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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

#321

Post by briandear »

seniorThrowaway wrote: post #282
klipt wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Historically the US has not had much "exit control". For example leaving the Schengen area it's obligatory to go through "exit immigration" and get your passport stamped. Leaving the US, you show your passport to the airline, but usually there is no formal immigration check at all.

Especially by land. I've walked into Mexico at an official crossing with zero passport / papers check by either side. In general land and sea travel can have differing rules though, where international air travel is governed by a set of international agreements with standard rules. For instance the full passport book is required for all international air travel.

You will get your docs checked about 10 miles inland Mexico. There you will go through customs and immigration. The border zone is treated differently in Mexico. Mexican customs is very strict: two laptops and you’re taxed 25% on the second one. Technically you can’t bring an iPad and a laptop without paying taxes.

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

#322

Post by bcoates »

xp84 wrote: post #168
joshdavham wrote: post #125

I'm a Canadian software developer who'd like to join an American startup so naturally I've been applying to a bunch of jobs. More specifically, I'm looking to go with TN visa. In most job applications, I need to answer the two following questions 1) Are you legally authorized to work in the US? and 2) Will you now or in the future require sponsorship? I'm looking for advice on how I should be answering these question…

Hi, I just spent 2 months interviewing and hiring candidates for 4 open (remote) eng positions at a US startup. Answering "Yes" to 1 when you don't have a green card or US citizenship would be a way to guarantee that I would rescind your offer and make a mental note to never trust you. I don't think you should do that. We actually hired some Canadian talent -- we just used an EOR in Canada. The EOR cost us about $600…

Wow, you're real proud of not understanding what a TN visa is or how to do the most basic of HR functions.

You’re doing anyone you don't give a job a favor.

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

#323

Post by rhines »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #274
jsbg wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you don't have an appropriate work visa, permanent residency or citizenship Well, TN is none of those, and here I am authorized to work legally. If I apply for another job elsewhere, the honest answer to this question is yes, despite the fact that I will be required to get a new TN.

Why do you think the TN is not a work visa? The US State Department website literally refers to it as "the TN visa", https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employme... : > The nonimmigrant USMCA Professional (TN) visa allows eligible citizens of Canada and Mexico to work in the United States as USMCA professionals in prearranged professional level business activities for U.S. or foreign employers.

When I looked at working in America several years ago, many people I spoke to and people commenting about it on Reddit/HN/Blind emphasized that it's TN status, not TN visa. They even suggested that calling it a visa when trying to enter the US could get your application rejected. I'm not sure if things have changed since then but if so there's probably lots of people who heard that same advice in the past and haven't learned the updated info.

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

#324

Post by pyreko »

ridgewell wrote: post #294
Hexcles wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you give some examples of "bad" pre-clearance offices?

The one that I frequently hear of as a layman (not a lawyer) is Toronto Pearson Airport's Preclearance, which has a very strict and narrow view of the TN Status eligible occupations.

Obviously anecdotal but I've had zero issues with preclearance at Pearson as a TN holder, both crossing and when applying for TN. They usually just ask me some combination of where I work for, what I do, and if I know when my TN expires, and that's it. My experience applying there has also been incredibly uneventful. I guess engineering is a bit easier to do though, especially if you have a strong application that's been done by lawyers.

I've been given hell by immigration about my TN when flying directly into US airports though.

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

#325

Post by briandear »

onepremise wrote: post #276

Hey Peter, what are your thoughts on networks states and the methods tech CEOS and VCs are using to push the working class towards Techno feudalism? Do you think Peter Thiel using Palantir to mine US tax payers information, to help drive and target innocent civilians towards their vision, is legal? Should the constitution exist or do we need to be conquered and lead by monarchies? Most importantly, do you believe the…

I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re going on about. Help me understand how this pertains to immigration.

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

#326

Post by pyreko »

KerrAvon wrote: post #59
__turbobrew__ wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im a Canadian and go to the US for work fairly regularly. Something I didn’t realize is that the laws are different in preclearance areas. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-19.32/FullText.ht... For example, you are allowed to withdraw your application to enter the US and leave the preclearance area. Additionally you are bound by different laws for search and siezure. At this point I am only going to the US t…

That’s only the Canada -> US leg, though. They can still grab your phone on the US -> Canada return trip, ne pas?

I've crossed a few times between the two via plane since Feb and when exiting the US, they could not care less from my experience.

EDIT: I do remember hearing some cases of being searched when leaving through land borders, but that's more of cars being searched for smuggling IIRC?

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

#327

Post by fakedang »

digianarchist wrote: post #310
__turbobrew__ wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im a Canadian and go to the US for work fairly regularly. Something I didn’t realize is that the laws are different in preclearance areas. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-19.32/FullText.ht... For example, you are allowed to withdraw your application to enter the US and leave the preclearance area. Additionally you are bound by different laws for search and siezure. At this point I am only going to the US t…

This is why I only fly back from Europe via Dublin international.

And from Asia via Abu Dhabi.

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

#328

Post by idontwantthis »

SoftTalker wrote: post #240
idontwantthis wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would happen if they didn’t have that?

I would guess unnecessary delays. Leases or property ownership can be verified with a phone call but probably needs to happen during business hours and if you are prepared everything will have a better chance to go smoothly. Property ownership is public record but a lease might be a bit more trouble to verify if the landlord is privacy conscious.

But I mean what is the conversation like?

“Here are the only documents I am legally required to show you.”

“I need to see a piece of paper with a random address and your name on it.”

“I don’t have that.”

What happens next? They are not able to not let you in.

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

#330

Post by 999900000999 »

returningfory2 wrote: post #298
999900000999 wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are at most trivial civil matters. The net effect is your talking about putting non criminals in detention facilities rife with human rights violations. As a hypothetical, if you can visit two countries and one offers the risk of indefinite detainment , which is roughly dependent on how behind the customs officials are on their quotas. Or another country that at most will just send you home, I think most will p…

What process would you design for handling people who are denied entry at a land port of entry?

They can figure out a way to get people to Venezuela faster than due process, they can figure out a way to get a British nanny back to London without detaining her indefinitely.

They could of had her home within 48 hours.

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