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How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

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Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#181

Post by fernirello »

CobrastanJorji wrote: post #15
x86x87 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EB-1 is not a visa. It's a category for permanent residence application. It's not an Einstein "visa" by any means. https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-eligibility/gree... You can have extraordinary abilities or you can be a manager at bigcorp. Yes, being a manager will most times qualify you for an EB-1 bracket.

What makes it not a visa? It's permission to enter the U.S., that's what a visa is, isn't it? Also, I that's it's pretty common to call it that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-1_visa But yes, the majority of recipients get them because they're managers at big companies.

In the U.S. system, no visa (including a green card==permanent residency) constitutes permission to enter the country. A visa only enables the holder to travel to a port of entry and request permission to enter the country. That permission may be granted or denied regardless of the specific visa category. Even if you have a gold-plated, von-Neumann-league visa... if the employee at the bottom of the CIS/CBP/* org chart who takes your passport is having a bad day, you'll be on the next outbound flight.

Only U.S. citizenship implies a right to enter the country.

EDIT fix typo

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#182

Post by sjtgraham »

spullara wrote: post #110
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #93

Congrats OP! I'm trying to choose my words carefully, because I don't want to give the wrong impression: 1. I think it's great that OP got the visa, and it's clear (at least to me) that we should be attracting entrepreneurial types like OP to start businesses in the US. I also understand that our immigration system is hopelessly broken, and oftentimes the best one can hope to do is "hack" the system. So I commend you…

On the other hand, a lot of O-1 visas are given to models. https://www.wildeslaw.com/services/immigration/o-1-visas-for...

That's a O-1B visa. Slightly different (and more relaxed) criteria. O-1A requires "a level of expertise indicating that the person is one of the small percentage who have arisen to the very top of the field of endeavor". O-1B merely requires "a high level of achievement in the field of arts, as evidenced by a degree of skill and recognition substantially above that ordinarily encountered".

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#183

Post by AlexeyBelov »

hasty_pudding wrote: post #162
hasty_pudding wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

immigration should be on a country by country basis, not on a population basis. so if your country has tons of people (for whatever reason), that's kind of your country's fault and not the immigration systems fault. while there are benefits to a culture of having 12 kids theres also negatives. Europeans seem to have moderate family sizes for some reason. why is that?

Its a mystery why I was downvoted

No, you know why you were downvoted, a suspiciosly fresh account. What happened to the previous account I wonder?

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#184

Post by AlexeyBelov »

elevatedastalt wrote: post #127
skynetv2 wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are very much mistaken. I have seen someone go through this and it is very hard. You need to prove your contributions to an area of interest to the US, and that it meets the extraordinary qualification. It is ok to not know but maybe dont make such statements.

I mean you are literally commenting on a thread about a blog post where someone got it despite having any "extraordinary ability" in the generally understood sense of the term.

What's the generally understood sense?

To me it's extraordinary because it's above what I'd consider ordinary. Let's say most people have Bachelor's and can't (or won't) start their own business. If you have someone with a Master's and also a startup owner they are extraordinary by that definition.

The USCIS has a much more concrete definition with different parameters. Is it an ideal one? No. But I guess any new improved definition still won't be universally accepted, especially by other talented people.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#185

Post by lmm »

kelnos wrote: post #169
lmm wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In any case, the instant you fall just a little outside the prescribed lines is when things start to get hairy. Have a talk with any DACA recipient and you will quickly learn how broken the system can be. DACA is an exception for people who were already in violation of the law, no? So even if that subsystem is inconsistent, unreliable, or totally nonfunctional, it wouldn't be a reason to say the system as a whole i…

> DACA is an exception for people who were already in violation of the law, no? Are you really going to try to tell me that a 2-year-old who was brought to the US by their parents and then stayed here into adulthood was "in violation of the law"? While I agree that DACA isn't representative of common situations US immigrants (legal and illegal) end up in, I think it's a fine illustration of how our immigration system…

> Are you really going to try to tell me that a 2-year-old who was brought to the US by their parents and then stayed here into adulthood was "in violation of the law"?

Yes. You can blame their parents for giving them an upbringing unsuited to their citizenship, but that doesn't make their position any more legitimate. It's no different from a child raised in a mafia family, who was brought up to break the law before they even knew they were doing so, for whom criminality is the only way they know to live - we don't hold them responsible for their crimes from back when they were too young to know what they were doing, but we do expect them to stop.

> I think you underestimate the quantity of political persecution outside the US. Remember that this isn't just prominent public figures who have tried to stand up against an oppressive regime and failed. Any average citizen in a situation like that could end up in a precarious situation like that. And political persecution is just one reason someone might fear for their lives to the point where they believe they need to leave their country.

I don't see how any of that changes what I wrote? Yes, there may be any number of reasons someone might end up in legitimate fear for their lives. But either they are genuinely fleeing for their lives (for whatever reason) or they are not refugees.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#186

Post by lmm »

Tallain wrote: post #139
lmm wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In any case, the instant you fall just a little outside the prescribed lines is when things start to get hairy. Have a talk with any DACA recipient and you will quickly learn how broken the system can be. DACA is an exception for people who were already in violation of the law, no? So even if that subsystem is inconsistent, unreliable, or totally nonfunctional, it wouldn't be a reason to say the system as a whole i…

> DACA is an exception for people who were already in violation of the law, no? So even if that subsystem is inconsistent, unreliable, or totally nonfunctional, it wouldn't be a reason to say the system as a whole is broken. Let me make sure I understand the point I think you're trying to make. Because people with DACA status were in violation of the law at some point in their lives, it's acceptable to thrust upon th…

> Let me make sure I understand the point I think you're trying to make. Because people with DACA status were in violation of the law at some point in their lives, it's acceptable to thrust upon them a broken system? So, they deserve it? I just want to be sure because it sounds like you're saying it's acceptable for this system to mistreat or otherwise neglect a subset of people because reasons.

