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

#1

Post by proberts » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:38 PM UTC

I'll be here for the next 2-3 hours and then after a break of about 1 hour for another 2-3 hours. As usual, there are many possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with. Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll try to do the same in my answers!

Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.

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

#2

Post by __s » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:44 PM UTC

I work at a large corp

I want to take part in Iceland's long term remote worker visa to visit for 6 months

HR thinks this may be a tax liability, but the duration is explicitly less than long enough to be considered a tax resident

Is there an issue with the large corp having an office in Iceland or is HR being overly cautious?

(extra detail I don't think should matter: I'm Canadian, company is American)

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

#3

Post by iandanforth » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:46 PM UTC

What tools and/or services do you recommend to startups looking to access the global market for employees?

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

#4

Post by conqrr » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

Thanks for doing this! Can a person on H1b work remotely in the US for their own company outside the US? They'd pay taxes on any international income. Also what if they didn't work but own the company and receive income?

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

#5

Post by jason2323 » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

What options does an Indian engineer stuck in the green card backlog have? Do they perpetually continue renewing their H1-B? Does this mean that they are somewhat limited in terms of being able to switch jobs?

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

#6

Post by taxman22 » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

__s wrote: post #2

I work at a large corp I want to take part in Iceland's long term remote worker visa to visit for 6 months HR thinks this may be a tax liability, but the duration is explicitly less than long enough to be considered a tax resident Is there an issue with the large corp having an office in Iceland or is HR being overly cautious? (extra detail I don't think should matter: I'm Canadian, company is American)

The gentleman is a US immigration attorney, not an international tax expert and corporate therapist.

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

#7

Post by octref » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

Hi Peter! For H1B visa holders, is there any way to start a company and remain in charge (whether as CEO or not)? From what I find online you can only be employed as a H1B holder, but if I start a company I would want to have full control of it.

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

#8

Post by jonas-jonas » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:48 PM UTC

The H1B situation in the US has been described as very "luck" based to me, and some have called it "a mess". Is that still the case? How much does it actually depend on luck, or other factors such as country of origin, occupation, etc.?

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

#9

Post by proberts » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:49 PM UTC

iandanforth wrote: post #3

What tools and/or services do you recommend to startups looking to access the global market for employees?

Would this be to employ these individuals in the U.S. or remotely?

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

#10

Post by aatd86 » Thu, Oct 13, 2022, 2:50 PM UTC

Hi,

If a startup is incorporated in one of the states from overseas, can founders be eligible for work-visas (I remember reading that an investment of more than USD500K may allow eligibility for some visas (F1?) but don't know if this is the case for startups, and besides, there were some requirements in terms of jobs creation if I remember well).

Thanks.