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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

#171

Post by VSwiffer »

proberts wrote: post #154
VSwiffer wrote: post #142

I applied for a EB1-A in October 2024 and still haven’t heard anything. I’m French with a valid O-2 until October 2027, working in corporate event planning with pharmaceutical companies. Do you think I’ll hear back this year? Is my application compromised with the actual economical and geopolitical context ? Should I plan on trying to extend my O?

Was the EB1A petition filed with premium processing?

No we only filed the O with premium processing cause my lawyer said that UsCIS is usually asking more evidence and makes it harder when you request a premium processing on a EB1A petition

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

#172

Post by MITSardine »

stardek wrote: post #161

Are you able to comment on J-1 visa limitations around duration of international travel? I'm a postdoc at a US university. My school's international office suggested there was no limit on how long I could travel outside of the US, but most sources online suggest there is a limit of 30 days before the SEVIS record goes inactive. It seems this can be avoided if the university sponsor records the travel in SEVIS. I thin…

Not an attorney so I don’t know the details but it is definitely possible to leave the US several months in a row on a J1. When I did it (also as postdoc), it was an involved process that escalated to the (vice?)president’s office to get permission so there are clearly questions the university needed to address... I didn’t have any visibility into it all but what I was told about regarded taxes mainly (since getting paid abroad).

So technically possible but also a tall ask (I didn’t know at the time of asking and my PI went with it).

I then came back and carried on without any immigration issues.

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

#174

Post by JuniperMesos »

ianhawes wrote: post #56
iberator wrote: post #41

[flagged]

I want to hire who I want to hire. Don't tell me who I "should" hire, that is just another form of DEI.

Immigration law isn't primarily about who you can hire, it's about who will be a voting citizen of what democratic polity.

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

#175

Post by JuniperMesos »

bluegatty wrote: post #61
iberator wrote: post #41

[flagged]

To help answer the question, because it's not an irresponsible argument at face value, assuming good faith: Tech companies generally hire 'talent' not 'labour'. The people they need have specific skills and abilities, which are in short supply. 'Average Joes' are by definition not in the running for these mostly competitive opportunities. If these companies could just hire average Joes they absolutely would. That's n…

> By and large, if we move issues of 'culture and identity' aside, the US benefits enormously from immigrants.

Yeah, but issues of culture and identity are extremely important, so important that it's farcical to exclude them when evaluating to what degree the US benefits from immigrants or deciding what immigration policy ought to be.

> Because the numbers are small enough, there is almost zero downside for US citizens, and the companies that are created end up employing more Americans than they would otherwise. That said - locals can be priced out of these economic centres like the Bay and NYC, and that is arguably unfair.

I'm from the bay area as is my entire family; and locals getting priced out by immigrants who work for tech companies basically characterizes the demographic trajectory of my hometown.

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

#177

Post by ZechangHe »

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this AMA. I'm an F-1 CS student starting Post- Completion OPT 07/15/2026 as a solo founder of my CA single-member LLC (disregarded entity), building a real-time AI lecture translation product. A few areas where I've found USCIS guidance / online sources contradictory or silent — would love your take on any of these:

1. STEM OPT + self-employment: I've seen the E-Verify employer requirement, but conflicting takes on whether a solo founder's own LLC enrolling in E-Verify and W-2'ing the owner is acceptable to USCIS in practice. Is this a viable path, or has USCIS effectively foreclosed it?

2. The structural conflict: a single-member LLC is a disregarded entity (IRS doesn't allow owner W-2). But STEM OPT effectively requires W-2. Should solo founders convert to S-Corp or C-Corp before STEM OPT? When in the timeline?

3. SEVP Portal reporting for self-employed: what do you actually put for "Employer Name" — the LLC, or your own name? Any common mistakes here that trigger DSO/USCIS scrutiny?

