Thank you again for the great questions and comments. I will be back again in a couple of hours and respond to any unanswered questions and comments.
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
211–220 of 248 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#212Hi! Thanks for doing this! I've been wondering for a while whether it's possible/practical to create a solo company (maybe Delaware LLC) in the US just to be able to offer and invoice my services as a software developer to US companies that look for US candidates. I assume (please correct me if you think I'm wrong) that sometimes this requirement is because of taxes and bureaucracy, and my be could be overcome by hir…
You don't need to incorporate in the US to do business with US companies on a freelance basis. I have worked as a Canadian freelancer working for US companies for nearly a decade. I did eventually incorporate but that actually makes it more complicated because many large corps are used to dealing with international freelancers and just need to send you withholding exemption docs to fill out. They usually only have the individual freelancer docs at the ready -- not the incorporated entity docs. That said, hiring an employee and hiring a freelancer are different for a lot of reasons and there are good reasons why a company might not hire international folks. Including because certain industry's regulations keep them from hiring in certain places or because the work requires you be on a certain time zone. I would also say that... you shouldn't always believe what a company says when they say they're only hiring in the US. I have gotten interviews and offers for jobs that were listed like that. Here's what I do: I find a job that I find interesting and then go to the company's LinkedIn page. I look at their People tab and check to see if they currently have any employees in my country. If they do, they might have an international hiring strategy but could prefer US staffers because there's less paperwork and they don't need to go through an agency in that country to hire you. Then, I apply with my address clearly listed. It's more work for me because there are many jobs that won't even consider Canadians. However, there are some that will for the right candidate. And in the last year, I received a number of offers and interviews from companies willing to hire me remotely from Canada but who had originally advertised US only. Many companies, especially small startups, are moving towards international hiring strategies.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#213Thank you so much for doing these!
Does EOR (Employer of Record) count for L1 visa? I guess either through the EOR, or through the employer that's using the EOR?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#214Can a non-US-citizen solo founder with a US startup sponsor themselves to do work in the US? As an Australian citizen could the company I founded fill the LCA form for an E-3?
Not proberts, but I followed that path. It's possible, but your odds of success are proportional to how legitimate the US business is. "Legitimacy" is easily verified by having substantial revenue, investments, co-founders, and other employees. If the business has no meaningful trade, the odds of success are minimal. That is, just registering a company in the US will do little to support your case.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#215Hi Peter, thanks for the AMA. Are there any benefits to converting from a green card to citizenship, in the context of employment? Access to some government jobs is the only thing I can think of. Can green cards be extended every time they are about to expire until someone retires, or is there a limit?
An green card holder is a permanent resident. I think they will keep renewing you unless for example you didn't file taxes or committed a serious crime or things like that.
https://www.stilt.com/blog/2020/05/green-card-renewal-denied...
Also green card holder cannot live outside the US too long or they may revoke it. You can pre-apply for a reentry permit to get a longer window.
https://www.stilt.com/blog/2020/07/can-i-stay-more-than-6-mo...
Citizenship removes all those restrictions. Also you can petition for your parents to immigrate immediately.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
at least as perceived by CBP officers How do they judge the thing, by the content of your phone or computer?
If they are really concerned or suspicious, they will sometimes ask to see your phone or computer. But their analysis is what in fact the individual will be doing in the U.S. - that is, will he or she be doing productive work - and who is the primary beneficiary of the individual's activities.
What if I refuses to unlock laptop or phone, can I go home (outside the U.S)?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#217How soon can an employer start the visa sponsorship process for someone who is currently at a U.S. university and graduating in May? For example, can an H-1B be filed prior to graduation?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#218What’s the best pathway for an Australian on an E3 visa to transition to a greencard? Do I have to go to a different visa type first? I’ve had 8 E3s so far.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#219Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#220Quoted post unavailable.
I'm struggling to follow what immigration has to do with discrimination against US-born individuals. Is the connection because, without the broader pool of applicants available through visa programs, companies would be forced to hire an increased amount of US-born people who wouldn't otherwise have been hired, some of whom would have been potentially not hired due to discrimination? If anything, my discrimination met…
It is probably more precise to just stick with the term "US-legal" instead of thinking about birth. That's a better term I should have used.
The mechanism is if there's one perfect candidate of the right age, race and caste but the person isn't US-legal, then companies will be forced to consider people of the wrong age, race or caste. Maybe not right away, but when the supply of the perfect age/race/caste US-legal people run out.
In my experience, the visas usually accentuate the distorted racial makeup of tech companies because they all go to overrepresented countries.