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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

#31
post #21

Thanks so much Peter - how do non-US people typically work in SF during YC? I am a US citizen but have a few non-US citizen friends who might join if accepted.

A distinction must be drawn between working during a startup program, which requires a work visa, and attending the program and not working. For the latter, there are several options, including, most commonly, the B-1 visa/status.

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

#32
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The O-1 can cost upwards of $100K to put together. It’s a very high bar.

That is not remotely true. An O-1, EB2NIW, or EB1A ranges from $5K-$15K.

Correct. While there are some outliers, I think that that range is accurate.

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

#35
post #24

What is the likelihood today that Trump and his allies in Congress may improve the ability for H1B holders to obtain green cards? This was repeatedly raised during his campaign and his first weeks in office and it sounded like this was going to be a thing....

Only if you're a Russian model willing to marry one of his cronies

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

#36

What's the fastest timeline to get green card under EB-3? What things does the employer company does that could speed things up like batch process, generic existing applicable job posting?

Country of birth is the most important factor. Certain countries, most notably China and India, have significant backlogs and the process can take many years. For those not from a heavily backlogged country, the ways to speed up the green card process are limited, including, during the PERM process, commencing recruitment when the prevailing wage request is submitted (and not yet approved) and using recruitment to cover multiple positions/employees. And then, once the PERM application is approved, using premium processing to accelerate the approval of the next step, the I-140 petition.

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

#37
post #9

What sort of people get O-1 visas? I assume it is people with multiple degrees and have decades of experience in a specific field? I am good at what I do, have done public speaking at major conferences on what I do but no degree and so assume that i've no chance of ever getting into the USA. Currently a UK citizen living in Ireland.

There's a list of qualifying criteria on the USCIS website. You have to satisfy at least three out of the eight or so.

The issue is it's a bit subjective, a lawyer writes down how you qualify and some random government employee has to believe what the lawyer wrote.

If you receive a RFE or rejection, all your dealings with USCIS will face extra scrutiny in future. So it's a bit of a gamble.

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

#39
post #33

I'm Australian and have always wondered about how easy it is to get an E-3 visa. What does it take from the sponsoring companies side to actually do it and get me over there?

We handle a lot of E-3 visas and it's arguably the easiest U.S. work visa to get both from a company standpoint and an applicant/employee standpoint. The company requirements are minimal. For example, startups with limited or no revenue and limited or no funding can sponsor an E-3 visa. That being said, there is a prevailing wage requirement so a company - while it doesn't need to demonstrate to a U.S. Consulate its ability to pay a specific wage - in the end has to be able to pay a specific wage.

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

#40
So, I have a wife who just got her citizenship. We're very happy about that.

Concerning, though, is the current presidential administration's talk of trying to do large-scale denaturalization of citizens.

I know you don't have the ability to read minds, but would you care to hazard a guess to much of this is the president just blowing smokes or how worried I should be?

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