4. The "20 hours/week" and "directly related to major" bars for solo founders pre-revenue: how does USCIS actually evaluate product-building time vs. business-side time during audits? Any compliance pitfalls you've seen?

5. International travel during OPT for self-employed: the "employer letter" requirement when self-employed — do you write it to yourself? Any real re-entry risks for solo founders, especially F-1 visa renewal abroad?

6. Pre-OPT business activity: I formed the LLC and have been doing product development before OPT starts (no revenue). Where's the line between permissible "preparation" vs. unauthorized employment for F-1?

7. Long-term path post-OPT for a solo technical founder (early-stage, no funding/revenue yet): realistic timelines and success rates for O-1A vs. EB-2 NIW (Matter of Dhanasar) vs. cap-subject H-1B? When should I start building the case?

Even partial answers on any of these would be hugely helpful. Thank you!

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

#178

Post by proberts »

QGQBGdeZREunxLe wrote: post #176

Pending Green Card applications are going through "extended vetting", which I understand means resubmitting biometrics against an FBI database which now contains more nationwide data. Do you know anything about this process?

Nothing has been announced yet. USCIS indicated that these expanded background checks shouldn't delay the process by much but of course no one knows. Right now, it's just wait and see,

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

#179

Post by foobiekr »

ianhawes wrote: post #128
foobiekr wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is well known at the companies that I've worked for that there is no good faith at all in the process and it's basically ritual to justify the application. Since they are clearly violating the law, how can I report this?

If they've complied with the DOL regulations and requirements, what makes you think they're violating the law?

Explicitly and openly not acting in good faith.

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

#180

Post by bluegatty »

JuniperMesos wrote: post #175
bluegatty wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To help answer the question, because it's not an irresponsible argument at face value, assuming good faith: Tech companies generally hire 'talent' not 'labour'. The people they need have specific skills and abilities, which are in short supply. 'Average Joes' are by definition not in the running for these mostly competitive opportunities. If these companies could just hire average Joes they absolutely would. That's n…

> By and large, if we move issues of 'culture and identity' aside, the US benefits enormously from immigrants. Yeah, but issues of culture and identity are extremely important, so important that it's farcical to exclude them when evaluating to what degree the US benefits from immigrants or deciding what immigration policy ought to be. > Because the numbers are small enough, there is almost zero downside for US citize…

It's not 'farcical' to move issues of identity aside because most people don't think there is anything whatsoever wrong with some degree of migration from other countries, and its pragmatically 'non issue'.

It only really becomes an uncomfortable issue around 'large scale undocumented migration' - but that's a whole other separate concern, it's not within the bounds of the law, and it's not related to tech at all.

If we remove that from the equation there is only a very, very narrow scope of 'Settler Nationalists' who could claim there's an issue if 'identity' - I'm being polite by allowing an escape valve there. Rates of regular immigration to the US are 'relatively' low on the aggregate.

But more crucially - the 'identity' issue is irrelevant at least from an economic perspective.

"I'm from the bay area as is my entire family; and locals getting priced out by immigrants" - yes, this is a reasonable and fair concern, but, on the aggregate it's 'next to nothing'.

So - yes, immigration will be felt acutely by some for sure - and that's unfair and it's a moral dilemma - but on the aggregate - 'High Tech Migrants' have zero effect on the landscape of US overall. It's a small cohort.

If we want to talk 'ludicrous' - it's this ridiculously ignorant idea that somehow tech is an American phenom - it's not. It's international.

Bay Area + Tech is nothing without immigrants.

Would not exist a hugely notable tech hub.

Immigrants are a critical ingredient in everything important from founders to capital, to research, to 'filling out the ranks'.

It's not just jobs - it's entire classes of 'essential ingredients' without which - the recipe cannot work.

And without that level of inernationalism, there is no >2/3 revenues from outside US either. It's a slightly separate, but related issue.

Without immigrants the Bay would be about like the 'Research Triangle' in N Carolina, not an gigantic powerhouse.

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