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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

#181

Post by A4ET8a8uTh0 »

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…

My personal favorite is the immediate follow up this conversation generates ( 'well, if you don't like the job, change it' ) while cynically omitting how we got here and that changing it is either near impossible or being actively hindered. You see it all the time. One would think the population would get better at pattern recognition after being stung once or twice.

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

#183

Post by eapotapov »

maskerinze wrote: post #116
proberts wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What you write is incorrect. Even worse, arguably, is that applications by Russian citizens sometimes just end up in a black hole and never get reviewed. Unfortunately, while applying for an O-1 visa can be a solution, this isn't always the case and O-1 visa applications also can end up in a black hole. In other words, there are no easy solutions for Russian citizens unless they are seeking to travel to the U.S. on g…

My B1/B2 visa application has been in administrative processing (221g) for over 8 months. I assume the security checks are in place. Russian citizen, multiple US visits in 15 years. Last time it took 2 months to issue visa. If I seek to travel to the U.S. to create jobs (I own a US company), what visa option should I pursue to maximize my chances of getting approved?

I don't know if it's good or bad news for you, but at least you're pretty lucky to have reached this stage—the majority just get rejected.

From what I know, some people have received their visas after 12-16 months of processing. It will most likely be valid for only one year, though. Eight months is pretty early to expect anything at this point.

Here’s a Serbian-Russian expats visa Telegram group where there’s a US section. You can ask people there about their processing times: https://t.me/serbia_visas_chat

Again, I’d say you’ve had some luck!

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

#184

Post by junar »

doubleorseven wrote: post #151

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? Than…

I think you will get a better answer if you clarify your situation.

* Are your kids US citizens?

* In what country you do currently live?

> 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

This is generally incorrect. For a spouse of a US citizen living abroad, you "start" by filing I-130 and then by completing the NVC paperwork, which can be done either online or through mail. The final stages are generally handled by the overseas consulate where the intending immigrant resides.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...

However, you may need documents from Thailand, such as your marriage certificate with English translation and police records for the immigrant.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Rec...

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

#185

Post by otterley »

snackjack_38294 wrote: post #133

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. One question I have is regarding skilled immigration from India and China specifically. Currently, people have to wait decades through no fault of their own. Big Tech companies, Chamber of Commerce, and many Republicans also support this. However, a Democratic Senator, Dick Durbin has disingenuously blocked meaningful progress and reforms over and over and over again. He blocked the F…

You can't expect an attorney in private practice to have an authoritative answer to this question.

(And, it frankly appears this account is owned or operated by a state actor.)

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

#186

Post by bubblethink »

o1rfepeter wrote: post #147

Hi Peter, thank you for doing this. I'm a YC Founder, Ex-FAANG who applied for an O1 visa but got a "kitchen sink" RFE (i.e disputing all of my claimed* O1 qualifications). Is withdrawing and re-applying my O1 petition a good idea? Are there any known downsides to doing this? Thanks again! Disputed qualifications include: 1. YC funding is not an "internationally recognized award" 2. YC membership is not "an associati…

Not a laywer. Withdrawing and reapplying after changing the app, or responding to the RFE are both valid options. The only thing that is not useful is appealing a rejection. The appeals rarely work and are a waste of money and time. There was also an executive order about O1 which was supposed to lead to rulemaking that would make O1 and EB1 easier for AI (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-action...). I don't know if anything came of this, but look into whether any rulemaking is happening and apply after a final rule is published, assuming you are doing AI. (Everyone is doing AI, btw).

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

#187

Post by Abrecht »

I have a Greencard and would become eligible to apply for citizenship this month. I wonder what the opinions are here on the pros and cons of that. Generally, regarding most practical aspects of daily life, being permanent resident seems pretty much equivalent to that of an US citizen.

Pros:

- can vote

- can get security clearance, potentially more income

- even long periods abroad do not bear the risk of loosing privilege

- can do jury duty

Cons:

- need to do jury duty

- need to declare income to IRS regardless of residency

- potentially be taxed by IRS

Any other cons I'm not aware of? I heard that getting rid of the US citizenship (e.g. for tax reasons) will make it hard to get a visa ever again.

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

#189

Post by fertrevino »

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…

Thank you for your answers, it's super helpful
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