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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

#291

Post by paxys »

XCabbage wrote: post #138

Preamble: As I understand it, it is permissible for a European who works for a US company to visit the US as a "business visitor" on an ESTA in order to visit the company, as long as the visit is not for "work". Various sources list activities that are deemed to be "business" and not "work", such as attending business meetings or attending a trade show, and entering on an ESTA for these purposes is thus acceptable. Q…

Disclaimer - I'm not a lawyer

"Have I broken the law?" is a tricky question. You have, by the strictest letter of the law, engaged in an activity that could be deemed grounds for deportation and/or future denials of the visa. But by the same interpretation ~100% of visitors in the country are breaking the law and violating the terms of their visas in some way. So unless you yourself go to an immigration officer and say "I intend to engage in an illegal activity please deny me entry" you will be fine.

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

#292

Post by panchocoder »

Rather than going through hoops in the US. I got a Mexico Temp Resident visa with no fiscal obligations to Mexico. Turns out I can get US clients, paying US rates and even equity. Figure out my own insurance and pension, but still way better as I have no tax obligations (not being American). Any downsides? BTW México is safe and better food and weather.

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

#293

Post by okar1n »

Before I proceed, I want to clarify that my question isn't directly related to YC but seeks guidance on my career path.

Background: I recently graduated in Computer Science and am currently self-learning deep learning through open-source lectures, books, and courses. I have a keen interest in research and am particularly curious about R&D labs, such as those at Google DeepMind and OpenAI's core research labs.

Question: How can I go about joining such labs? My goal is to immerse myself in an environment where I can collaborate with like-minded individuals who share my passion for deep learning and training models.

Possible answer: join such lab,

followup question: They prefer masters/PhD candidate?

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

#294

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

Aperocky wrote: post #220
pjnz wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> come in for a few years, work, pay tax, and leave. This option would also tie OP to pay tax forever and wherever.

DV lottery is for the GreenCard, not for citizenship. You can return your Green card at any time and stop paying taxes.

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

#295

Post by Manouchehri »

proberts wrote: post #146
dheerkt wrote: post #139

Do publications to my BigCo employer's engineering blog count towards an O-1 application? Or is it just Research Papers/citations to formal journals that matter? What are some other common ways to build a portfolio towards an O-1 application other than research citations or founding a startup? Thanks for this AMA!

They could come under comparable evidence or maybe even support original and significant contributions but they won't count as publications. The lowest hanging fruit so to speak are serving as a judge at hackathons or other competitive events, obtaining membership in an association that requires outstanding achievement for membership (such as, for example, IEEE membership, sometimes), and speaking at major conference…

Does having your blog and/or projects being cited in research papers count for anything?

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

#296

Post by Manouchehri »

epa wrote: post #203
fillmore wrote: post #115

Hi Peter, thank you in advance for considering the question. I'm a Canadian citizen, living in Canada. In the past I've considered moving to the US to work there. I don't have a university degree. I attended university for ~3-4 years, did not complete my degree, and then enrolled in a 3-year college program which conferred an Ontario College Advanced Diploma. I've worked full-time as a software developer since then.…

No you cannot. TN requires you to have specialized degree. You can only be sponsored for H1-B by an employer (hired and move same time).

The Computer Systems Analyst category only requires a post-secondary diploma and 3 years of experience, or a full bachelor's degree.

When I interviewed with Google and Facebook a few years ago, neither of them were concerned that I don't have a bachelor's degree (I have a 2 year post-secondary diploma). I can't remember which one it was, but one of them thought they'd be able to get me an O-1 visa as a backup plan if a TN was unexpectedly rejected.

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

#297

Post by rawling »

komali2 wrote: post #288
DragonStrength wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Heh, I was going to ask, what's the consequence if you do say the wrong thing? They correct you and tell you what you're not allowed to do?

... I guess that answers that!

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

#298

Post by Manouchehri »

Sometimes when I enter the US to meet up with friends, I get only a B-1, instead of a B-2 or B-1/B2. I always tell immigration the reason I'm visiting, but sometimes I can tell they aren't listening to a word I'm saying and will just waive me through if they see I already have a valid B-1.

I get that my American friends and professional circle are exactly the same.. so in my case it probably doesn't matter; if my circle wasn't the same, would having a B-1 instead of a B-2 be a problem?

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

#299

Post by csa »

okar1n wrote: post #293

Before I proceed, I want to clarify that my question isn't directly related to YC but seeks guidance on my career path. Background: I recently graduated in Computer Science and am currently self-learning deep learning through open-source lectures, books, and courses. I have a keen interest in research and am particularly curious about R&D labs, such as those at Google DeepMind and OpenAI's core research labs. Questio…

This is an immigration thread. I suggest you ask this in a separate “Ask HN” post…

Or maybe do an internet search for your question. There are decent answers out there, and those forums with answers (like Reddit) may be more amenable to cold outreach via dm.

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

#300

Post by kajic »

I have a green card and will be applying for naturalization towards the end of the year. Would you recommend hiring a lawyer to help me with my application, or just do it myself? I’m planning to do it myself but would reconsider if that typically helps (significantly) speed up the process and/or avoid any common issues that people encounter when doing it without legal assistance.
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