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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

Hi Peter, I have a master's degree what is the best way to get a Visum in the US? How easy is it to use this higher degree to get a green card? Any experience or advice you give is, very much appreciated

That's going to depend on a lot of factors, such as your country of birth and citizenship, your area of expertise, your experience and achievements, etc. It's really hard to advise in general.

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

#182
This is more of a historical question. I have a green card now so this is not currently relevant to me.

I wonder about the use of H1B vs O1 in academia. When I was doing postdocs in the US, I was often told that O1 was not the best route and H1B was easier (edit: for permanent positions). I learned from older colleagues that O1 was actually more frequent in their time (probably in the 90s). This is hearsay, of course, but I heard it often enough that seems somewhat accurate. What changed and could the H1B vs O1 balance change in the future?

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

#183

Hello Mr. Roberts. Thanks for taking questions. I am currently on F-1 visa with about 1 year of STEM OPT left. I am looking into applying to Startups and only join if they are open to start EB-2 process right away. Is this something the startups will entertain or accept?

They oftentimes will support EB2/NIW filings in my experience but to be clear, because of the green card backlogs, almost certainly an EB2 filing won't allow you to stay past your STEM OPT; you will need another basis to live and work in the U.S.

Thank you! I am not from a country with EB2 backlog. What do I/they need to obtain(such as Perm certification) in the EB2 application process for me to continue working past STEM OTP EAD expiration date?

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

#184

Hi Peter! I am a EU citizen with a pending I-130 to relocate to my wife to the U.S. We've been waiting for more than 7 months with no response. In the meantime I acquired a job at a U.S.-based company, although that is without visa sponsorship and I am employed through an employer of record in my country. Yet, I am wondering if there's any way how my employment might help to speed up the process, given that the compa…

Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?

My wife is a U.S. citizen. I am EU citizen. I am currently in Europe, while my wife is in the U.S.

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

#185

This is more of a historical question. I have a green card now so this is not currently relevant to me. I wonder about the use of H1B vs O1 in academia. When I was doing postdocs in the US, I was often told that O1 was not the best route and H1B was easier (edit: for permanent positions). I learned from older colleagues that O1 was actually more frequent in their time (probably in the 90s). This is hearsay, of course…

FWIW, my pathway was: F1, TN1, J1, H1B, green card over a period of 19.5 years... I'm thinking that wasn't optimal :-)

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

#187
post #163

I have a lot of friends at work that have H1B visas. They try to get green cards but the process drags out often for more than a decade. Why is it so hard for people who want to be here, and who have well paying jobs, to get green cards?

I recall hearing that the wait time for green card approval depends on the home country of the applicant. There were a lot of applicants from India when I talked with people who were getting a green card. So the wait for an Indian applicant was much longer than, say, an applicant from Canada.

Not sure what the wait times are now, but I doubt the USA has caught up on the Indian wait list, esp. during/after the pandemic.

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

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They oftentimes will support EB2/NIW filings in my experience but to be clear, because of the green card backlogs, almost certainly an EB2 filing won't allow you to stay past your STEM OPT; you will need another basis to live and work in the U.S.

Thank you! I am not from a country with EB2 backlog. What do I/they need to obtain(such as Perm certification) in the EB2 application process for me to continue working past STEM OTP EAD expiration date?

Every country is backlogged. At best, you are less backlogged than others.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/v...

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-pr...

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

#190
post #147

When a USA citizen meets abroad and wants to marry a non-USA citizen, with the intention of the non-USA citizen pursuing permanent residence in the USA, does it have any effect on the process which country they get married in? I've heard this and similar concerns from employees of multinationals who meet someone while at an overseas branch. They want to do what they can to avoid snags.

I was in this boat back in 2017, and a lawyer working with my FAANG company advised me off the record that our best bet was to visit the USA, and suddenly have a surge of loving feelings and spontaneously get married in a tiny impromptu ceremony. Then apply for a change of status while in the USA.

I probably should have listened to her.. I did it the "right" way since I wanted to quit that job anyway. Got married abroad and filed an I-130. It took like 18 months to get it, it was nuts. I'm a native-born US citizen and my wife is from Japan, no criminal records or anything, and I was making 3-5x the national median household income this whole time, so it's not like there was anything tricky about our case.

I'd recommend you just talk to a lawyer. I hired a lawyer for our case, and it was about $3k total. It would've been entirely doable without the lawyer's help, but it was easier that way and I helped fund her charity work where she helps refugees and domestic abuse victims.

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