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I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
171–180 of 349 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#172Hi Peter,
My wife just got her green card. How long before she's allowed to apply for citizenship ?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#173As a technically skilled American I found it was far easier and cheaper to get into Canada on a spousal visa than the other way around (by the time we decided to move to be together we already had a lot of proof of relationship established so the overseas spontaneous union seemed unlikely to fly). Has it become any easier to bring in foreign spouses in the past twenty years or does it remain easier to go the other wa…
For foreign national spouses already in the US, the green card process really isn't bad and seems to be getting better. The problems are with sponsoring a spouse who is outside the US. That process - the NVC/immigrant visa process - is a mess right now and very slow.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#174.
There are no explicit rules but typically school records, employment records, and housing records and letters from people who know and/or lived with you.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#175Hi Peter, My wife just got her green card. How long before she's allowed to apply for citizenship ?
If she's married to a US citizen for at least 3 years after getting her green card, she can apply then; otherwise, it's 5 years.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#176Hi Peter, My wife just got her green card. How long before she's allowed to apply for citizenship ?
US Citizenship is essentially an IRS trap.
She'll be forced to pay taxes on her worldwide income for life, regardless of where she lives. I'd think twice. She can have all the benefits with just a green card for next 7-8 yrs.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#177Do you forsee the government doing anything able slow wait times for Visa/green cards?
The green card process through USCIS seems to be speeding up significantly.
Hey Peter, in one of the other comments you mentioned that NVC/ immigration process is a disaster, whereas here I see GC through USCIS is speeding up.
As I understand, once USCIS approves a petition, it goes to NVC where paperwork is checked to be documentary qualified and then consular interviews are scheduled.
Is there a difference between the 2? Asking because ultimately both are responsible for issuing GC’s.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#178Hi Peter. Thanks as always for the valuable info you provide in these AMAs. I'm an engineer on a TN visa who's building a hobby project on the side with the eventual goal of turning it into a startup. To what degree can I continue working on this project without violating the terms of my visa? My understanding is that I cannot be self-employed while on the TN, so am I basically free to do what I want with the project…
The lines are grey but really as long as you don't get compensated in any way you should be fine. It's less about incorporating the entity and more about getting compensated. Just make sure to consult with someone before you incorporate or make any move to leave your TN employment.
Great, thank you so much!
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#179[deleted]
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#180Hi Peter, My wife just got her green card. How long before she's allowed to apply for citizenship ?
US Citizenship is essentially an IRS trap. She'll be forced to pay taxes on her worldwide income for life, regardless of where she lives. I'd think twice. She can have all the benefits with just a green card for next 7-8 yrs.
Citizenship has nothing to do with it. You are still taxed on worldwide income if you are a permanent resident or in many cases even if you are here on a work visa.