Hi Peter, what are my employment options as a programmer who (long story short qualifies for DACA) is completely undocumented. Not a citizen, not a resident but living in the US. I'm working with a local company and doing work as a 1099 Contractor, but this along with freelance can be limiting. I would much rather work with a big(ger) company, but unfortunately I don't have work authorization. Am I right in assuming there's no way for me to get hired at a real company? Or are there workarounds I'm not aware about?
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
291–300 of 318 posts
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#292Hi Peter! You did my E3 visa a while back. When I was standing in line at the US consulate in Sydney, the person in front of me was really nervous, visibly shaking. I saw that their papers had your letterhead, so I was able to calm them down a bit by showing them my papers, which also had your letterhead. Thanks for all your hard work!
Quite a coincidence. Thanks for your help!
[dead]
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#293When a USA citizen meets abroad and wants to marry a non-USA citizen, with the intention of the non-USA citizen pursuing permanent residence in the USA, does it have any effect on the process which country they get married in? I've heard this and similar concerns from employees of multinationals who meet someone while at an overseas branch. They want to do what they can to avoid snags.
It doesn't matter where they get married as long as the marriage is valid where it occurs and under U.S. law. The location of the process abroad is based on the non-U.S.-citizens's country of citizenship or country of residence. Regarding the specific process, whether in the U.S. through USCIS or abroad through the State Department/U.S. Consulate, definitely consult an immigration attorney to understand the timing, r…
A K-1, "Fiance Visa" I'm pretty sure requires the marriage to happen inside the US. At least that's how the immigration people explained it to us, and their website, while not saying it outright at least implies it:
> With your visa, you can apply for a single admission at a U.S. port-of-entry within the validity of the visa, which will be a maximum of 6 months from the date of issuance. You must marry your U.S. citizen fiancé(e) within 90 days of your entry into the United States.
Source: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#294Any hope for DACA? I get a consultation every few years but they always tell me i'll have to leave the country for consulate appointment and possibly not be allowed back in.
Do you have DACA already? I've had DACA since it's beginning but just this week was approved for my green card via adjustment of status through marriage.
The only caveat for me was needing to do Advance Parole before hand, otherwise I'd have to also do consulate interview.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#295For anyone considering working with Peter, our firm has been a client for 10 years, have sponsored 5-10 green cards and 20+ visas. Peter has been amazing to work with and we've gotten emphatic thank you notes from people we recommended to him.
Do you know the best way to contact Peter or his firm? Looking them up online I find broken links to the firm website. I've been looking for an immigration attorney who specializes in EB1A for an early engineer in the startup founding team with a small number of publication ( $2 million value). NIW is unfortunately not a good option due to the country backlog.
Do the links to/at: [ http://www.robertsimmigration.com/contact.html ] not work?
Appears to list phone / fax / email for two offices, Connecticut and California.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#296Hey Peter! You coached me through 2 TNs, and an H1B. Thank you for everything you do!
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#297I am getting conflicting opinions on this, so I will ask. My company has filed a 485 for me (currently on H1) and my wife is a dependent. My wife is currently on O1 and her company wants to file a separate 485 for her (with me as dependent) for backup. But my company's attorneys are telling me that's not recommended and it's better to withdraw one before filing another. Is that so or can 2 485s be filed?
You absolutely can file multiple concurrent I-485 petitions. I know because I had two concurrent petitions myself: an EB-5 that I filed by myself, and a regular boring EB-2 sponsored by my employer.
However, this will make it almost 100% certain that your interview will not be waived. During the interview, the officer will ask you with which I-485 you will want to proceed.
And you generally want to keep your case as straightforward as possible for quick adjudication, having multiple petitions will complicate it for sure. And the USCIS can take months to do anything as it is.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#298Hi 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 have gotten two O1's and then the greencard version (EB2). It isn't easy in the "not a lot of work" sense, it's easy in the "not random" sense. If you put in the work (that also helps your career), tick off the required boxes, and present the evidence correctly, you will get the visa. But yes an O1 takes a shitload of work.
I think gc equivalent for o-1 would be eb1. I got eb2 with just a masters degree
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#299I'm an L1B visa holder that will be filing I-140, I-765, I-131, I-485 concurrently in the coming months. How soon can I leave my current employer? As soon as the I-140 is approved and the EAD turns up? Assuming that my employer has communicated that they would not withdraw an approved I-140.
What's the basis of the green card application, PERM labor certification or something else?
EB third preference ROW with PERM.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#300This international graduate student (on a scholarship) got a SSN and had to file taxes every year while in the US. In May of his last year, he graduated. Returned home.
On Jan-Feb next year, the school mailed him the tax forms to his country for the previous fiscal year's taxes. He never completed those forms and did not file them with the IRS. He's living his life in his home country now. He lost his SSN card and he doesn't remember his SSN.
20 years later, he wants to return to the US as a tourist to visit some friends. Would that tax mishap be a problem for him? Thanks in advance.