Can an Iranian citizen register a Delaware corporation and operate in the US?
From abroad? From an immigration perspective, there are no issues but other export controls/commerce laws might come into play.
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
101–110 of 406 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#102Do you foresee any improvements in PERM processing times as well as the whole process?
Unfortunately, no. Historically, the only thing that has fixed PERM backlogs is a bad economy or a major change in immigration law.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#103Serious question... If it's true people are crossing our borders, claiming asylum, and being let go with work permits, why should anyone do wait to do it the legal way and wait or get denied? What is the advantage to doing it the normal way?
Crossing illegally is an option of last resort.
If you have the ability to immigrate on a visa, it's much safer and easier than relying on "coyotes" or having to cross multiple borders illegally just to take a shot at entering the US.
There's a reason you don't see Mexicans cross the border illegally anymore.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#104Hi Peter. I know a little about H1B1 visas and the process of getting one, having worked with many colleagues who are in the US on one, but I don’t fully understand the pros/cons of the H1B1 program from the perspective of the average American.
As one presidential candidate will likely direct his ire at the program if he wins, can you explain why such a program is compelling or vital for our tech industry? My H1B1 colleagues seem happy to be in the US (and have indicated such) but nonetheless appear exploited. My naive economic analysis is that the visa program depresses wages to the benefit of corporations, but I’m sure the situation is far more nuanced.
(I’d like something to offer my conservative friends/family who increasingly think all immigration should be verboten.)
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#105Serious question... If it's true people are crossing our borders, claiming asylum, and being let go with work permits, why should anyone do wait to do it the legal way and wait or get denied? What is the advantage to doing it the normal way?
not getting ICE knocking on your door and deporting you after living here for decades (happened to a friend's brother in law).
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#106Me and my cofounder are non-US residents and live in Germany. If we get into YC, what would a typical / recommended way to proceed be?
We haven’t established a company in Germany yet, we want to be strategic and make what’s best to succeed.
From what I know we can do the batch with our current tourist visa, so I’d like to know more about the post batch options. Being US based or Germany based is an option for us.
Thanks in advance
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#107Serious question... If it's true people are crossing our borders, claiming asylum, and being let go with work permits, why should anyone do wait to do it the legal way and wait or get denied? What is the advantage to doing it the normal way?
If you can cheat without consequences, what is the advantage of not cheating.
The solution of course is to fix the asylum process so that applications get reviewed faster not to restrict asylum (that's my view at last) but until that happens, for those who get work authorization based on an asylum application, this is just a temporary fix because at some point, their application will be reviewed and if not valid denied.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#108Hello, being a founder (recently got H1B)of an early stage startup is there any consequences of not paying yourself the prevailing wage, especially since you also own the company so won't report it to anyone.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#109I'm not sure if this is appropriate for this thread, but: I'm a Singaporean, and we have access to the H-1B1 visa. If asked whether I need a visa in a US job application, would it be fine to say "no"? How should I explain my situation, given that most people might assume that hiring non-US candidates would require participation in the H-1B lottery?
This is my (not Peter's) advice for Canadians/Mexicans for TN, Australians for E-3, and seems to apply for Singaporeans/Chileans for H-1B1: If it is an automated system, just put no. That may be an automatic filter. There will be time to talk to a human and say "all we need is X/Y/Z" where X/Y/Z is something the hiring manager can do without involving a lawyer. If a human is asking you, then just say "Yes. I need a visa but I can walk you through the process. No lawyer needed."
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#110I'll be stepping out for about an hour now and then returning for another few hours. Thank you so far for the great questions and comments!