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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

#111

Post by ty6853 »

Exoristos wrote: post #39
ty6853 wrote: post #28

Not legal advice but I'm a US citizen and when I've refused to answer their intrusive questions the worst that has happened to me is they imprisoned me, stripped me naked and searched me, got a fraudulent warrant for an internal body search, and then sent me the bill after dumping me at the border when they found nothing. Enjoy.

Can you explain what fraud was used to obtain the warrant?

Yes.

They claimed a dog alerted on me. An anonymous dog, handled by an unnamed officer in the affidavit, which was used as 3rd party inter-species hearsay via a HSI officer to the assistant attorney and judge.

A dog did not alert on me. In fact it is against CBP policy to use dogs on a person, they are to be used on your articles.

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

#112

Post by hmartin »

Hi Peter, thanks for the AMA.

I'm curious what gaps you see in firm operation software?

I work in legal tech and from what I've seen all of the software focuses on tasks and artifacts (e.g. the many AI letter drafters) as opposed to holistically understanding / optimizing business operation.

Does this fit your sense of the software landscape? Are there other opportunities here beyond case management etc?

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

#113

Post by mandeepj »

miotintherain wrote: post #21

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this AMA. I am traveling to the US soon for work from Europe. I have been reading a lot of articles about detentions at US airports and phone checks. My mindset has always been to never give my personal phone for an inspection, but times has changed now and it has been happening a lot more frequently. I am wondering what is the best course of action, prior to travel and if asked to give you…

> My mindset has always been to never give my personal phone for an inspection

Get a burner phone! Upload your entire data to the cloud as well. Either you can store your phone in the check-in luggage or restore your data once you've arrived at your US location.

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

#114

Post by PureSin »

Hello, I'm currently on an H1B waiting on my priority date (I'm Canadian but born in China), my H1B hits the 6 year mark next year. My wife is currently on a TN which expires next year.

Should she switch to H4 EAD under my H1B instead of renewing her TN?

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

#115

Post by abxyz »

louison11 wrote: post #63
makestuff wrote: post #17

As someone who is a US Citizen, what is something about the immigration process that I probably do not know about, but causes a lot of issues/could be improved.

The standard for employment-based permanent residency (green card) is extraordinarily high. As in, would likely place you in the top 1-5% of the most successful people in the country. That, or you have to invest $800k and create 10 jobs. No other country in the world requires foreigners to be significantly more qualified than its own population. You can move to France with a regular paying job no problem or just a fe…

Many countries have quite strict limitations on immigration for work. Many countries do not permit any immigration without visa sponsorship. The U.S. permits sponsored immigration with a quite reasonable bar (e.g: H1B, L-1). Many countries have similar lottery systems, quotas and minimum salary requirements. Given the demand for immigration into the U.S., it's not too surprising to see the limits (and restrictions) be more prominent.

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

#116

Post by rietta »

louison11 wrote: post #63
makestuff wrote: post #17

As someone who is a US Citizen, what is something about the immigration process that I probably do not know about, but causes a lot of issues/could be improved.

The standard for employment-based permanent residency (green card) is extraordinarily high. As in, would likely place you in the top 1-5% of the most successful people in the country. That, or you have to invest $800k and create 10 jobs. No other country in the world requires foreigners to be significantly more qualified than its own population. You can move to France with a regular paying job no problem or just a fe…

I am not a lawyer, but my understanding is the extraordinary ability does not have to germane to your employment. I am aware of the the story of Gabby Franco - who appeared on a season of Top Shot years ago. She was on the Venezuela Olympic pistol team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Australia. This status as an Olympian got her entry into the USA and eventually citizenship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_Gabriela_Franco

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

#117

Post by MinimalAction »

Hi Peter - why are international students on F-1 visa (not on OPT) being strongly recommended to not travel outside the US now? Is there a possible denial at the port of entry when returning? I for one am a F-1 student looking to travel to an academic conference abroad, but being advised to reconsider and stay back in the US by my DSO. I'm in the middle of my program, and my I-20 and visa are valid for another 3 years.

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

#118

Post by idontwantthis »

proberts wrote: post #106
bmink wrote: post #16

If you were an immigrant with legal status who lives in the US, would you feel OK traveling? What precautions would you take, what information would you memorize?

Yes. I still think that those with student or work visas or green cards should travel internationally. It's just a question of being smart and carrying the right documents. The right documents will vary depending on the status so I can't give a list but I'd recommend having a brief consultation with an attorney. Many like myself won't charge for a 15-minute consultation, which is all that this should take.

What would a green card holder need to carry other than their passport and greencard?

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

#119

Post by proberts »

neom wrote: post #88
proberts wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's no question that it's tougher now to get into the U.S., whether from Canada or another country via pre-clearance or via a land crossing, and there can be significant differences among airports and land crossings. Canadians are unique because they are visa exempt and CBP feels particularly emboldened to reassess their admissibility every time they enter. The keys are to avoid bad pre-clearance offices and land…

I was thinking just for folks going down regularly on a B1, do you think it's worth having a copy of your lease or rental agreement in Canada or something similar? It seems most of the stuff I was seeing is about Canadians establishing roots using a B1.

The concerns on the part of CBP when someone is seeking admission as a B-1 business visitor are the appropriateness of the applicant's proposed activities and the applicant's ties to home/intent to return home (Canada). So you want to keep in your back pocket documents that address these concerns, such as a foreign lease agreement, foreign pay statement, and evidence of the purpose, such as a printout of the conference being attended or a letter of invitation. It's also really important to be prepared to provide specifics about your purpose, who, what, when, and where.
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