Are there really not enough qualified American born engineers? Do you see exponentially better talent from H1b engineers?
They see marginally lower payroll expenses
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
261–270 of 418 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#262Thanks, so many interesting answers. As an European working for a US tech company - regular visiting but world traveler as my passion. Is there officially a list of countries one should not visit (just tourism) that could harm career prospects while working for a US company for visas? Thank you.
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Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#263Most posted job positions in the US, that I see, explicitly state they will not sponser candidates. But how receptive are they to TN visa candidates and do you see that attitude changing in the near future?
That's mostly a knee-jerk ignorant position since it's oftentimes very easy, fast, and inexpensive to hire a Canadian in TN status. So it's a process of somehow getting through to someone at the company to educate them not to pass on a good candidate simply because they're Canadian. Which of course is a lot easier said than done.
Would emigrating to Canada be a viable path for European citizens to eventually get a US work visa? If so, would it also be a path towards a green card?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#264How do you square away your relationship with Y Combinator, which has been by all means positive, with the eager collaboration of its leadership with the most anti-immigrant administration in history?
Can't speak for the incoming four years, but a look at deportations by year under Trump, Biden and previous to that, Obama show illegal migrant deportations during Trump's first term were lower than they were during every year of Obama's presidency except one, sometimes greatly lower. They were also only moderately higher than they were during the four years of the Biden administration. A shot of hard facts after bei…
A very similar play book to the one used by the Conservative Party in the UK. They were somehow deemed the "anti-immigration party" of the two major ones, despite having been resposible for some of the highest immigration rates of any era. There's nothing better to distract from rampant inequality and a rapid transfer of wealth from the middle class to the super rich than a boat load of immigrants, that were somehow granted visas by the same government that supposedly reviles them. Without the racial tension, who else is there to point the finger at for the countries woes?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#265How do you square away your relationship with Y Combinator, which has been by all means positive, with the eager collaboration of its leadership with the most anti-immigrant administration in history?
Can't speak for the incoming four years, but a look at deportations by year under Trump, Biden and previous to that, Obama show illegal migrant deportations during Trump's first term were lower than they were during every year of Obama's presidency except one, sometimes greatly lower. They were also only moderately higher than they were during the four years of the Biden administration. A shot of hard facts after bei…
Please point out where the parent comment said that deportations were the only metric used to make that statement.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#266Some family friends are part of a diaspora seeking asylum from Russia. Their hearing dates all fall inside 2026. Part of their asylum plea is admission to activities that Russia criminalized during the invasion of Ukraine - draft dodging, dissemination information about the invasion, and sending aid money to their relatives in Ukrainian. If they were deported back to Russia, their asylum plea would ostensibly be used…
I've heard about those concerns but there's really no clear indication yet how asylum applicants from Russia will be treated by the new administration.
NPR reports that President Trump seeks to "end asylum entirely", according to officials within the administration - https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/g-s1-43650/trump-inauguration...
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#267Hi,
Can I start an own company on OPT? Also, can I maintain both my job and running the start-up, and if so, how would I have to structure it?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#268How do you square away your relationship with Y Combinator, which has been by all means positive, with the eager collaboration of its leadership with the most anti-immigrant administration in history?
Can't speak for the incoming four years, but a look at deportations by year under Trump, Biden and previous to that, Obama show illegal migrant deportations during Trump's first term were lower than they were during every year of Obama's presidency except one, sometimes greatly lower. They were also only moderately higher than they were during the four years of the Biden administration. A shot of hard facts after bei…
The original comment talked about anti-immigrant sentiment of the new administration. Trump said that immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country. How many citations of Trump and his aides would it take to make you believe that they're anti-immigrant?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#269Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, since "federal law can't impose on state law" has been the SCOTUS party line for the last X years, we might as well use that line of reasoning here...
Where did you get that from? Federal laws usually do override state laws. Whether the states have to help enforce federal law is a different question, though, and seems to be a "no" given the examples of marijuana and immigration.
Look up “The Cole memo”, that is why the cannabis stuff is happening the way it is currently.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#270Hi Peter,
Thanks for doing this. I am a Canadian citizen born in India and recently moved to work for a FAANG company on a TN visa from Canada.
The company is asking if I want to apply for a H1B visa this year. Are there any obvious advantages of H1B other than eligibility for green card.
Given the current political climate, is there any projections on how work visas might change going forward.