Not "at some point in their lives". DACA is for people who are remaining in the country in continual violation of the law. Short of human rights violations like torture, it's acceptable for any system that permits them to remain in the country despite the illegality of their presence to be "broken", because the very existence of any such system is supererogatory.

> The point I was trying to make with DACA is that the system is broken, not because of long wait times for paperwork, but because at any point the entire thing can be taken away. DACA status has been threatened multiple times. Imagine living a life you didn't ask for, not native to the land in which you live, and not native to the one you were forcibly taken from, and living under the shadow of the threat of being forcibly taken back to a strange country. That's one part of the system that is fundamentally broken, and because these people are "in violation of the law", they deserve it?

What I would call "broken" is a system where you can do an end run around all our immigration laws by breaking them a day before your (claimed) 16th birthday. Yes, bad parents can place their children in an arbitrarily awful position, but there are any number of other ways they can do that; it's not the state's responsibility to pick up the pieces (and making it so creates perverse incentives) outside exceptional circumstances like orphans/foundlings (who I believe do have a path to citizenship).

> It's easy to dismiss a single piece that doesn't impact your life directly. "Great! The illegals have a hard time with immigration. Maybe they should not have broken the law, then!"

> But to many it is their entire lives, and through no fault of their own. It's this contentment with injustice elsewhere that's utterly infuriating and really shines a light on the privilege of some on this forum.

I'd say that applies double to the wealthy PMC who promote illegal immigration because it doesn't hurt them.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#187

Post by mlrtime »

lebean wrote: post #163
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #93

Congrats OP! I'm trying to choose my words carefully, because I don't want to give the wrong impression: 1. I think it's great that OP got the visa, and it's clear (at least to me) that we should be attracting entrepreneurial types like OP to start businesses in the US. I also understand that our immigration system is hopelessly broken, and oftentimes the best one can hope to do is "hack" the system. So I commend you…

I really hope more people can use this loophole as much as possible. The lack of immigrants is lowering the standards of this country, so perhaps if the trend continues, this will no longer be a loophole but a by-the-book exhibition of extraordinary ability.

>The lack of immigrants is lowering the standards of this country

What do you mean by this? There seems to be a divide here and NYC is currently in the middle of a immigrant crisis with nowhere to house immigrants.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#188

Post by mlrtime »

kelnos wrote: post #170
Tallain wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> DACA is an exception for people who were already in violation of the law, no? So even if that subsystem is inconsistent, unreliable, or totally nonfunctional, it wouldn't be a reason to say the system as a whole is broken. Let me make sure I understand the point I think you're trying to make. Because people with DACA status were in violation of the law at some point in their lives, it's acceptable to thrust upon th…

> "Great! The illegals have a hard time with immigration. Maybe they should not have broken the law, then!" But to many it is their entire lives, and through no fault of their own. This is the thing that really gets me. There's all this hand-wringing about how people in the country illegally should just accept that they did it "the wrong way", and oops, well, I guess that means they're not worthy of being treated as…

>actively use immigration reform (or the lack thereof) as a political weapon.

You criticize this but then do the exact same thing. You try to manipulate the reader by stating that if you don't agree with your view point they lack sympathy. This is exactly what politicians do.

Read the reply above yours that states facts and law, there is no politics, manipulation or appeals for sympathy.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#189

Post by mlrtime »

scheme271 wrote: post #118
TMWNN wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I also understand that our immigration system is hopelessly broken, and oftentimes the best one can hope to do is "hack" the system. Just because something is difficult/time-consuming != "hopelessly broken". (No, kids, the Reason magazine "What Part of Legal Immigration Don't You Understand?" flowchart is not ipso facto proof of this, either.) There is no obligation for the US, or any country, to turn something as i…

I think the hopelessly broken is referring to things like a 50-70 year waits for qualified people to get a green card if they're born in india, or stuff like it taking 1-2 years for someone married to a us citizen to be allowed to join their spouse in the country (and there's a decent chance they'll be denied a visitor visa to see their spouse during the wait) and the situation is even worse if you have a green card…

Everything to do with immigration (outside the happy path) is going to feel "hopelessly broken" if it isn't fast and efficient. US Citizenship for many in the world is basically a life lottery ticket.

The "broken" pieces are more features than bugs.

Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer

#190

Post by gumby »

thruway516 wrote: post #153
gumby wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's short-sighted nonsense that undocumented immigrants can't get SSNs. They should be issued SSNs and pay taxes as usual. They are working, and the IRS should be collecting taxes, nothing more, nothing less. If they aren't paying taxes, someone else has to make up the difference. Likewise I want them to get licenses if they can pass the driving laws test, and should be able to get insurance. I don't want to be hit…

I think its partly about making day to day existence hard enough in the hope that they will self-deport, without making the laws outright inhumane

That may be the case, but it is self-defeating in that it makes things worse for everyone else, as examples in my comment show.
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