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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 proberts »

nasso_dev wrote: post #13

Hey Peter! How can a YC startup be founded in the US if none of the co-founders are US citizens? Does it mean after their batch they need to leave the country? Or are they allowed to stay in the US by the "$100k investment rule"?

If the activities of founders are limited, then it's possible to spend a significant amount of time in the U.S. as a business visitor but more often than not, a work status/visa is required and the timing of getting that must be managed so that that it's possible to remain and work in the U.S. But it's possible and done all the time. (There's no $100k investment rule by the way unless you are thinking of the E-2 investor visa, which requires a substantial investment and is another type of work visa.)

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

#42

Post by dkd903 »

csdreamer7 wrote: post #38

Hello Mr Roberts, How much do you agreed with the internet sentiment that HB-1 visas are exploitive? What rights or recourse do HB-1 holders have that they are not aware of? I am an American citizen, but I do notice quite a few jobs filled by HB-1 that could have been filled by Americans but many Americans do not stay in because of low pay or poor career advancement.

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

#43

Post by proberts »

frankfrank13 wrote: post #6

Hey Peter, whats your checklist or just intuition for when a company is ready to support H1B visas? Is there some clear point between seed-round/current-YC-batch and public-mega-corp?

The bar is low. It's presumed that the sponsoring company will be able to pay the sponsored H-1B worker so the focus actually isn't on funding but the existence of basic corporate requirements - that is, the company must be incorporated, have an FEIN, have physical commercially zoned office space, and be authorized to do business where it operates. So, the long and short of it is that new small companies can sponsor H-1B workers.

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

#44

Post by proberts »

Exorust wrote: post #4

Hey Peter, How can F1 students start their own startup and how does that affect their visa? What needs to be done later as well?

While they are in school? That's tough and the student has to be very careful not to cross any lines. CPT and pre-completion OPT sometimes work but there are significant restrictions and conditions that must be met. Oftentimes, the solution is to take a leave of absence and switch to a work via (if possible and it oftentimes isn't).

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

#47

Post by proberts »

csdreamer7 wrote: post #38

Hello Mr Roberts, How much do you agreed with the internet sentiment that HB-1 visas are exploitive? What rights or recourse do HB-1 holders have that they are not aware of? I am an American citizen, but I do notice quite a few jobs filled by HB-1 that could have been filled by Americans but many Americans do not stay in because of low pay or poor career advancement.

The H-1B program is supposed to protect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers (but it's debatable whether it does either) but there's no labor market test requirement to employ an H-1B workers.

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

#48

Post by jbn »

US citizen here. I have a special situation which I think will be only of interest to me...

My wife (a green card holder) and I have moved abroad and her travel document is expiring soon (in July). We have no returned to the US in the past 3 years, and were not planning to visit only for the purpose of resetting the counter..

We are planning to actually fly into the US for a vacation right after the expiry date... what if anything can be done to renew or extend the travel document (a.k.a re-entry permit)? Of course we are in good standing with respect to US taxation.

Else, can she apply for an ESTA (country of citizenship is part of the visa waiver program for tourists), which I believe be done up to 3 days before travel (is it ok to apply right at the deadline when the permit is about to expire but just so we travel 1 or 2 days immediately after expiry) ?

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

#49

Post by proberts »

ryandrake wrote: post #34
proberts wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not so much an immigration question but be careful about incorporating and creating products while currently employed because your current employer might have a claim over your IP. If the question is when can I/should I incorporate without crossing any immigration line and when should I get a work authorization through this company, then the act of incorporating isn't the issue, the question is whether your ac…

(Not a lawyer) I remember being told a rule of thumb that you should be a separate legal entity before "first contact" with a customer because that's generally where most of the risk of legal liability starts ramping up.

That's one approach and a defensible one but I think that might hamstring efforts to build a company to the point where sponsorship is an option. Another approach is providing services or products for a fee. But this is really a grey area and risks must be managed against the ability to be an entrepreneur and create valuable business and technology.

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

#50

Post by proberts »

jbn wrote: post #48

US citizen here. I have a special situation which I think will be only of interest to me... My wife (a green card holder) and I have moved abroad and her travel document is expiring soon (in July). We have no returned to the US in the past 3 years, and were not planning to visit only for the purpose of resetting the counter.. We are planning to actually fly into the US for a vacation right after the expiry date... wh…

Good questions and a not-uncommon situation. This is very specific to your situation so please email me.
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