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

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61–70 of 418 posts

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

#61

What are potential challenges to getting an employment-sponsored EB2 visa, as an EU citizen with a Master's degree and more than 5 years of relevant work experience?

Sorry. This is a bit too vague. Can you focus your question/clarify your concerns?

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

#62

What is the typical route for Canadians to work in the US tech sector?

Canadian and Mexican citizens have their own visa classification, the TN, and so this is almost always the first option to look at because it is often very quick and easy (and relatively cheap) to get. Other work visa options for Canadians (and the citizens of most countries) are the E-2, L-1, and O-1.

I understand there is updates being made to the space export control rules (https://www.space.commerce.gov/new-space-export-control-rule...) regarding space/satellite components that were previously classified as ITAR. I've been curious to know if this will enable Canadians to apply to some space/aerospace technology companies in the US that were restricted to US citizens only?

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

#63
Hello, thank you for hosting this! I'm applying for green card based on marriage. I've prepared i130, i485, i130a, i864, i131, i601, i765, i693. Is there any form/documents I'm missing? Is there any very crucial marriage, financial, or legal status proof that tends to be overlooked by applicants? Thank you!

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

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had a window into the administration 8 years ago and as a result we changed the way that we assessed and prepared cases to preempt fights and we continued with this approach during the Biden administration and will continue under the new administration until the fights start up again. I think that the most immediate significant changes in the area of legal immigration will be the imposition of international travel…

What kind of travel bans are you expecting?

The Supreme Court during Trump's last time in office upheld versions of the travel ban that covered the nationals of certain countries (Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen). It is expected that most if not all of these countries will be included in a new travel ban. It's unclear what other countries will be included but China and India could be added.

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

#65

I am a Indian software developer and i currently work as in a YC Startup, how hard to find a job in a US? Should I try or its better to find Indian companies?

The options are limited (H-1B, L-1, and O-1, typically) but oftentimes there's a solution; this will depend on your qualifications and the company's profile.

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

#66

I'm working on my O1 visa and I'm nervous about my portfolio. I'm a developer with plenty of experience, but never spoke at conferences, blogged, or was public. I hires lawyers for the paperwork, but the publicist they recommended me started doing “articles” that just scream fake. I decided to get my own, real stuff instead. What things are the best from POV of effort/benefit? Open source projects, talks, podcasts, b…

Podcasts, blogs, posts matter little and talks are only marginally helpful. The lowest hanging criteria are essential roles for distinguished organization, high compensation, press, and judging (either serving as a reviewer for an academic journal or conference or serving as a judge at a competition or event, such as a hackathon or startup/business competition). By the way, your gut is right; USCIS is sensitive to fake/manufactured press and this can undermine an otherwise strong petition.

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

#67
post #33

hi Peter, thanks for doing this. My parents were rejected twice for B1/B2 visa (under section 214b I think) - both times before I was a LPR (I had valid visa). Recently the country of citizenship was announced to be joining VWP - as one of the question is "have you even been refused US visa", is it a lost battle for them?

No, it's not a lost battle. Unfortunately, their ESTA applications likely will be rejected outright because of their past B-1/B-2 visa application denials. But it's still possible that they could get B-1/B-2 visas. They should apply again but given their previous denials, they should consult an immigration attorney.

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

#68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Canadian and Mexican citizens have their own visa classification, the TN, and so this is almost always the first option to look at because it is often very quick and easy (and relatively cheap) to get. Other work visa options for Canadians (and the citizens of most countries) are the E-2, L-1, and O-1.

I understand there is updates being made to the space export control rules ( https://www.space.commerce.gov/new-space-export-control-rule... ) regarding space/satellite components that were previously classified as ITAR. I've been curious to know if this will enable Canadians to apply to some space/aerospace technology companies in the US that were restricted to US citizens only?

We've done a lot of work for satellite and space weather companies and the feeling I've gotten from my clients is that these changes will open up jobs at space/aerospace technology companies for foreign nationals but right now, it's too early to tell.

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

#70

Yeah, so, any chance you could do a monthly-or-so post that explains, in legal terms (of course!) why referring to an entire, diverse bunch of people as "H1Bs" (which, as you know, is just a visa class and pretty much, as you also know, the only path to legally entering the US as an immigrant without family ties or, well, the future-Head-Guy-or-one-of-his-cronies fancying you) is, like, a crime against humanity? Beca…

I don't agree with that view/trope since my clients (granted, a limited dataset) are hiring H-1B workers because they believe that they are the best candidates.
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