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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

#241

Post by proberts »

arkj wrote: post #29

I am from India and we would like to start our operations in US. Are there any other visa options for founders other than H1-B?

Depending on a variety of factors including whether there are spouses involved who would like to work and whether multiple founders and/or employees will need work authorization, the options are the O-1 and the L-1. (The E-1 and E-2 are unavailable to Indian citizens.) There's also hope that the Biden Administration will revive Obama's International Entrepreneur Rule (or IER). This likely would be the best option for many founders but we'll have to see.

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

#242

Post by loganu »

dvishal wrote: post #238
loganu wrote: post #166

You can move to an O-1 or other visa, if you want to move from H-1B employer to doing your own thing. Since you've got a priority date already, you can keep that when you move to the new company, so the wait isn't completely lost. I've helped 10ish founders go from H-1B employees to being a founder on O-1 this year, would be happy to chat through the playbook.

Can you please share more details for h1-o1 conversion?

I don't seem to be able to DM... maybe not enough karma? logan@legalpad.io and I can walk you through a few options.

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

#243

Post by loganu »

maddynator wrote: post #230
loganu wrote: post #166

You can move to an O-1 or other visa, if you want to move from H-1B employer to doing your own thing. Since you've got a priority date already, you can keep that when you move to the new company, so the wait isn't completely lost. I've helped 10ish founders go from H-1B employees to being a founder on O-1 this year, would be happy to chat through the playbook.

So do you retain priority date on O-1 that we get on H1b? can you please DM me info on how I can reach out to you for next step?

I don't seem to be able to DM... maybe not enough karma? DM me or logan@legalpad.io and I can walk you through a few options.

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

#244

Post by loganu »

USCIS is the best place for authoritative info... but it can be really hard to navigate through all their different programs and find what you need. Chatting with an immigration attorney like Peter and his team, or our team at Legalpad, will help you understand what your options are, as well as the grey areas and nuance in some of the rules.

Sometimes what the government says, and how they actually respond to cases, can be pretty different - experience in the field matters, you need to see a number of cases to get a feel for what works/ doesn't work.

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

#245

Post by proberts »

suyash wrote: post #221
proberts wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is possible but it's a challenge because there's a prohibition against self-employment in the H-1B context. The options are the O-1 (a high standard but self-employment isn't really an issue) or the H-1B but with cofounders so that the ownership and control are diffuse.

I thought one can't work for one's own company in O-1 just like H1B no?

As a general rule, being a founder and/or substantial owner doesn't disqualify one from O-1 classification (and in fact is usually an asset). The standard for O-1 classification is less whether one meets an abstract standard of extraordinary ability and more whether one meets the specific O-1 criteria which are often within reach of talented engineers without advanced degrees, particularly those who have founded or are in the process of founding a company.

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

#246

Post by immigrant1 »

proberts wrote: post #212
immigrant1 wrote: post #109

Hi Peter, I'm a start-up founder, on a H1B, and I just filed my EB-1a-based I-485. My H1B expires end of March 2021. Do I need to renew my H1B, or can I simply use the AOS application to maintain status while the green card comes through? I imagine after my H1B expires, if I don't file for a renewal, I won't be able to work, unless my EAD comes through on time? Under normal circumstances I'd renew my H1B, but given t…

What are the relevant dates: when did you file your I-485 and EAD applications and when does your H-1B expire? Also, do you have any sense how strong your EB1A is?

H-1B expires March 31, 2021.

My I-140 (for EB1A) was already approved, back in April 2019.

My I-485 (and I-765 and I-131) were filed around Oct 15, 2020 (last month), and I'm still waiting on the receipt notices. Just last week I saw the check debit my bank account, so I assume I'll get the receipt notices anytime now.

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

#247

Post by dodobirdlord »

oskapt wrote: post #151
ilarum wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need to leave the United States to renew your passport. Your country's embassy in the US can do it for you.

This is true. My wife has renewed her Russian passport from Poland and from Chile, as well as from within the United States.

Whether you can renew a passport from outside of the country differs between countries.

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

#250

Post by mav3rick »

maddynator wrote: post #231
proberts wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is possible but it's a challenge because there's a prohibition against self-employment in the H-1B context. The options are the O-1 (a high standard but self-employment isn't really an issue) or the H-1B but with cofounders so that the ownership and control are diffuse.

thanks.. cofounder route doesn't pan out for several reasons. All cofounder I want to work with are on H1B. And the last time I tried a citizen as cofounder they screw you for being on visa. Same as how big giant companies do just more directly. Anyway, how does one demonstrate they have extraordinary ability for O-1 when everyone on the H1 list has a masters and been an engineer for a while? Any examples of how peop…

Maybe try doing extraordinary things ?
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