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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

#171

Post by proberts »

notanadvice wrote: post #111

Hi Peter, I’m an employee at big tech in an L1 VISA in the US. I’d like to know what happens if I get laid-off. Will I have a chance of finding another job. How much time will I have before leaving the country? I’ve heard I can get a green card via significant US investment. How much does that requires? Can I stay in the US while the process is ongoing?

Regarding your first question, you would get a 60-day grace period following the end of your employment (limited, however, by your I-94 expiration date). During this 60-day period, you could remain in the U.S. and apply to change your status to another visa classification before the end of the 60-day period, such as to another work visa (if one is available) or a visitor visa. Regarding your second question, you are referring to an EB5 green card. That is too convoluted to explain here. If you are interested, you should consult with someone who specializes in EB5 green cards.

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

#172

Post by proberts »

junar wrote: post #154
ax0ar wrote: post #142

My 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.…

All correct. Thanks!

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

#173

Post by jzebedee »

bjornnn wrote: post #167

[flagged]

I love responses like this because they highlight how allowing broken systems to persist can so thoroughly warp their purpose. Did anyone go to law school and specialize in immigration because they felt called to be "the modern equivalent of the overseer on the plantation?" Probably not.

But if you want to sample the kind of vitriol that somebody living with the precarity of a H-1B "employer controls your life" environment, here's a paragraph of it to chew on.

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

#175

Post by proberts »

pastalav1st4 wrote: post #114

Hello Peter and thanks for the AMA! I was accepted into a postdoc program and have an H1-B that was approved by the USCIS with no issues, but it was put in administrative processing by the embassy. It's been in administrative processing for almost a year with zero follow up communication, and the council of my employer doesn't know or is unwilling how to get an update on this process. Is there anything that can be do…

This is your visa application so you don't need to wait on the school or its counsel to act. You can ask the Congressional representative in the area where you will live in the U.S. to make an inquiry with the Consulate. This is done all the time although it often doesn't make a difference, unfortunately. Where were you born, where have you traveled, and what's the focus of your post-doc?

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

#177

Post by bubblethink »

christina97 wrote: post #152

I’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?

Not a lawyer. Visas and green card applications are orthogonal. Do your EB2-NIW however you like - either yourself or with the help of a law firm. It has no bearing on anything else. You'll get the green card when your number is up (somewhere in the next 5 years).

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

#178

Post by thumbsup-_- »

bjornnn wrote: post #167

[flagged]

I wouldn't go as far as saying that immigration lawyers are "overseer on the plantation". That is an extreme imo. Lawyers are only there to help there clients navigate the laws of the land. They have serve both companies and immigrants as clients.

Though, I strongly believe that H1b problem is modern slavery. Especially for people from India and China. The law is carefully crafted to ensure a constant supply of captive labor who work hard, pay taxes and if they fail to be competetive then get sent back to their home country irrespective of how long they have lived here or their contribution to the economy/society here. Sometimes I wonder if the law would have been the same if it were to impact europeans the same way (Pls don't take this as racist. Nothing against European ppl. I'm just complaining about a racist law).

I know the counter-argument is always that "you can leave the job and go back if you feel it's slavery". That's true but like Europeans and like people from many other countries, we also want to live in this great country. This country has attracted immigrants over centuries. The problem is that the law is carefully crafted to ensure that not too many people of color become citizens here without having a clear race based restriction in the law.

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

#179

Post by CactusBlue »

proberts wrote: post #164
pnw wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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/tempo…

All correct. The E-3 visa is the easiest, fastest, and cheapest U.S. visa. But it does require a sponsoring employer. The only downside relative to the H-1B is that an E-3 visa is not a dual intent visa like the H-1B so this needs to be managed if and when the E-3 visa holder is in the green card process.

Can I self-sponsor an E-3, if I'm the founder of the company, with no other shareholders?

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

#180

Post by bjornnn »

jzebedee wrote: post #173
bjornnn wrote: post #167

[flagged]

I love responses like this because they highlight how allowing broken systems to persist can so thoroughly warp their purpose. Did anyone go to law school and specialize in immigration because they felt called to be "the modern equivalent of the overseer on the plantation?" Probably not. But if you want to sample the kind of vitriol that somebody living with the precarity of a H-1B "employer controls your life" envir…

Ah yes, those poor immigration attorneys just trying to get through life one day at a time on their six figure income, having to endure the unimaginable agony of reading the occasional snarky internet comment. Let me play you a song on the world's smallest violin while thousands of migrant workers get deported every time Elon Musk has to pay child support.
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