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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

#251

Post by jppope »

zeroc8 wrote: post #167
jppope wrote: post #143

Why is everyone super interested in moving people from another country to the United States for work? It feels like in the Software world you should be able to work anywhere where there is internet. What advantages are there for someone to get a visa, and move to the United States aside from advantages to the company? (Full disclosure, my mom is an immigrant, moving to the US obviously made sense at the time.)

Because there are still a lot more opportunities to be found than anywhere else in the world, maybe with the exception of China. And who (from a western perspective) wants to live in China?

I loved living in China actually

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

#252

Post by microtherion »

cgh wrote: post #245
tmountain wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a lawyer, but it seems unlikely that anyone would scrutinize your visit closely enough to care.

No, US immigration are notorious for exactly the opposite. See my other comment in this thread.

That's scrutiny at the border. But in 17 years of regular business visits, I've yet to see La Migra barge into my cubicle to make sure I was not programming while there.

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

#254

Post by cyberax »

pjnz wrote: post #197
crowcroft wrote: post #150

I'm from New Zealand and have been spending my late 20s going around the UK and Canada on 2 year working holiday visas. My work experience is in marketing in senior IC/mid level management roles. The impression I get from most countries visa options is that they're happy for people like me to come in for a few years, work, pay tax, and leave. I'm surprised that even on a temporary basis this kind of activity seems im…

It's a longshot, but don't forget to apply for the DV lottery. Due to the unusual structure of the program NZ citizens have a higher chance of winning. Short of marriage it's by far the best visa, since it's a green card (permanent residence), not a work visa.

You will likely lose your green card if you stay out of the US for more than 6 months. So it's not a good solution for occasional stays.

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

#255

Post by cyberax »

blast42 wrote: post #237

Hi Peter, I have an offer to study a CS Masters in the US. I have two questions: 1) What are my options after my 3 year STEM OPT ends? Can you comment on the likelihood of being able to stay in the US after? Do I need to be working for a company capable of sponsoring me (e.g. FAANG)? 2) Let's say I don't do my Masters in the US – what is the process of getting a visa if I raise from a US VC? Thank you for helping us…

The easiest way is to win the H1b lottery, sponsoring an H1b worker is pretty easy and straightforward and plenty of companies do that.

You can also apply for a green card (employment based), and this heavily depends on your personal circumstances. If you're from India or China, you will have additional problems. But you'll need to do that anyway if you want to stay in the US permanently because the H1b visa is time-limited (unless you have a pending GC application).

Other than that, you can apply for an exceptional talent visa or a green card yourself.

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

#256

Post by cyberax »

agucova wrote: post #223

Which pathways exist for a Chilean citizen who didn't complete their bachelor's degree on CS, but nonetheless wants to take a US job for a 501(c)(3) in a technical capacity? I worked several years as a software engineer, but this role is not as an engineer, but rather as a charity founder (existing 501(c)(3)'s could sponsor me, some CAP-exempt). I imagine H-1B and the special H-1B1 aren't really options here.

> Which pathways exist for a Chilean citizen who didn't complete their bachelor's degree on CS, but nonetheless wants to take a US job for a 501(c)(3) in a technical capacity?

You basically need 3 years of combined post-secondary educational experience to qualify for H1b. And job experience counts towards it, with 3 years of job being equivalent to 1 year at university.

So if you have, say, 2 years in a university and 3 years of job experience, it's going to be enough.

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

#258

Post by bubblethink »

jxramos wrote: post #19

Hi Peter, I've been curious regarding what sort of legal arrangements a certain family of content providers setup in order to display large sections of third party published materials. Some examples * Lexis Nexis news archives https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-gb/products/research-insights/... * https://books.google.com/ * https://www.perlego.com/ Google books has restrictions to display a fraction of many texts but they…

Google books has a long history. Read the Atlantic article. In short, everyone cried and eventually reached a deal with google.

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

#259

Post by returningfory2 »

swalberg wrote: post #190
ashconnor wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My PERM was certified yesterday after 12 months and 2 weeks. That used to take 6 months. I'm now backlogged until October which never used to happen at all to ROW (rest of world excluding India and China) applicants.

My PERM was certified in August. Took a little over 16 months because it went to audit. Timelines on PERM shot up around the same time as I applied and have been steadily getting worse. Filed I-485 in November, approved in 4 months and a week. So once your date comes up, they seem to be moving quickly.

Congrats on your green card!

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

#260

Post by RecycledEle »

John_Cena wrote: post #234
ab_testing wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because the current I485 processing time is around 41 months or just shy of 4 years. That card gives you to opportunity to work and travel in/out of the country while waiting for your green card.

I don't believe that was the question.

I have worked at several employers (schools) that ignored qualified American citizens while claiming they could not find qualified people and tried to bring workers in on a H1 Vida or hire someone already here on a H1 Visa.

Is it legal to import someone on a H1 Visa while ignoring qualified American citizens who applied for the job?

Is it legal to hire someone already here on a H1 Visa while ignoring qualified American citizens who applied for the job?

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