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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
341–350 of 425 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#342People always talk about visa "in the US", but I'm always wondering, aren't there differences that depend on the state you want to go to? Isn't it the case that if you go for a H1B visa then the location of the company you plan to work for in the US affects which part of the governmental agency processes your visa?
No. Immigration is the responsibility of the federal government and the immigration system is exclusively administered by federal agencies like USCIS.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#343Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Plenty of people are unaware how delicate the line is though and talk too much and the wrong things at the border.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#344Preamble: 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…
I am not a lawyer but I'm pretty certain you are supposed to refrain from any "work" activity. So yes, you have broken the law. I can also tell you nobody abides by this interpretation and it's virtually impossible to enforce. But your entry will be denied if you tell the immigration officer that you're going to be doing "work" that is not permissible under the specifics of the visa you're entering with. There are so…
In case anyone misses it—there's a reply from the actual lawyer who started this AMA below this one.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#345Earlier quoted context omitted.
That still would cross the line even if that wasn't your plan when you entered.
Sorry, but this can't be right. Companies fly in people on B2 visas all the time to do onboarding, work on specific projects for a short period, and participate in offsites. I've done this 10+ times in my career, for big and small companies, and it was never an issue even when explicitly saying these things with border patrol/immigration. What gets you in trouble at the border is the risk of permanently staying, and…
OK, I really hate to point this out but this America we are talking about - we literally use the Visas and GCs to allow in those we want and not those we don't and how we decide who we want isn't arbitrary - it's mostly racist.
I think people coming from Western countries that speak English and are a certain color will have a completely different experience than those coming from anywhere else.
That comment about the New Zealand program for graduates to come work in the US for a few years - I've worked with freelancers from India that own their companies that were denied entry to the US.
There is a reason all of our companions just setup local shops everywhere in the world.
For the record I hate that we do this. I'm under the belief that if you can get here you deserve to be here - I don't care if your tired, hungry or poor - I'd still take you, it's how it ought to be.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#346I've seen a few variants of this question, but not answered in a helpful way: What is, in your experience, the minimum that gets you a decent shot at a NIW/O1? You previously mentioned that published papers are helpful but not mandatory, but for PhD students/graduates, if publications are not the determining factor, what is? Looking through the Dhanasar's three prongs, it does seem like papers are the easiest and mos…
NAL, but I believe that phrase is intentionally unclear to ensure people cannot easily game the system and immigration authorities have maximum leeway to say 'nope'.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#347Earlier quoted context omitted.
The European attitude is: Am I breaking the law? How do I make sure I’m not? The American attitude is: I’m not breaking the law until someone tells me to stop.
The European (ok, Swedish) attitude is: the authorities are there to enforce the law. The American attitude is: the law is there to support the authorities.
Sweden until early 2000's maybe
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#348Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The constitution itself makes a distinction between citizens and “free people”
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#349Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 s…
Immigration officers will ask your purpose of stay, and if your answer is not clear and they start questioning in more detail and you blurt out you're gonna do something which is technically not allowed by your visa, then you have a problem. Comparing yourself with others who also do illegal things during their stay won't help you then.
Your purpose is to attend xyz conference. That's literally all you have to say. I can assure you "what are you going to be doing between the hours of 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday when you have a break, and will you be commiting any code at that time?" is not going to come up.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#350Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a European I expect at least some common sense behind a law. Every time I visited the US I noted a complete absence of common sense.
Laws in probably every other country are the same in this regard. If you enter the country and do any work under the wrong visa, it is an improper entry.
That's correct.
But only when entering the US I have been asked for example: Do intented to engage in illegal activity?
That's question seems to violate common sense: No one intending to do so would admit it.