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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

#211
post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would ultimately be more of a question of the laws of your country. From the US's perspective, even if you were an employee, it would be foreign source income as long as you remain outside of the US so they aren't going to gain any taxes if you were considered an employee.

Thanks, makes sense. On my side is all good. I formed a company to export services. But that’s why I wonder why more companies don’t do this

What did paperwork did you have to do to form a company to export services?

Is it possible to just export services as a sole proprietor without forming a company?

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

#212

Hi Peter, thank you for doing this! I am currently on an F-1 visa, waiting to switch to H-1B in January. I have a previous J-1 visa so I'm currently in the process of waiving the two-year-rule. When the waiver is approved, can I file a change of status, or do I have to leave the country to apply for the visa?

How is it possible to get a H1B in January? Because H1B is only granted in October about 6 months after you apply for it before the April deadline.

Yes, my petition was approved starting October. But I'm finishing up my F-1 this semester, and will be starting the job in Jan.

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

#213
post #17

Thankfully I'm personally on the other side of this already (got my green card less than a year ago). With many jobs becoming fully remote, do you think it's still possible to offer relocation to employees through L-1s, O-1s and H-1Bs? On the one hand, it's hard to claim that they truly need to be in the States, but on the other hand, it could be important for the timezones to match (and it's an amazing employee bene…

I would heavily disagree on any benefits of being physically in the US. Working for US companies remotely while in a warm European place (Italy, Spain, Portugal) is the real deal.

It is difficult to meaningfully collaborate with a team that is working in US time zones if you are in Europe/Asia. You can make it work, sure, but saying that there is no benefit to being in the same place is disingenuous.

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

#215

Hi Peter, thank you for doing this! I am currently on an F-1 visa, waiting to switch to H-1B in January. I have a previous J-1 visa so I'm currently in the process of waiving the two-year-rule. When the waiver is approved, can I file a change of status, or do I have to leave the country to apply for the visa?

How is it possible to get a H1B in January? Because H1B is only granted in October about 6 months after you apply for it before the April deadline.

unsure of this poster's situation, generally if your h1 is filed by not-for-profit orgs or academia,the h1s are not subject to the cap/lottery system and can be applied for anytime a legitimate job offer exists.

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

#216
post #17

Thankfully I'm personally on the other side of this already (got my green card less than a year ago). With many jobs becoming fully remote, do you think it's still possible to offer relocation to employees through L-1s, O-1s and H-1Bs? On the one hand, it's hard to claim that they truly need to be in the States, but on the other hand, it could be important for the timezones to match (and it's an amazing employee bene…

I'm in Canada and will be relocating to the United States on an L1 visa next year.

I was worried that PERM cannot be filed for remote employees but that doesn't appear to be an issue.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5bddb770-63de...

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

#217

Hi Peter, My father who is a naturalized US citizen since Oct 2018 (He got his GC in Oct 2013) filed for my GC. I am in F2B. I am born and raised in India, 32 yrs, unmarried, 5 years of exp in IT. Priority date → Nov 2017 Petition approved → Nov 2020 My file should be with NVC now, probably in cold storage. How severely has the pandemic slowed down application processing? I have been hearing there will be no change i…

What are the odds the top comment is an Indian asking about when he’ll become current :D

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

#218
post #17

Thankfully I'm personally on the other side of this already (got my green card less than a year ago). With many jobs becoming fully remote, do you think it's still possible to offer relocation to employees through L-1s, O-1s and H-1Bs? On the one hand, it's hard to claim that they truly need to be in the States, but on the other hand, it could be important for the timezones to match (and it's an amazing employee bene…

I would heavily disagree on any benefits of being physically in the US. Working for US companies remotely while in a warm European place (Italy, Spain, Portugal) is the real deal.

How does one go about doing that? I have been living in Spain and having a hard time getting remote work with U.S. companies despite having a PhD in computer science and being a U.S. national. Do you have any pointers?

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

#220
Hi Peter, I am starting a company as the CTO, and my likely co-founder is on H-1B visa. I have 2 questions regarding this scenario:

1. What is the current prevailing wage for a SaaS CEO? 2. Will it be a problem if we want to be fully remote, given that USCIS might visit our office for auditing purposes?

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