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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

#461

Post by FilosofumRex »

proberts wrote: post #435
FilosofumRex wrote: post #378

When US firms apply for H1B or J-1 work visas for foreigners, what part of the process is the most critical part or where it's most likely to fail.

For the H-1B, it's really just getting selected in the lottery, the actual substantive requirements aren't difficult; the J-1 is easy but with limited exceptions it's not supposed to be used for regular employment.

Thank you for clarification. I wonder if there is any stat on how many initial H1B applicants make it to the lottery list to be selected. Is the process straightforward or does government/Labor Dept challenges a certain percentage of applicants.

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

#462

Post by bogzz »

proberts wrote: post #439
bogzz wrote: post #318

Thank you so much for this AMA. If I am on STEM OPT and my F1 visa has expired, what are my chances of renewing my F1 visa if I visit home in Serbia and want to return to USA to work in person?

It's possible to renew an F-1 visa while on STEM OPT but there's some risk because a consular officer could conclude that you do not have the intent to return home to Serbia after the end of your STEM OPT. That being said, F-1 students renew their visas while on STEM OPT all the time; it's just not risk-free so you would want to be well prepared for your interview.

Thank you SO MUCH for your response, and for taking the time for this entire AMA, it is very very much appreciated.

I am curious about what the interview might entail? I've applied for tourist and F1 visas and renewals about 6 times and I've never been asked any pointed questions.

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

#463

Post by AlecSchueler »

dudefeliciano wrote: post #428
ahoef wrote: post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No need to be needlessly antagonizing or blaming.

how is the comment antagonizing or blaming anyone? it's a simple question that should make us think about what the US is becoming

Questioning what the US becoming is what makes you antagonistic and a political enemy.

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

#464

Post by dang »

ty6853 wrote: post #28

Not legal advice but I'm a US citizen and when I've refused to answer their intrusive questions the worst that has happened to me is they imprisoned me, stripped me naked and searched me, got a fraudulent warrant for an internal body search, and then sent me the bill after dumping me at the border when they found nothing. Enjoy.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44006758.

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

#465

Post by YZF »

gamblor956 wrote: post #383
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US State Department literally calls it a visa, I'd trust them before I trust random Internet commenters: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/employme...

You guys are talking about two similar and related but different things. TN is both a "nonimmigrant classification" and a visa. The TN nonimmigrant classification is what is what grants a Canadian citizen eligibility to enter into the U.S. without a visa. A TN visa also grants a Canadian citizen entry into the U.S., and is required for TN nonimmigrants to enter with family members. In a nutshell, you establish your T…

Canadian employees visiting the united states is usually not a situation requiring a TN. That said most of the time this happens the visitors are indeed breaking the law. So one could argue that the current administration does believe in following the law.

One of the situations when I had a TN was exactly like that. Canadian employees of a US startup needed to get a TN so they're not hassled at the border.

Many administrations ago. Before the first Trump presidency.

Either way getting your Canadian employees TN status is easy and is probably a better solution.

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

#466

Post by Hotbasil »

proberts wrote: post #432
Hotbasil wrote: post #360

Hi Peter, thank you for doing this. I am on H1b visa and my partner is on H4 dependent visa. On H4, my partner wants to open a startup but is afraid if I lose my job then she has to stop working on the H4 visa as well. I have my cousin who has a green card who is willing to be part of it, but I don't want to dependent on them. What other paths are possible? Cheers!

Being a founder is often a path to an O-1 visa so if your partner opens her startup and it does "well," then the O-1 might be an option for her if you lose your job. There's also an E-2 investor visa, which is another potential option for founders.

Thank you for replying Peter! That makes sense!

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

#467

Post by Tadpole9181 »

deadbabe wrote: post #133
proberts wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The short answer is that CBP has the right to ask to see your electronic devices and you have the right to refuse but if you refuse (and you are not a U.S. green card holder or citizen), CBP likely will deny you admission and send you home.

I had a friend who was asked to unlock her phone, and she did, and then… they did nothing. They watched her do it and moved on to the next question. Seems like asking someone to do this is just a good test to see the kind of individual they’re dealing with. It’s not practical to thoroughly search phones at scale and plus they know people can just have burner phones anyway. If you’re cagey and combative they know you’…

For most people, a phone contains:

1. An itemized list of every account they have and their passwords and any 2FA they've used.

2. Multiple forms of payment.

3. A photo gallery that, in many (if not most) cases, will have private content.

4. The contact information of everyone they know, who have not consented to having that information distributed.

I find the entire idea that it's acceptable for any barely-educated border agent having a power trip with no probable cause to demand this under the duress of rejection, repugnant.

Especially in a country where police officers are occasionally allowed to "have sex" with people they apprehend - it seems like there's nothing that actually stops a CBP agent from just stopping any attractive woman they happen to see and demanding their phone so they can find nudes.

Say no? Get deported, no legal recourse.

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

#468

Post by gptwashere »

I'm a Brazilian citizen with an associate-equivalent degree and 15 years of experience in software engineering. I have an offer from a FAANG company for an IC4 position but I need to relocate to the US. Do I have any chances to get a work visa? I don't have patents, publications, or spoken at conferences.

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

#469

Post by ulfw »

deadbabe wrote: post #347
mrguyorama wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's CBP It's not actually about any form of screening. It's a power trip. Only the dumbest criminal or terrorist would bring an incriminating device across the border and have any need to say "no" to that request. Which, stopping dumb criminals and terrorists is important and valuable and they do exist, but nobody applied to work for CBP in order to check the phones of dumb criminals. They applied because they have…

Still, if a dumb criminal or terrorist does slip past you, that just means you’re an even bigger idiot. So might as well ask people to unlock the phone.

LOL. Yea. Sure. That scales up well with millions of tourists.

Madness how this is being normalised now in the US

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

#470

Post by ulfw »

AdrianB1 wrote: post #408
rane wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what happens if you just put your phone in the check-in luggage and say you don't have a phone?

Don't lie. If you are caught, very nasty things can happen to you.

Or even better, don't go there in the first place. This is madness. How are you just normalising this?
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