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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

#281

Post by divyekapoor »

timenova wrote: post #202

My co-founder and I are working on a cloud startup (we have a registered LLP in India), and after launch, we want to register in the US through Stripe Atlas/Clerky. It seems easy enough (as non-residents) to open a company bank account in the US too. In the future, we plan to apply for the EB-1 (based on your suggestions in previous threads to others) to live in the US. Is it okay to register and operate a US company…

The US law is very expensive to comply with. Probably the most expensive in the world. Incorporate a subsidiary only and only if there’s a check in your hand. Then too, consider an LLC.

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

#282

Post by sgjohnson »

billofprivilege wrote: post #206
willsmith72 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can search your phone? Do they need cause?

In the US the Bill of Rights and most other things only apply to citizens (and maybe lawful residents). CBP agents have broader authority to conduct searches of non-citizens and their belongings at ports of entry without a warrant, including devices like laptops and phones, to determine admissibility to the United States. Searches of citizens generally require a higher standard of suspicion or a warrant. In the past,…

> In the US the Bill of Rights and most other things only apply to citizens (and maybe lawful residents).

No, the US constitution applies to absolutely everyone in the US. Even illegals.

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

#283

Post by sgjohnson »

jmyeet wrote: post #162
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…

Oh wow. Your wife is going to have to prove she hasn't abandoned her residency, which is normally automatic with a 2+ year absence (or even 1+ year without a re-entry permit). This will come down to establishing existing ties to the United States. Married to a US citizen helps but this doesn't mean you can stay abroad indefinitely either. I hope she was filing US taxes while abroad. Every US citizen and LPR has to do…

> Oh wow. Your wife is going to have to prove she hasn't abandoned her residency, which is normally automatic with a 2+ year absence (or even 1+ year without a re-entry permit).

Practically, it depends on how picky the CBP officer is. I personally know of a guy who re-entered the US on his Green Card after a 7 year absence. From what he told me, he didn't even get sent to secondary inspection and was just welcomed back home. He flew into JFK.

I don't see them yoinking the GC of someone who has a US citizen spouse because of >2y absence, even though the law tells them to.

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

#284

Post by sgjohnson »

junar wrote: post #232
bazillion wrote: post #225

Is an O-1 or EB-1 visa viable as a grandmaster in chess? There are, for instance, only about 100 grandmasters in the United States right now. We're looking at bringing over a Chess grandmaster to our company, but don't know the most efficient route (haven't talked to an immigration lawyer). If time to visa is a factor, is there an easier route?

I assume they wouldn't be coming to the US to play chess... > To qualify for an O-1 visa, you must demonstrate extraordinary ability by sustained national or international acclaim, or a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion picture and television industry, and must be coming temporarily to the United States to continue work in the area of extraordinary ability. https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-…

I believe he's asking if he qualifies under the "one-time achievement" here

> You must meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria* below, or provide evidence of a one-time achievement (i.e., Pulitzer, Oscar, Olympic Medal) as well as evidence showing that you will be continuing to work in the area of your expertise. No offer of employment or labor certification is required.

I'd like to think that continuing to play chess professionally under the US flag would qualify as "continuing to work in the area of expertise", as this is a self-sponsored visa anyway.

Here's a case study from 2011 that says "yes, it qualifies". https://www.wegreened.com/blog/eb1/case-study-aao-sustained-...

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

#285

Post by morpheuskafka »

pcl wrote: post #163

A friend is an ESTA holder. At a point of entry, an immigration officer verbally told her that she needs to leave the US within 1 month, even though her ESTA status allowed for a 3-month stay. (She had a return ticket 2 months from the date of entry.) The immigration officer did not write any date (at all) on the stamp in her passport. The ESTA website lists her required departure as 2 months out. Are there any other…

I believe you are referring to the I-94 website, not the ESTA one... that (digital) form is the legal limit of her admission so she cannot be accused of overstaying if she follows that.

That said... they obviously have all sorts of classified places to put notes that you can't request, and there was clearly something in her file that made them suspicious in the first place, so staying the full three months is almost certainly not going to improve that.

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

#286

Post by biztos »

ushakov wrote: post #186

If I have a EU permanent residency, but no citizenship yet, will I lose my residency if I decide to move to the US?

IANAL but it depends on the country, there is no such thing as EU permanent residency.

For Germany the answer is yes, but you could fake it at the risk of getting your PR revoked if they ever find out.

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

#287

Post by morpheuskafka »

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…

If she is no longer residing in the US, the legal thing is to enter as a visitor. There are two problems with this, first they will require her to sign a form giving up the green card status, and two, they may be suspicious that she actually intends to be a visitor since she is married to a US citizen.

They are definitely not going to let you extend the permit after it expired especially since you don't really meet the criteria for it (temporary long duration absence).

If you entered before it expires, you probably wouldn't face questions from CBP since you did get the permit, but that is just my guess.

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

#288

Post by komali2 »

DragonStrength wrote: post #199
proberts wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That still would cross the line even if that wasn't your plan when you entered.

We all know startups are crossing that line all the time with their "off-sites," hanging out in Airbnbs and coding together for a week or so at a time around conferences.

One of our engineers got a 10 year ban from the country for misspeaking about this exact situation.

"Coming in for an offsite? Think you'll be doing any work there?"

"I dunno, I guess it's possible?"

That's all it took. Obviously any further trips involved extensive coaching on what not to say to cops at the border.

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

#289

Post by sratner »

the_wannabe wrote: post #107

I'm an Australian living in the US on an E3 visa. I would like to get a green card, but we never win the lottery to move to a H1B and start the process. My youngest daughter was born in the US, and so is a citizen. Is there any way to get a green card without having to win the H1B lottery?

I got a green card while on E-3. Make sure your visa doesn't expire while you are in a no-travel period, as you might not be able to renew it if you have a pending change of status (or so I hear - was not applicable in my case).

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

#290

Post by canucktrash669 »

Is commuting on a TN visa possible for a Canadian living in Canada? Let’s say I had to commute to the office in the US 2 days a week, and live the remaining 5 days back home in Canada while working remotely. Is a TN good enough?
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