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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

#351

Post by aabiji »

proberts wrote: post #231
aabiji wrote: post #210

Hey Peter, I'm currently in high school in Canada and I know that I want to live my life in the US. Ideally I would also like to school in a US university. I also don't have any familial ties in the US. As an immigration attorney, could you map out how I could immigrate to the US, in terms of the visa I need and the process of acquiring a green card? Thank you for your time.

Hey. Probably the best way is to go to university in the U.S. on an F-1 visa. The challenge is the strict limitations on working when attending school but after you graduate, you will get 1-3 years of largely unrestricted work authorization and the TN as a work option as well. Or go to university in Canada and then when you graduate, work in the U.S. on a TN.

Thanks so much!

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

#352

Post by [deleted] »

markus92 wrote: post #337
Herdinger wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for the quick response, I agree if it would be that easy, sadly I’ve had friends that were turned away by customs for that exact reasons (staying months while they visited last time) and got recommended against even trying to enter by an attorney since the I130 in flight might be used by US customs against me. I don’t think you or anyone can assure me that if I am currently trying to enter the country for a vi…

I’ve entered close to 25 times since submitting a I-130, never had any issues whatsoever, barely even a question from the officer. I even got global entry just fine. Dutch citizen here with wife living in the US. My visits are usually on the order of 5-10 days and I do have a strong track record of leaving the country which might help.

[deleted]

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

#353

Post by jacquesm »

askin4it wrote: post #334

When my legit wife and I went to the green card interview, the examiner decided she didn't like my attitude. I'm assuming that's what tied up the case for 7 years. I think they forced a redo of the application three times with all updated documents. Seemed punitive and capricious. Question: is our experience unique? Was it a mistake to hire a lawyer from the get go? We had friends who sailed through without an attorn…

Nothing like small people with power over you. I always wonder what motivates people to behave like that but they do. Best of luck, I can't help you or have any knowledge about what to do but I hope you'll get through this. FWIW I was in Canada for a long time waiting for my immigrant status and eventually just gave up.

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

#354

Post by returningfory2 »

winter_blue wrote: post #346
bubblethink wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1. There will be no increase in caps. AOS relief from Congress is also not likely. The executive can take some minor steps in making AOS a bit better depending on interest, but still unlikely. 2. Not happening. Nothing is getting through Congress anyway.

> AOS relief from Congress is also not likely This isn’t right—it would be more accurate to say AOS relief from the GOP is not likely. Democrats nearly passed an amendment as part of the budget bill in 2021, which would have allowed AOS after a 2 year wait ( exempt from EB caps ). The bill was unfortunately blocked by the Parliamentarian: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/19/1038776731/in-a-blow-to-democ... Democratic Sena…

Immigration reform can't be passed through the Senate's special budget procedures (this is what the parliamentarian blocked) and thus will require 60 votes to pass. Partly for this reason I don't think we'll get immigration reform for the foreseeable future, at all.

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

#355

Post by EduardoBautista »

Detrytus wrote: post #266
howinteresting wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea is that adults can sponsor their parents for a green card but children cannot. Of course it makes absolutely no sense given the disruption to US citizen children's lives if their parents are deported, but US immigration generally is quite cruel if you're on the margins.

I think parents of US citizen children cannot be deported for that exact reason: it would leave the child without a parent. That's why they are called "anchor babies". But of course if they leave the US willingly (e.g. traveling to their home country) they will be banned from ever coming back.

> I think parents of US citizen children cannot be deported for that exact reason: it would leave the child without a parent. That's why they are called "anchor babies".

Yes, they can be deported. This has affected me personally and other members of my extended family.

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

#356

Post by EduardoBautista »

howinteresting wrote: post #216
geodel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leave the US and apply for US immigration from their own country?

This is the worst possible advice in this situation. If you're an unauthorized immigrant, DO NOT listen to this advice. Talk to a lawyer instead.

I did this. I left for Mexico in 2011. Best decision I ever made. Currently typing this message from San Diego, CA too.

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

#357

Post by keepamovin »

If you’re not a US citizen but you’re traveling in the US and you own a US company and you occasionally do a couple hours of work for customers (emails, , but mostly sales are automatic) do you really need to get immigration work permit paperwork like an E3 or something to legally be doing that or is it OK?

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

#358

Post by Bnjoroge »

ecec wrote: post #263

Hey Peter, thank you so much for doing this! I'm currently a F-1 student in Michigan doing CS major undergrad. In Jan, I had a DUI case with BOC: 0.09, and I just started with the whole court thing. Since I don't have a result yet, will a bad record lead to an eviction of the country or will it lead to a hard time later if I ever want to apply for green card / H1B in the future?

side question: has that affected your f-1 status in the U.S?(sorry couldn't be helpeful)

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

#359

Post by tough »

arcticbull wrote: post #186
Maciek416 wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Understood -- the big multinational I was working for employed an immigration law firm that tracked many such crossings, and they practically begged me not to try crossing by land based on their statistics (which suggested a higher probability of trouble in land crossings). I joined that statistic and learned to never take any chances with any part of this.

Very interesting, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

In a more practical sense look at it this way, at a land crossing they can just toss you over. game over. thats it.

If you flew in on a plane, they have to get you deported which costs money and energy.

Also they will assume you have more capital if you come by plane than land and thus ask less questions.

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

#360

Post by arcticbull »

tough wrote: post #359
arcticbull wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very interesting, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!

In a more practical sense look at it this way, at a land crossing they can just toss you over. game over. thats it. If you flew in on a plane, they have to get you deported which costs money and energy. Also they will assume you have more capital if you come by plane than land and thus ask less questions.

Speaking from a Canadian perspective, US flights from Canadian airports (and a select few others) almost exclusively go through pre-clearance. This means you do US customs and immigration on Canadian soil before boarding your flight into the US, and the plane lands in the US as a domestic flight. It's not much different than a land border.

> If you flew in on a plane, they have to get you deported which costs money and energy.

Being denied entry can be quite summary, no proceedings, for most people. Admission is broadly at the discretion of the border officer and recourse for most people is either heavily limited or just straight up zero.

Note that for flights from non-preclearance countries, the airlines are fined if you're not admitted (averaging $3500 at the time of writing but I think closer to $10000 now). I believe they're responsible for paying your way back too. [1] In fact I think USCIS even tried to fine United after paroling a traveler during a transit that wouldn't have otherwise been permitted.

[1] https://airlines.iata.org/2016/10/13/document-verification-t...

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