Hello Peter,
I married an american woman and me and my wife are not leaving in the states.
We are in the process ofp registering the kids since we are preparing a plan B.
We didn't got married in my country, but in Thailand.
I was told that in order to get a spouse Visa, I need to start the process in Thailand.
Is this true? Do i need to apply for everything in Thailand just because this is where we got married?
Thank you
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
151–160 of 406 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#152I’m an Australian PhD student graduating into the US job market. I’m considering an EB-2 NIW. How does that work with the E-3 visa? What’s a good resource or law firm with experience in this kind of arrangement to refer to?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's a lot to worry about but to keep the worry/analysis grounded, I think it makes sense to review what his administration did last time. And most of the damage was done to those who were illegal or seeking asylum or were from certain countries and seeking to travel to the U.S. It was awful and very disruptive to the lives of many. On the legal business immigration side, the main damage was the result of changes…
Is there any reason to think that Trump will ramp things up if he gets a second term? Particularly since the Supreme Court is so thoroughly conservative now?
It would make sense to expect some ramp up because immigration is a stronger electoral issue than it was previously, and because a second Trump administration will probably be more coordinated and effective in implementing its goals than the first one was. Given how laden with unintended consequences any change in immigration policy is, though, there are probably some limits on the rate of change that would be possible and politically prudent.
For example, without undocumented immigrants, milk would be a lot more expensive (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/magazine/milk-industry-un...). The current election is showing us quite starkly how significant grocery staple prices are in shaping public perception of a nation's economic health.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#154My U.S. citizen father applied for a green card for me as his over-18-year-old child, and the process was moving forward. However, during the sponsorship documents submission phase, I got married and updated the marital status question accordingly. After that, the process was stopped. What happens now, and what can be done?
While you were unmarried, you were either an immediate relative if under age 21, or family preference F1 if 21 or older. Because you married, you are now in the family preference F3 category, which has a much larger backlog and a much longer wait.
You should have considered the immigration consequences before you got married. The only thing that can change your situation is if your marriage ends in death or divorce. Otherwise you must wait.
9 FAM 502.2-3(D)
> a. (U) Immediate Relative Converts to Third Preference: If the child of a U.S. citizen is the beneficiary of an IR petition, the petition automatically converts to a third preference petition if the child marries. The priority date of the third preference petition is the filing date of the immediate relative petition.
> b. (U) First Preference Converts to Third Preference: If the unmarried son or daughter of a U.S. citizen marries before the visa is issued, the beneficiary's first preference petition automatically converts to a family third preference petition. Any child(ren) of the beneficiary would then be entitled to derivative third preference status. The priority date remains the same.
> e. (U) Third Preference Converts to First Preference: (1) (U) A third preference petition approved for a married son or daughter of a U.S. citizen who has since become widowed or divorced automatically converts to accord first preference status (or IR status if the beneficiary is under the age of 21). If the petition converts to first preference, the accompanying or following-to-join child(ren) may be granted derivative first preference status. The priority date remains the same.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#155Hi Peter,
Few months ago I've applied for F2A visa for my spouse from Russia. Official sources state processing times in California at 4 years plus. I am 2 years away from obtaining a citizenship in US by which I then can do K1.
Would you advice to convert F2A to K1 visa in the future? How do I do that? Is there a way to speed up the process at all?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#156[dead]
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#157Hi Peter, Few months ago I've applied for F2A visa for my spouse from Russia. Official sources state processing times in California at 4 years plus. I am 2 years away from obtaining a citizenship in US by which I then can do K1. Would you advice to convert F2A to K1 visa in the future? How do I do that? Is there a way to speed up the process at all?
The conversion is from an F2A to an immediate relative green card application. This will be the fastest path. You would want to notify the U.S. Consulate in Russia when you become a U.S. citizen. The K-1 is for fiances of U.S. citizens, not spouses of U.S. citizens. Has the I-130 already been approved?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#158Hi I wonder how valuable patents are for EB/O visas? I have worked 10+ in a global tech company, through which I am named on about 20 US patents. I don't have external visibility except for through those patents.
How are patents judged when it comes to these visas? Are they enough to prove what needs to be proven?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#159Me 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…
That's right, a lot of international founders participate in the batch as business visitors, whether under ESTA or a B-1 visa. The most common post-batch work authorization options are the country-specific visas (for those from Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Singapore), the O-1, and the E-2. If based abroad and only coming to the U.S. for investor meetings and the like, then you could continue as a business visitor but practically this can become a problem if traveling to the U.S. regularly; at some point CBP will push back.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#160I'm an Australian citizen running a bootstrapped startup (and would prefer to stay bootstrapped, but would raise if there was no other way of immigrating). What is the best way to immigrate to the US? I have a computer science degree from an Australian university.
E3 is absolutely the best way for Australians in my experience. It's more flexible than a H1B and the process is much simpler. The only downside is there is no simple path to a green card like H1B, but I managed to get one anyway.
You'd need a US entity to apply on your behalf. In my case they never asked about assets to pay the salary but that may be an issue.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...