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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

#151

Post by serniebanders »

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask, but I thought I'll try because I couldn't find much information online.

My neighbor is a really nice undocumented immigrant family. The family has 2 hard working kids who used to tutor others kids in the neighborhood to make income. They are now suffering because they don't have work and they need help. I have been giving them a monthly stipend to help them pay for food and rent. (2k / month).

I'm thinking of starting a non-profit charity so I can write off the money I'm giving away as donations.

Question is, are non-profit charities allowed to help undocumented immigrants? Or are American non-profits meant to help Americans only?

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(Update based on answers) There are alot of wonderful charities that do these kinds of work. I specifically just want to help the undocumented immigrants I know (like my neighbors). It may be seen as unethical if I simply donated to a charity and asked them to use the money to specifically help my neighbors.

So I plan to start my own NGO to specifically help my neighbors first and then eventually other people around my local community if I get more funding.

Giving cash money to help them is okay if we make sure 100% they are not doing any work for me (or my org).

In case you have the same idea, hope these info helps you make your decisions. Thank you @proberts!

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Update 2: Changed wording from illegal immigrants to undocumented immigrants so thread can focus on the right topic.

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

#153

Post by ska »

wenc wrote: post #135
ska wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thought: are TN "visa's" still available at this time? I know in the past some people have used them for co-op, but unclear if that was really by the book as it's unclear if they meet the education requirements. edit: I really shouldn't have said "education requirement" - it's a job categorization, so education is only supporting evidence that your job meets the criteria.

For Canadians, TN-1's are not visas but statuses adjudicated at the border (they're typically just I-94s linked to passports), so they never "run out" as such (no quota). However the TN is a status for restricted NAFTA (USMCA) professional categories, and typically requires proof of qualifications (in this case, education). I could be wrong, but an undergrad intern typically does not fit these categories. I'm surpris…

Right, that's why I put visa in quotes. And yes, there is no quota but I wasn't clear if there were e.g. COVID related restrictions on application currently.

People have definitely used this for even undergrad co-op, but I don't know how widespread. Obviously more easily applicable for grad students.

Part of the issue is that as you note the admissibility criteria is decided by the border agent you randomly see. So you provide evidence of education and fit for a TN category, but they decide if you qualify, and it's unclear how much guidance they have in this. Appeal process is mostly only through the same agent.

NB: my experience in this area is a bit out of date, things may have changed.

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

#154

Post by yandie »

dudus wrote: post #123

My question is related to green card holders that went back home to spend quarantine with family. Can they lose the green card if they spend too much time abroad? How long can they safely stay abroad before losing the GC? For people that want to get citizenship through green card. How long before their clock resets? How likely is the gov to understand quarantine as a good reason to stay abroad?

Not a lawyer :). USCIS website is pretty informative: https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-we-grant-your-green-c...

I think it answers a lot of your questions :)

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

#155

Post by x87678r »

tinbad wrote: post #31

(Current green card holder) I was scheduled to have my citizenship interview in early April that got de-scheduled. On USCIS website it still says I’m scheduled to complete the citizenship process in August, which seems unlikely. Do you have any insight as to whats a realistic timeline to receive my citizenship?

I had a friend in NY who did the citizenship interview last week. I think they're back to processing OK.

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

#156

Post by proberts »

thatguy21991 wrote: post #29

Hi Peter, I’m currently on h1b and my visa stamp on passport is from my ex employer and is expired. Is it too risky to travel abroad? Will I still be able to get a new visa stamp due to the visa ban? Thank you!

It appears that you are subject to the ban on the issuance of H-1B visas so you could be stuck outside for a while if you leave.

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

#157

Post by huy-nguyen »

In the latest EO, the Trump administration mentioned changing the H1B program to protect American jobs better and transitioning to a merit-based system. There may not be enough time to make that happen but I imagine some sort of immigration reform along those lines will happen if Biden wins the next election. What reforms do you expect to see to the H1B program and employment-based green card? How should current H1B visa holders do to prepare for those changes?

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

#158

Post by [deleted] »

kirill5pol wrote: post #144
ska wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A thought: are TN "visa's" still available at this time? I know in the past some people have used them for co-op, but unclear if that was really by the book as it's unclear if they meet the education requirements. edit: I really shouldn't have said "education requirement" - it's a job categorization, so education is only supporting evidence that your job meets the criteria.

Is it possible that those students were masters/PhD students? Then it’s possible that that would satisfy the TN requirements

[deleted]

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

#159

Post by damnyou »

site-packages1 wrote: post #140
DanBC wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> America was not made great immigrants it was made great by British I find it difficult to understand how we can describe immigrant colonisers as "not immigrants".

> ...British (plus some European) settlers that spoke English and followed Protestant Christian values. Sounds like white, English-speaking, Christian == colonizer, and anyone else would be immigrants. :/

Yeah. it's white Christian nationalism. Manifest destiny and all that.

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

#160

Post by kirill5pol »

pain_perdu wrote: post #37

Are the border agents at US airports currently processing TN applications? Are all TN workers considered 'essential' during the current situation?

Not a lawyer, but far as I know flights are not restricted between the US and Canada only ground border crossings.
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