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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

#181
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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There is a solution to this. You can become a US citizen.

And then wonder if they'll try to take your citizenship away anyway - the exact boat I'm in. Naturalized after almost 20 years of holding a GC, because I expected trouble with this administration - and now wondering they'll try to take away my citizenship because I did it recently.

I actually expected to leave and have my right to come back not dependent on GC status (which expires after 6 months), but due to family have stayed so far. by the by - I'm a citizen of that dangerous country bordering the US - Canada.

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

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just carry a burner phone or buy a blank one and restore it after customs from backup?

One of the latest tricks is that if you have social media accounts yet no social media apps or accounts are loaded on your phone, or your phone appears to be a burner phone, they'll ask you why you didn't bring your main, primary phone. So your "burner phone" needs to be your primary phone, which is something that is hard to go back in time to fix.

I have a few social accounts, but no apps installed on my primary, 2.5+ year old S21. I prefer to visit via browser (firefox, mostly).

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

#183
I am a native citizen currently watching my first child grow up without me while my wife waits in line for her nearly 2-year-long immigration process. Every attempt to expedite her processing has been denied, even during Typhoons where she loses power and access to hospitals. I feel forgotten, and cast aside by the system - like my family situation is inconsequential and undeserving.

Is there really nothing native citizens like me can do to get our family here outside waiting in a generic line with everyone else in the world?

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

#184

This question arises from the current regime's efforts to reverse naturalization. For anyone who has one US citizen parent and one non-citizen parent, where the citizen parent has passed before the child applicant for naturalization reaches 18 years of age, resulting in the applicant applying for and receiving naturalization as an adult, can that same currently naturalized citizen also obtain natural born citizenship…

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

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, "no obligation to admit" means they don't have any obligation whatsoever, and that includes doing so for any reason they see fit and not having to disclose those reasons (if any) to you. It is exactly the same as "I don't have to let you in".

No, it isn't. For example, I do not have an obligation to let people into my house. I can choose to let them in or decline them entry. But there are certain preconditions I cannot apply. I cannot, for example, say "you may come into my house only if you murder my neighbour". That's because I'm legally bound not to induce people to commit murder. It would obviously be disingenuous to say this means I have an "obligati…

You're confusing yourself with irrelevant analogies. You can say, "you may come into my house only if you give me your unlocked phone," and an immigration official can't assault you because there are certain protections granted to foreigners against being randomly assaulted. It's also not hard to imagine them NOT being legally bound not to search people's phones, and if you're trying to say someone's breaking the law here then it's your burden of proof.

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

#186

Hi Peter, thanks for the AMA! I'm currently living in the US on TN status and am married to an American. Have you heard of anyone on TN status having difficulty applying for a green card? And do you have any sense of what the wait times currently are, particularly how long until you can get a travel authorization?

There was just an article in the NYT where ICE is arresting people at the end of their green card interviews for essentially no reason.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/us/trump-green-card-inter...

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

#187

I am a native citizen currently watching my first child grow up without me while my wife waits in line for her nearly 2-year-long immigration process. Every attempt to expedite her processing has been denied, even during Typhoons where she loses power and access to hospitals. I feel forgotten, and cast aside by the system - like my family situation is inconsequential and undeserving. Is there really nothing native ci…

That doesn't make any sense. I'd need to know all the facts to advise. Please send me an email to schedule a call (proberts@robertsimmigration.com). Which Consulate is she applying through?

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

#188
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not who you're arguing with, but I'd also take the opposite side of that argument. Your analogy does seem workable, though - let's examine: > If someone comes up to me and asks for food, I am not obliged to give it to them. Yes! 100% agree. They probably have a right to ask for food in countries that protect free speech, but they have no right to have requests fulfilled. > If I say to them, "I will give you food,…

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Sorry, I don't know any LLMs that would argue politics without using their own heavy bias and getting caught up in trying to not harm people, I'm afraid you just hate my writing style. Maybe you don't like the inline quotes? idk. Also I can't imagine wasting the effort to have a bot debate people online if I don't care enough to do it myself.

The whole reason we have those types of employment and public accommodation laws is a special case though. In terms of employment, we prefer this to a world where black people or women can't get jobs, because jobs are necessary, or can't enter half the establishments because people witnessed that Jim Crow was a shitty and shameful situation. And I do stipulate that that doesn't mean the same as "all women have the right to a job at my company upon demand."

But why don't we also have laws criminalizing things like refusing to be friends with $SKIN_COLOR people? I think it's because it's only in those specific realms like employment and public accommodation where we have created rights. The right to shop in a place that is open to the general public is a right Black people got from a law. And the right of people to be considered for a job without regard to their membership in certain protected classes is something the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 created. There is no right of foreigners without a green card to enter in the first place - CBP can completely legally say no to anyone, so no 'counteroffer' of conditional admittance could be inappropriate. The only exception I can think of is misconduct of the officer, e.g. 'I'll admit you if you give me $10,000' or a more unsavory favor. But with that already being illegal, I don't think it is too relevant here.

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

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A country can not deny entry to its own citizens. They can immediately arrest you, however.

But not for not giving them access to your phone.

In America, Europe, etc.

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

#190
Is there a way for someone on h1B to start a company in a roundabout way by doing something like placing company shares into a trust and having a unpaid board seat? Is that pushing luck? Not for me but a friend who I had plans to go into business with but we're facing a chicken or egg problem until she gets a green card or changes her visa status.
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