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

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

#271

Post by smcin » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 8:38 AM UTC

trollbridge wrote: post #172

ripplebob wrote: post #96

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.

It's in general possible to only access social media via browser, not apps.

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

#272

Post by padjo » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:01 AM UTC

zingar wrote: post #218

jacobmartinez3d wrote: post #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 ci…

Shocked and curious to know why anyone would downvote a story like this.

Because people’s lives have become collateral damage for performative cruelty by the current administration and its supporters.

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

#273

Post by dhruv3006 » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:08 AM UTC

What should i keep in mind if i move to sf from India?

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

#274

Post by cromka » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 9:21 AM UTC

I have worked in the US on an L1B converted to H1B visa for about 5 years, left for Europe in 2021. Including the time I was absent from US soil while employed on an H1B and the time I had remaining on it before I left, I would be able to recapture about 18 months for an extension. Can I now return to work for a US company again if they hired me and would they be subjected to the $100k fee?

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

#275

Post by bubblethink » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:00 AM UTC

Izikiel43 wrote: post #233

USMCAThrowAway wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not Peter but would like to spur discussion on positive changes that could be made. - Paper-free overhaul of the entire immigration system. - Green Card recapture [0]. - Country of Birth caps abolished for Green Cards. Impossible to justify this as it doesn't serve the intended purpose since AC21 was passed. - EAD/AP premium processing - so many livelihoods ruined and immigration journeys derailed because people can'…

> - Country of Birth caps abolished for Green Cards. Impossible to justify this as it doesn't serve the intended purpose since AC21 was passed. You are saying that since, for example, Indians can remain indeterminately as long as they are employed, they are de facto kind of like in a green card situation already, therefore country caps don't make sense? That would mean then that every other country wait will go up fo…

That's right. Individuals from every country should be subject to the same set of rules. If the backlog is to be a century, it is to be borne by everyone.

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

#276

Post by bubblethink » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:03 AM UTC

USMCAThrowAway wrote: post #235

Izikiel43 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - Country of Birth caps abolished for Green Cards. Impossible to justify this as it doesn't serve the intended purpose since AC21 was passed. You are saying that since, for example, Indians can remain indeterminately as long as they are employed, they are de facto kind of like in a green card situation already, therefore country caps don't make sense? That would mean then that every other country wait will go up fo…

It should be done in tandem with GC recapture or possibly a single one off Bill to clear backlogged applicants.

No, it shouldn't. Stuff like recapture has no likelihood of passing. The reason country caps exist is precisely because everyone wants to carve out some provisions for their favorite group in hopes of getting the mythical comprehensive immigration reform. A one sentence bill on this matter has better odds of passing if it were to ever come to a vote. There is really no tenable position in favor of country based discrimination. The challenge is getting it to a vote.

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

#277

Post by bubblethink » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:09 AM UTC

sjtgraham wrote: post #12

How does the Supreme Court’s elimination of Chevron deference affect USCIS’s ability to narrowly interpret the EB-1A regulatory framework, particularly at Step 1 of the Kazarian analysis? I am specifically interested in two areas: (1) whether, under a strict textual reading of the judging the work of others criterion in 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(h)(3), participation in code review where the beneficiary evaluates and approves…

What has Chevron got to do with EB-1A adjudication? The Kazarian step 1 step 2 stuff is hokey. It is ultimately a subjective evaluation that will remain under the executive.

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

#278

Post by throwaway219450 » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:11 AM UTC

fencepost wrote: post #60

garbawarb wrote: post #29

A question about TN status for a Canadian living in the US. There are some income-generating things I'd like to do outside of my work visa (play a music gig, upload music to Spotify, act in a movie). My understanding is that I can't do these things in the US. Am I able to do these things if I do them outside of the country, or is there any way to make them work? For example, if I went to Canada, recorded an album, up…

I think a related but separate question would be "Can I do these things if the proceeds are going directly to charity instead of to me?" I suspect it would be important that any funds never reached you, so you couldn't simply receive money then donate that amount. Playing a charity gig where the receipts go directly to the charity would likely be fine, streaming/Spotify revenue I don't know, acting in a movie might b…

Some visas that are employment-limited specifically mention volunteering and charitable work as problematic. You do not need to personally gain financially. A crude way to tell is "is this an activity which someone could be paid for, even if I'm doing it for free?"

However the practical answer is ask. Some visas like the J1 allow this - even consulting, provided it meets a bunch of criteria and relevant people sign off. It's not a trivial process, but it's not outright forbidden.

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

#279

Post by throwaway219450 » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:36 AM UTC

gsck wrote: post #6

I have recently taken a job with an American based company and will need to complete a few weeks training in Miami. Based on the information they have given me I need a B1 visa and maybe an ESTA since I'm in the UK, and a C-1/D for moving through the US. However they keep flip flopping between me needing a B1 and me just using my ESTA for the training, and their communication hasn't been the most straight forward. Wh…

Not a lawyer. The VWP (ESTA) for business specifically says:

> attend short-term training (you may not be paid by any source in the United States with the exception of expenses incidental to your stay)

"source in the US" might be problematic if you're paid by the US company directly and not a UK arm. You'd have to take those days as unpaid, except for a per diem? If you're paid in pounds by a UK source, ought to be fine.

I would confidently say you do not need a C visa. That's for immediate transit (like you have to change airports or something, and you would use an ESTA anyway). A D visa is for people like airline crew who have to stay and have to work whilst there (like getting an aircraft ready for international departure from a US airport). If you needed that, your company ought to know.

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

#280

Post by immibis » Sat, Dec 06, 2025, 10:45 AM UTC

andsoitis wrote: post #205

immibis wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on news, it seems like if you like Donald Trump you may get in. If you don't like him you don't. You may also be jailed for two months for not liking Trump - that's happened a few times and that's why tourism fell off a cliff.

> You may also be jailed for two months for not liking Trump - that's happened a few times Do you have a concrete example story that illustrates this?

Lucas Sielaff, Jessica Brösche