Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

371–380 of 425 posts

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

#371

Post by proberts »

luciferous wrote: post #227

Hi Peter, thank you for this! I understand that when a company terminates an H1-B worker, the company must offer to pay for the return flight. But what happens if the termination occurred while the employee was overseas and the employee wasn't able to return to the US. Could the employee seek a reimbursement from the company for the costs related to terminating apartment lease early, relocating their residence or sto…

I don't think so. The "benefit" isn't a monetary on; the obligation is to help the H-1B worker return home so if the worker is already home, there's no obligation.

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

#372

Post by proberts »

data_maan wrote: post #314

Late to the party, but - is there some visa scheme to enter the US without having to give them all 10 fingerprints? I consider that to be too much of an invasion of privacy. I know various kinds of diplomatic passports offer that, but I'm not sure if there are other types of routes for highly qualified and/or wealthy founders? I know various types ofdiplomatic passports will allow fingerprint-less entry, but I'm not…

I don't believe so. The only exceptions are for those under 14 and over 79.

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

#373

Post by proberts »

returningfory2 wrote: post #342
data_maan wrote: post #320

People always talk about visa "in the US", but I'm always wondering, aren't there differences that depend on the state you want to go to? Isn't it the case that if you go for a H1B visa then the location of the company you plan to work for in the US affects which part of the governmental agency processes your visa?

No. Immigration is the responsibility of the federal government and the immigration system is exclusively administered by federal agencies like USCIS.

Correct.

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

#374

Post by proberts »

srgseg wrote: post #153

Hi Peter, at what age does it start to become more difficult to get a work visa, and does it depend on the type of visa it is?

I don't think old age is a factor; the issue is more when someone very young applies for a work visa, such as a prodigy applying for an O-1, because there is general skepticism about the applicant's qualifications/achievements.

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

#375

Post by proberts »

TZubiri wrote: post #161

Hi, thanks for the AMA. I'm a non-resident non-citizen, I remotely manage and am a majority owner of a Florida LLC, who sells to US businesses, and has an offshore workforce. The advice I was given is that I can work remotely from outside the states, but when I travel for business purposes with a B1 visa, I can meet providers and clients to discuss contracts, but I can't perform onsite work NOR ONSITE WORK! So I have…

That's right, U.S. immigration doesn't reach beyond the borders of the U.S. so remote employment without work authorization is fine but once the remote worker enters the U.S., unless the worker has work authorization, the worker can't work although the worker can participate in meetings and training and can be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses.

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

#376

Post by proberts »

Tortuga2018 wrote: post #217

Hello, I am a retired US citizen living in Argentina. I've been told by the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires that my Argentine wife will be eligible to receive survivor benefits after I die, but will have to spend an entire month in the US every 6 months to qualify. She has never lived in the US and doesn't plan to, so she won't qualify for the 5 year residency exemption. Also in order for her…

This appears to be a mix of benefits and immigration issues and unfortunately I think a call is required to untangle it (because, for example, the requirement to enter the U.S. every 6 months is also related to maintaining a green card while living outside).

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

#377

Post by proberts »

erehweb wrote: post #21

Is AI changing anything about immigration law work / do you see it doing so in future?

I think it will dramatically change the work of immigration lawyers (and I suspect most "white collar" jobs). I think lawyers will still need to develop the strategy (and evaluate the pros and cons of each approach based on the facts) but I think AI will dramatically change/accelerate the execution of the work.

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

#378

Post by proberts »

Manouchehri wrote: post #298

Sometimes when I enter the US to meet up with friends, I get only a B-1, instead of a B-2 or B-1/B2. I always tell immigration the reason I'm visiting, but sometimes I can tell they aren't listening to a word I'm saying and will just waive me through if they see I already have a valid B-1. I get that my American friends and professional circle are exactly the same.. so in my case it probably doesn't matter; if my cir…

No because CBP messes up the admission of visitors all the time. I've never seen this cause issues down the road.

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

#379

Post by proberts »

probablynish wrote: post #231
proberts wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the end, it's up to the school and they all view this differently but I see the focus as supervision (not ownership) so you need someone, an advisor or board member, who is well educated and experienced in the field who would act as the STEM OPT supervisor/mentor.

Hi Peter - a followup question if I may. Do you think that this kind of "solo entrepreneur" business model would be a good fit for the E2 visa? In particular, where the individual does not envision employing any other people, nor getting large amounts of VC funding (think more like bootstrapped growth). Or does the E2 visa require more 'scale'?

The E-2 visa really is the entrepreneur visa in the U.S. since the applicant can own the entire business and run it but it does require a "substantial" investment and a good business plan showing that the company will grow and hire U.S. workers over time. "Substantial" is a relative term (depending on the minimum cost to establish and run a particular business) but in practice, the investment must be at least $100k even if the cost to establish and run the business is in fact less.

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

#380

Post by proberts »

thrwy345 wrote: post #215

Hi Peter, Thanks for taking questions. My cofounder and I have incorporated our startup in US. I am a US citizen and my cofounder is not a US citizen, neither lives in US. He had a valid green card but he gave that away and moved to the home country. My cofounder has majority share and also needs to draw a salary soon whereas I can wait for some time. We are unsure of how my cofounder can be compensated without livin…

From a purely immigration standpoint, your cofounder can be a direct employee of the U.S. company or a contractor without having any U.S. work authorization as long as he is living and working outside the U.S.
Post reply on HN