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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
211–220 of 318 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#212I 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?
Surely you should ask that to your Congressman, not a lawyer...
But if you are here on an H1B you don't actually have a congressman. The US citizens you are competing against do. And this is why the system works the way it does.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#213Hope I'm not too late, thank you for doing this AMA!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the 50% ownership requirement of the E-2 visa, which I imagine can be restrictive when raising capital or splitting among co-founders. Can you outline generally how you advise your clients on this? For example, do you go the route of finding investors of the same nationality as the E-2 holder?
A final larger question would be does the requirement apply for the whole duration of the visa? If so, how is this tracked?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#214Hi 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.
Germany. Computer science and engineering. Lastly, I focus more on Ai and machine learning.
Thank you very much.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#215Hope I'm not too late, thank you for doing this AMA! I would love to hear your thoughts on the 50% ownership requirement of the E-2 visa, which I imagine can be restrictive when raising capital or splitting among co-founders. Can you outline generally how you advise your clients on this? For example, do you go the route of finding investors of the same nationality as the E-2 holder? A final larger question would be d…
Here, success can be an enemy of the E-2 visa if the company receives additional funding that dilutes the ownership interest below 50%. The E-2 is a great options for many founders/companies but at the outset, a contingency immigration plan should be put in place to deal with the loss of the E-2 (such as the O-1 or green card).
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#216Are there good ways for US companies to host international grad students in their internship programs? How hard is it for them? Specifically I had a conversation with a few administrators at universities in Sweden and this question came up on behalf of their students. Thanks for regularly showing up here. I went EB2NIW some years ago and still get ptsd reading these threads. Hang in there everyone struggling with imm…
“Hard” meaning specifically how many lawyer/HR hours, how long are the timelines, and are there other significant risks?
The path will depend on if these are paid or unpaid internships: if paid, then the J-1 visa is probably the best option; if unpaid, then the B-1 business visitor visa is an option. For the J-1, there's really no need for a lawyer to execute the application, just to provide advice at the outset; for the B-1, I would recommend getting legal advice and support but this won't be expensive at all.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#217This 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…
The facts will dictate which path but really an H-1B is better, it's just not an option for everyone; it's better for several reasons but primarily it's better to be in H-1B status while pursuing a green card; there are no disruptions in the ability travel during the green card process and no issues with renewing an H-1B visa during the process. Years ago, many founders with existing businesses abroad used the L-1 visa to work in the U.S. and the H-1B wasn't as difficult to get years ago. The use of the O-1 has really exploded during the past 5+ years.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#218Earlier quoted context omitted.
“Hard” meaning specifically how many lawyer/HR hours, how long are the timelines, and are there other significant risks?
The path will depend on if these are paid or unpaid internships: if paid, then the J-1 visa is probably the best option; if unpaid, then the B-1 business visitor visa is an option. For the J-1, there's really no need for a lawyer to execute the application, just to provide advice at the outset; for the B-1, I would recommend getting legal advice and support but this won't be expensive at all.
Thank you!
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#219Earlier quoted context omitted.
Surely you should ask that to your Congressman, not a lawyer...
But if you are here on an H1B you don't actually have a congressman. The US citizens you are competing against do. And this is why the system works the way it does.
If I have a green card I can donate to political candidates though. I don't know how many dollars is equivalent to one vote, that probably varies by candidate.
So H1Bs are also competing against green card holders with more political power than them, not just citizens.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#220You previously answered me that getting H1B without a degree is a thing, but one has to have their work history well documented. Could you please expand on what involves? What if the companies someone worked at no longer exist? Thanks
That makes it tougher of course but letters from former colleagues or supervisors also can do the trick along with other evidence such as offer letters, employment agreements, and pay records.
Does the same apply for TN1?