For a U.S. citizen who resides abroad (3 years, NRA spouse) with a single-member LLC doing consulting software work for U.S. clients, what U.S. address should be / can be used for the business address of the LLC? Registered agent? Separately, I know many startup founders who have long-term software developers ("contractors", apparently...) in other countries like India, Brazil, etc. Paying them with whatever random p…
This really isn't an immigration question but a corporate/employment/payroll/tax question.
Hi Peter, Thanks for doing this. I am a Canadian citizen born in India and ~ 6 months ago moved to work for a FAANG company on a TN visa from Canada. The company applied for H1B visa lottery this year and awaiting the results for that. My question is if I get through the H1B lottery - How does it impact my options to switch employers in the future? Would I be able to work on H1B for future employers? - My partner (Ca…
ask company to bring you on a L visa. H visas are not a good option for transfers, only new hires.
Depends on how you look at this. L visas are not subject to lottery, but then that brings much more scrutiny from USCIS. Also, you are tied to your employer, you cannot change jobs easily. H visa, once you get it by lucky draw, gives you much more flexibility. And it's perfectly fine to use H-1B for intra-company transfer.
Advocating for Palestinians isn’t advocating for a “terror group”. Which is itself a nebulous term that is used for political reasons. Now, working to carry out a foreign governments interests against the best interests of the American public IS treason, but that’s okay when you’re the president I guess.
Are you denying that Hamas is a terrorist group? Committing terrorism is literally the central part of their operations. Are you denying that October 7th was terrorism? Are you denying that launching thousands of rockets against Israel to kill as many Jewish people as possible is terrorism?
> Committing terrorism is literally the central part of their operation
That is untrue
They are far deeper than that.
They are primarily cultural, education is their main focus
Hi Peter, given that companies are constantly laying off employees, what options do people on H1B have in an event they are out of a job? One can find a job but a 60 day time restriction can be very challenging. It’s almost impossible to apply, schedule multiple rounds of interviews, get an offer AND file the immigration paperwork in that time. A lot of people have established lives and have been here for decades bec…
A few years ago when there were a lot of layoffs at big tech, USCIS published guidance on the options for those who lost their jobs. This guidance just validated what attorneys were advising anyway but it was reassuring. Whether USCIS will stick with this guidance is another question. But the main advice was to file an application to change status to B-2 or B-1 (if the terminated worker couldn't join his or her spous…
@proberts - not sure how that works, can you clarify? I know that normal B1/B2 visa in theory allows 6 months stay in the US, so is that what you are suggesting? If you are fired from your job then just pretend to be a tourist for the next 6 months? Isn't that obviously violating the stated purpose of B1/B2 visa, and asking for a ban to enter the US in future?
Hi Peter, thanks for doing this! I've heard from a couple of people that O-1a petitions are not as smooth as before. Many people getting RFEs even if the lawyers told them the case was strong. Is one article on a major newspaper normally enough to tick the coverage requirements? Having the agent type O-1 makes it easier to change companies? Some say yes, some say all the companies need to be listed when filing the pe…
I haven't seen adjudications of O-1 petitions becoming more difficult but my experience, like everyone's experience, is anecdotal. The regulations are unclear/inconsistent on whether a singular instance of a criterion (media, publications, awards, etc.) is enough to meet that criterion but in my experience, yes (although multiple instances is always better). Once someone has obtained one O-1 visa, it's generally very easy to get the next O-1 (and much cheaper, easier, and faster than getting the first one). That applies whether the first O-1 was a company O-1 or an agent O-1.
If my asylum application gets denied, what options do I have? I came to the U.S. as a minor and have little to no memory of my original country. I applied for asylum in 2016 and have been waiting for an interview ever since. Given my pending status, are there any other pathways to obtaining a Green Card or legal residency that would allow me to travel? Edit Additional Question - Some of us like myself, came to the U.…
Sometimes there are employment-based green card paths that can help for those seeking asylum but whether going down this path would allow you to travel would depend in part on your immigration history - what your status was when you came to the U.S., when you/your parents applied for asylum, etc. If you haven't already, you should speak with an immigration attorney to look at all options, including those based on emp…
That would be an employment visa, not green card. It can lead to a green card in some cases but it's complicated (depending on the country of origin it can take an extremely long time)
GC holders are permanent resident aliens, not naturalized citizens. Yes, thet went through a legal process, but citizenship is further down the road of that process.
Correct. One has to file an N-400 to get naturalized after obtaining LPR ("green card") status.
I think I qualify for EB-1C, but does one need to be present and already living in the US to apply for it, or can that happen from the current country of residence? Or is the general path: L1 -> Move -> Apply for EB-1C once migrated.
Most people go the EB1C green card route after they are in the U.S. in L-1A status but that's not required; the entire green card process can be done while the applicant is outside the U.S. and not yet employed by the U.S. company.
Is it recommended or not? I've heard anecdotally that going through the Consular services to obtain EB1C is not recommended - because you can get denied easily without any protections you might get from being in the US.
In connection with trying to start a company, there are a lot of activities that can be undertaken as a visitor without a work visa. In fact, I would say that more often than not companies founded by foreign nationals are started when they are visitors. The line that can't be crossed is productive work for compensation but establishing the company, obtaining funding, meeting with potential clients, even hiring can al…
What if I have an H1B, but want to pursue starting my own Startup. What are the actions that I can undertake without jeopardizing my status or relationship with my current employer? One of the main hurdle is I cant go an seek customers, as my profile would show an employee with my current employer?
The real issue in establishing a company while employed by another is that your current employer could have claims over the IP that you develop through your startup so while there are lots that one can do vis-a-vis a startup while currently employed by another company (or in the U.S. as a visitor) as noted in my comment above, I think the bigger issue is putting the company's IP and other assets in jeopardy by incorporating while still employed by another company. This is a corporate/IP law question so out of my area. As a foreign national seeking to start a business, I think it's as if not more important to consult a corporate law attorney than an immigration law attorney and it's also good to get them talking to each other.
> Green card holders are essentially long term visas with citizenship grants for good behavior No. One of the major distinctions being – CBP cannot deny a green card holder to enter the country. They can try pressure tactics to 'convince' the person to 'voluntarily' give up their green card but, if they don't sign anything, they will still be let in. If there's something off about their case, they may be referred to…
Actually they can. For eg. Some green card holders live overseas. They are required to visit here periodically to keep status alive. I know of cases where their green cards were revoked
That is a pre-indicated stipulation of the green card validity, not revocation based on the whim of an evaluating (non-immigration judicial) official -- ie CBP and DHS and ICE cannot (read: should not be able to) revoke green cards.
The "basic US presence" requirement of green cards has always been present in the validity clause alongside the 5-10year expiry date, and not committing immigration fraud and other basic requirements to maintain green card -- a comical number of European green card holders gloss over/forget this clause every year, that is made explicit to them upon receiving the card and proceed to forfeit their green cards by not entering the US for over a year -- that is not a revocation (implies a subjective decision made by an official), it is a lapse of validity (implies some pre-stated condition was fulfilled).