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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

#121

Post by returningfory2 »

KK7NIL wrote: post #57
gr4vityWall wrote: post #41

I'm a non-American Software Engineer, living outside the US. Me and my girlfriend (who's an American citizen) are seriously considering marrying and moving together next year. Any advice or anything you recommend reading? Also, how long it typically would take until I was able to legally have a job in the US, once I move? I have a tourist visa and traveled to the States countless times. If I go there with the intent…

> I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally? Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud! I've been through this process myself and I can tell you that it's quite the lengthy process and there's financial requirements and many checks along the way. For…

> Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud!

While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. And it's hardly surprising, especially under a pro-immigrant administration like Biden's. I doubt strictly enforcing previous non-immigrant intent in family-based green card applications is anyone's priority.

I'm not advocating people do it. I just think there's a strange dynamic in immigration conversations online where a lot of people talk as if theory and reality are exactly the same. They're not. The reality is that people are constantly engaging in various immigration violations that are overlooked/undeclared/ignored/etc.

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

#122

Post by shuckles »

proberts wrote: post #56
proberts wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is complicated so it's important to speak with an immigration attorney before you take any steps. The better option is to apply from within the U.S. but doing this while in the U.S. as a tourist is problematic. The other path, through a U.S. Consulate abroad, raises no legal concerns but can take a very long time (compared to a U.S. based application).

A work around would be to get some type of work visa (a challenge itself) and then once in the U.S. on this visa, apply for a green card based on marriage.

Is this workaround applicable even if the work visa is of non-immigrant intent, like the H1B1?

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

#123

Post by withzombies »

fertrevino wrote: post #106

Me 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. Tha…

You should still create a US C-Corp, ideally in Delaware.

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

#124

Post by robertlagrant »

tired-turtle wrote: post #104

Hi 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 co…

> (I’d like something to offer my conservative friends/family who increasingly think all immigration should be verboten.)

Not proberts, but observing left wing media in the States over the last 8-10 years I've seen a carpet bombing of the same concept: eliding the difference between immigration and illegal immigration. If you want to talk to your conservative friends and family I'd start by checking whether or not it's illegal immigration they're against. Even the Democrats seem to be noticing that people don't like open border policies and are scrambling to adjust campaign promises in light of this.

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

#125

Post by apeescape »

Hey Peter, I have two questions: 1. How bad is the H1B situation now? I've read there are companies that flood the system with duplicate requests, which decrease the probability for the others. 2. Is it possible to get a visa and work permit for a partner without being married to them?

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

#126

Post by vadlamak »

Peter - I am currently living in US and I am on H1b.I have plans to start a company with my partner who currently has a green card.

Assuming i hold a minority stake, and have an employment contract Can i transfer my h1b? Can the company also sponsor my green card in the future?

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

#127

Post by jonpurdy »

Hi Peter, thanks for all the AMAs you've done in the past.

From the perspective of a recent Green Card recipient not yet living in USA, is it possible/advisable to convert to a Commuter Green Card, work remotely (and paid as US-based employee with US contract, US mailing address, and US benefits), and commute to the US to work in person for a week or two every few months?

(Or does this stretch the definition of commuting outside of scope?)

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

#128

Post by zie »

gr4vityWall wrote: post #41

I'm a non-American Software Engineer, living outside the US. Me and my girlfriend (who's an American citizen) are seriously considering marrying and moving together next year. Any advice or anything you recommend reading? Also, how long it typically would take until I was able to legally have a job in the US, once I move? I have a tourist visa and traveled to the States countless times. If I go there with the intent…

We went through the Fiance Visa program and it wasn't a big deal, but the foreign one of us was Canadian, which is on the we like that country list, which probably helped a lot.

You have to follow special rules for the fiance visa program, and most all the paperwork happens before you get married.

The big thing I remember(it's been decades now), there was a fee we had to pay at one of the consulates somewhere, and they gave us 2 receipts, a big fancy full page one and the tiny cash register receipt. Way afterwards they made us prove we paid the fee. They wanted the tiny cash register receipt, not the fancy full page one. Make sure you keep literally everything , you have no idea what might be important later on.

I'm not saying the fiance visa is right for you in your situation, just mentioning it in case you are not aware.

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

#129

Post by greenthrow »

robertlagrant wrote: post #124
tired-turtle wrote: post #104

Hi 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 co…

> (I’d like something to offer my conservative friends/family who increasingly think all immigration should be verboten.) Not proberts, but observing left wing media in the States over the last 8-10 years I've seen a carpet bombing of the same concept: eliding the difference between immigration and illegal immigration. If you want to talk to your conservative friends and family I'd start by checking whether or not it…

Oh yes it's just illegal immigrants that Republicans hate. That's why they spread lies about refugees and other legal immigrants, right?

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

#130

Post by Abfrage »

fertrevino wrote: post #106

Me 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. Tha…

There was a blogpost from someone from germany who got accepted. I looked it up for you: https://web.archive.org/web/20220604131034/https://richventu...

There is also a post on hackernews about it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31601638 And there is a Ask HN that could be helpful: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31620700

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