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

news.ycombinator.com

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

#161

Post by techdragon »

Is it legal to rehearse or practice how to interact with border guards?

I don’t need to explain why someone could be deeply anxious interacting with US border officials… it should be obvious to anyone with half a brain. And since looking anxious is a sign that you could be concealing things, thus drawing more attention from border officials… Coaching on how to handle an experience and avoid that anxious spiral and minimise the risk for such travellers… But I’m curious if this is legal. Or if it is legal, would it be construed as evidence of intent to deceive should a traveler do this and wind up being investigated in such a way that it turns up that they have undertaken such practice?

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

#162

Post by hdivider »

Hi Peter,

Asking for someone else: is the NIW category still backlogged? If the goal is to get a green card within the STEM-OPT extension timeline of 2 years, for someone who has very high achievements that fit either NIW or EB1A categories, which of these is likely a better option? I'm hearing some rumors that NIW can happen faster these days.

Thanks!

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

#163

Post by klipt »

wallyrabbitbun wrote: post #139
hibikir wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need peter for this one: The action date is indicating the place in the queue of the application they are currently working on. Every month they don't deal with 1 month worth of applications: Sometimes it might take 6 months to go through a single month of applications, other times it can move much faster. Either way, it all depends on what was submitted a long time ago, their maximum speed, and the number…

So just SOL here, and nothing that can be done but wait? :(

If your spouse is a green card holder and they become a citizen, then you're no longer subject to quota/queue

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

#164

Post by rsp1984 »

A bit "off topic" but this is called AMA, so why not:

To which degree do you see your own profession (law practice) changing with AI? As an outsider it looks like most of the legwork, research work or basically anything a non-senior attorney would spend their time on could soon be done by LLMs. How accurate is that impression? What future do you envision for law-related professions?

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

#165

Post by gregsadetsky »

TheJoeMan wrote: post #143
lazzurs wrote: 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.

My dance instructor, who has won an international championship, is here on an O-1B. However, his 3 year initial eligibility is coming due, and the processing times for the 1-year extension is looking like it's going to take longer than 1-year! According to Wikipedia, Justin Beiber is here on an O visa, I wonder how his gets processed.

You can request premium processing for the O-1s, which is roughly $3k and guarantees a response within 15 business days. [0]

[0] https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request-premi...

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

#166

Post by nixgeek »

wallyrabbitbun wrote: post #139
hibikir wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need peter for this one: The action date is indicating the place in the queue of the application they are currently working on. Every month they don't deal with 1 month worth of applications: Sometimes it might take 6 months to go through a single month of applications, other times it can move much faster. Either way, it all depends on what was submitted a long time ago, their maximum speed, and the number…

So just SOL here, and nothing that can be done but wait? :(

Bringing siblings to U.S. as a citizen is currently about a 15-17 year backlog for most countries (fourth preference), so yeah, there’s often some or a lot of waiting in these processes.

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

#167

Post by quixoticaxolotl »

kappi wrote: post #45

why is ycombinator promoting immigration thru H1B when so many US born CS grads are finding it hard to get job. In 2023, American colleges graduated 134,153 citizens or green card holders with bachelor's or master's degrees in computer science. That same year, our federal government handed out work permits to at least 110,098 foreign workers in computer occupations through just three major guest worker programs. That…

That's not an apples to apples comparison. You don't know if the foreign workers were senior-level employees, for example, or whether there were specialized requirements they might have been hired against that entry-level grads won't qualify for.

I agree there should be more entry-level roles. But this is not an indictment of the system. You should ask what percentage of those foreign workers were hired into entry-level roles.

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

#168

Post by proberts »

hertzthrowaway wrote: post #126

Hi Peter, thank you for doing this on a regular basis! In the event of a company-sponsored EB1A with an approved I140 but with an I485 pending for less than 180 days, is it possible for the company to rescind the approval? Or does the approval belong to me even though it is company-sponsored? If the approval can be rescinded, could I lose my priority date and my I485 as well?

That the I-140 petition is an EB1A petition (which can also be filed by an individual) doesn't change the analysis. If the employer-filed I-140 petition was approved more than 180 days ago even if the I-485 has been pending for less than 180 days, while an employer can withdraw the I-140 petition (thus requiring the employee to get a new approved I-140 petition to get a green card), the individual still would keep his or her priority date.

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

#169

Post by proberts »

taesu wrote: post #140

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. Wife and I are both Canadians. Wife is on a H1B and I'm on TN - separate employers. My 9089 is being reviewed, while she is on labor market test. What is the best path forward to getting GC for the both of us while working? Should we keep going forward with this setup and whoever can file for I-485, add the spouse to beneficiary?

That's exactly right, have two sticks in the fire.
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