come too. She is not a citizen and requires a visa too. 1. The grandfather does not have to come to the interview, correct? 2. We want to come…

Very interesting but very case-specific questions which are hard to answer in writing unfortunately.

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

#259

Post by proberts »

maestrae wrote: post #139

I'm currently on an H1-B and I'm considering exploring a startup idea. My research suggests that I could do a concurrent H1-B but what I'm not so sure about is the prevailing wage. Is it possible to get a concurrent H1-B for say 5 hours a week so that I can actually afford to pay myself as the govt. requires?

Yes, a concurrent part-time H-1B can be for as little as 5 hours per week. But there's the issue of getting it, since founder H-1Bs can be challenging.

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

#260

Post by proberts »

raulpegan wrote: post #135
proberts wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally it's very easy to port an I-485 application after the I-140 has been approved and I-485 has been pending for more than 6 months. The primary requirement is that the new job in the same or similar occupation as the previous job and that the new company is a real company with the ability to pay employee. But the job location, job salary, job level can all be different.

Thank you for the response!! How specific is “same or similar”? Say, going from front end web dev to machine learning. Or going from VLSI to full stack web dev. All very similar in that they’re software development heavy, but do have significant differences in the actual field.

Similar within the field of software engineering or software development or even more broadly than that so I see no issue with the examples above.
Post reply on HN