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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

#221

Post by proberts »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #202

1. Do you foresee significant changes in immigration policy in the next 20 years? With many working under temporary status for as much as a decade, seems more relevant than ever to predict the future. Which, I'm sure, you hate to do. But this is for fun. 2. In your opinion, is there a way to live under the regime that 10-17m illegal aliens in the US seemingly do every day, but to be an entrepreneur? Is it really goin…

1. I've been doing this a long time and major changes in immigration law are very rare and require some type of consensus among the different parties and branches. So, as much as the system needs to be fixed, I don't think the fixes will be legislative. 2. Of course, there are additional challenges but I know many entrepreneurs who are not in valid status or at one time were not in valid status. But it's tough. 3. I think because the need is so great in the tech industry and it seems that it can be hard to find the right talent.

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

#222

Post by junar »

canucker2016 wrote: post #209
hinoki wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s by country of birth. So that applicant with the long wait could be from Canada if they were born in India.

Looks like there's a small backlog for Mexico/Philippines, large backlog for China and even larger for India-born employment-based applicants. see https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/v... and click on the latest bulletin. You'll probably want to look at the employment-based green card waiting list.

Note that if the country of birth is not explicity listed, such as Canada, the intending immigrant must use the column "All Chargeability Areas Except Those Listed".

For example, a EB2 applicant born in Canada filing today would be backlogged because the date of filing is listed as 01JAN23.

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

#223

Post by refurb »

dotBen wrote: post #133

Green card holder via marriage, decided after 10 years it's time to naturalize. Nothing exotic in the situation - still happily married, started a family, no legal issues, citizen of Western country etc. Is it worth retaining an immigration attorney for this? Most of my friends who have done this did it themselves and say it's a paper-filing exercise, simple test and an interview - so they think I'm being overly caut…

Unless you have something unusual about your situation (e.g. criminal record, extensive stays outside the US, etc), it's dead simple.

And if you've been in the US for 10 years, don't apply under the marriage path of 3 years residency, apply under 5 years. They basically verify you've lived in the US for 5 years (you have records of all your international travel right?), aren't a criminal and boom approved.

The marriage route is a bit more complex as it can involve legitimacy of the marriage (although not much of a hurdle for most).

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

#226

Post by abra0 »

proberts wrote: post #29
moralestapia wrote: post #23

Hi Peter, Could you shed some light about what kind of profile could apply for (and get) an O1 visa? Specifically, if I have a tech company set up in the US that's pulling some decent revenue, is it worth applying for an O1? What other circumstances come into play against/in favor of this? I've seen a lot of advisors and "influencers" all over the web saying that it's "easy". I don't think that's the case because not…

I wouldn't characterize an O-1 as easy but it's often within reach of talented professionals, particularly founders. At the end of the day, the issue is less about the quality of the evidence - although that matters - and more about the existence of evidence that checks at least 3 boxes/criteria. And now, with the recent public announcements from the Administration, O-1 petitions with an AI component have an even gre…

Bonus question on O-1: what do you think are the easiest boxes to check for a talented professionals in AI? High salary and critical capacity for established organizations are a given, but what else?

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

#227

Post by shiroiuma »

proberts wrote: post #108
pizzalife wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably not something Peter can answer.. but I'm from northern europe and yes, I'm happy here and would never want to go back.

I often think about this but regardless of the country, some foreign nationals can never imagine going back to their home country and others always see their home country as their home, where they will end up. It seems more specific to the foreign national than to the home country.

Some people immigrate for purely economic reasons, others immigrate because they prefer the lifestyle and culture in the host country. The ones that always see their home country as their home, where they will end up, are in the first group. They're only immigrating for the $$$.

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

#228

Post by shiroiuma »

salamandersss wrote: post #66
orangepurple wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One does not simply leave. You need permission from your destination to reside there. Tourism is different.

Constitution and ground level dynamics of Argentina makes this false for their country. Even criminals entering as tourist on false passport have been granted citizenship in accordance with their constitution.

The OP's statement doesn't seem false. Argentina is simply giving these people permission, even though their standards are apparently quite lax.

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

#229

Post by shiroiuma »

j33zusjuice wrote: post #4

US immigration? If I live past tomorrow, I want to leave the US. Idk how to even start.

If you're a skilled tech worker as is typical for the HN crowd, it's pretty simple: look for jobs abroad that will sponsor your work visa in those countries. There are many job sites oriented towards expats (or prospective immigrants, depending on your viewpoint) with job postings. Many of the mainstream sites like indeed.com and glassdoor.com also allow you to search for jobs in particular countries.

I will warn you, though: salaries in the software sector are generally much lower abroad, though the cost-of-living is generally lower too, so it's not necessarily that bad.

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

#230

Post by IG_Semmelweiss »

codetrotter wrote: post #224

What countries in South America are the most easy to immigrate to for someone from Norway?

a norwegian citizen should have no problems immigrating to most places in south america.

I can think of 3 countries that will give you a passport very quickly with a simple marriage ceremony, after 1-2 years, no questions asked.

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