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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

#331

Post by willmadden »

anigbrowl wrote: post #162
willmadden wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The same is true for people born into war zones not fully under US control. I still wouldn't write this off. All it takes is a compelling argument for a new interpretation of "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof". It's pretty easy to make a compelling argument. The 14th Amendment was intended to address the citizenship status of freed slaves and their descendants post-Civil War. It was not meant to apply to the c…

Are you seriously suggesting that undocumented immigrants are immune from US jurisdiction in some respect? This sounds like a reverse version of the odd legal theories proffered by sovereign citizens as to why they should not be subject to judgements in US courts.

Yes, of course they are. Just one example is conscription.

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

#332

Post by csa »

sunshowers wrote: post #303
csa wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> why referring to an entire, diverse bunch of people as "H1Bs" Even though you seem to be getting downvoted aggressively, I’m going to provide a short, good-faith reply. First, I’m not Peter, and I’m not an immigration lawyer, but I can provide insight as someone who knows and has worked with many H1Bs. Second, this thread covers the major points, imho: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskALiberal/comments/1huxnn1/why_is...…

> Qualified Americans losing their jobs (e.g., relatively recent layoffs) and struggling to find work. Meanwhile, H1Bs remain employed [...]. Why do you want to destroy market power for people on visas even further, leading to even more exploitation than exists today?

> Why do you want to destroy market power for people on visas even further

Under what auspices are they supposed to have market power in the first place?

H1B folks are supposed to be here to make up for deficiencies in the labor market. When those deficiencies don’t exist, we don’t need to add more of those jobs.

There is definitely a humane way to do this (e.g., don’t just yoink people out of jobs), but the current situation with companies claiming no qualified candidates is often farcical.

> leading to even more exploitation than exists today?

Imho, poor implementation and oversight of the h1b program is the cause of a much of the exploitation that exists.

Right-sizing the number of h1b positions in the country based on data that’s in the ballpark of realistic is not an unreasonable ask.

As I have said elsewhere, I know and have worked with many h1b folks, and I love that the program exists.

That said, there’s no need to continue to allow the abusers to abuse it.

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

#333

Post by blindriver »

deeg wrote: post #311
dragonwriter wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The wording of the 14th Amendment is ambiguous? It is only ambiguous read in a vacuum. Read in the comtext of the US legal tradition in which it was written and the way the prior English common law tradition was incorporated into that tradition, it is...rather unambiguous. (Most notably, its exactly how the Supreme Court had applied the principles of English common law involved in multiple citizenship cases before…

Before the bonkers immunity decision I would have agreed with this. Since then, though, I don't trust SCOTUS on any decision that involves conservative policy. This may come up sooner than expected; Trump has issued an EO attempting to nullify it: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/prot...

There is nothing bonkers about it. Should Obama be subject to prosecution for murder for allowing the bombing of a US citizen in the Middle East? Or should he be immune because he was engaging in an official act as President to protect the US?

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

#334

Post by throwaway81321 »

blindriver wrote: post #15

How viable is the effort to overturn birthright citizenship?

US citizen by birth, but my parents weren't LPRs or citizens at the time I was born (1986).. they later received green cards and then citizenship in the late 1990s/early aughts.

I recognize that it's unlikely that this part of the order would stand in the end, but in the meantime is it plausible I might run into issues in interactions w/ the federal government? ('the fight is the point') Are there any documents I should get in order that might help? (already have my passport, having trouble track down original visa documents for my parents from when they first came to the US in the 70s)

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

#335

Post by rtrtrtrt »

Hey Peter - I'm a US citizen currently living in Canada as a permanent resident (my wife is Canadian and we're raising our kids here). I've started startups in the states before when I used to live there, incorporated as C-Corps, but now that I'm living in Canada - if I wanted to create a startup, could I still incorporate it as a C-Corp in Delaware? *I do have my parents address in the states that I can use if needed

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

#336

Post by dang »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #301
dang wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who/what are you referring to? Perhaps you know more than I do but that does not sound accurate to me.

I've made an egregious error. The Y Combinator leadership has expressed a lot of firm, unequivocal opposition to Donald Trump personally, and I have little doubt that they oppose his anti-immigration policies. Ironically it's because I use no social media, so I don't see these battles play out. I sincerely always liked the organization and its leadership, and I think I was victim to a particular drive-by accusation.…

Ah, got it. No worries! I was just a bit confused because the YC leaders I know have been public advocates for (legal) immigration, for reasons that are not hard to understand: YC helps many startup founders come to the U.S.. Many with Peter's help!

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

#337

Post by anigbrowl »

willmadden wrote: post #331
anigbrowl wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you seriously suggesting that undocumented immigrants are immune from US jurisdiction in some respect? This sounds like a reverse version of the odd legal theories proffered by sovereign citizens as to why they should not be subject to judgements in US courts.

Yes, of course they are. Just one example is conscription.

Men under the age of 26, documented or not, are required to sign up after being in the US for 30 days, unless they are on a valid visa.

https://www.sss.gov/register/immigrants/

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

#338

Post by sunshowers »

csa wrote: post #332
sunshowers wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Qualified Americans losing their jobs (e.g., relatively recent layoffs) and struggling to find work. Meanwhile, H1Bs remain employed [...]. Why do you want to destroy market power for people on visas even further, leading to even more exploitation than exists today?

> Why do you want to destroy market power for people on visas even further Under what auspices are they supposed to have market power in the first place? H1B folks are supposed to be here to make up for deficiencies in the labor market. When those deficiencies don’t exist, we don’t need to add more of those jobs. There is definitely a humane way to do this (e.g., don’t just yoink people out of jobs), but the current…

> Under what auspices are they supposed to have market power in the first place?

Labor rights? Equality? Freedom? Does today mark the day we just give up on these ideas?

> There is definitely a humane way to do this (e.g., don’t just yoink people out of jobs)

But you strongly implied exactly that with "Meanwhile, H1Bs remain employed". There is no reasonable reading of this which doesn't strongly imply that visa workers should be the first to be fired and the last to be hired.

> but the current situation with companies claiming no qualified candidates is often farcical.

Do you not understand that the oligarchs are the enemy? Not other workers, oligarchs.

> That said, there’s no need to continue to allow the abusers to abuse it.

You are very deliberately and carefully advocating for depressed wages. Later, you will complain about visa workers having depressed wages.

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

#339

Post by hcmgr »

proberts wrote: post #72
elephant81 wrote: post #69

Thanks Peter. With an American wife, and an Australian Passport, what would you recommend as the best path to move to the US?

An E-3 requires a job offer but with a job offer, the E-3 is much faster, easier, and cheaper than a marriage-based green card application. After you are here, if you decide that you'd like to make your permanent home here, you can apply for a green card even if you are in E-3 status. That just shouldn't be your intent now when applying for an E-3 visa.

Hi Peter,

I am in a similar position, however am looking to do my masters in the US first.

Would the path be: F-1 during masters, get a job offer, apply for E-3, then apply for GC?

Also, roughly how long after being granted E-3 would it take to get the GC?

Cheers!

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

#340

Post by hcmgr »

Hi Peter. Thanks again for doing this. Life saver.

I am an Australian citizen looking to do my Masters in Computer Science in the US, and live there afterwards. I particularly want my green card so I can work at SpaceX / Starlink / other companies that require it.

Would the path be:

F-1 during masters, get a job offer in the US, E-3 sponsored by said job, GC?

Also, what is the rough time frame from E-3 being granted to GC being granted?

Cheers!

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