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

This is you?

http://www.robertsimmigration.com/index.html

Your website should have a bio and information on your background, education and so on.

There are some very narrow exceptions but generally the answer is no, unfortunately.

Hi Peter!

I believe you have already helped my case via email through my company, thank you for that! I just happened to see you here by coincidence and thought it would be a great chance to clear some of the follow-up queries I had:

I just received a Job Offer from a CA-based startup. Here is a refresher of my H1B case:

1. My H1B stamping expired in Sept 2015, but I understand that the petition is valid till Sept 2018 as it was approved in Sept 2012

2. I spent only 1 of the total 6 years working in the States, so there are a remaining 5 years of time that can be 'reclaimed' on the Petition

3. I was issued an L2/B2 Visa in 2016, at which point the H1B was stamped 'Cancelled without prejudice' (the original stamping had expired by that point anyway).

4. I understand that I fall into the category that is referred to as 'Cap Exempt' and a new H1B petition needs to be filed with the same petition id.

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My questions are:

1. I understand that there is no provision for unmarried partners to get H4 Dependent Visas in the US, even if they are long-term partners. Could you please verify this?

2. My girlfriend and I have been together for ~10 years now and plan to get married sometime soon (in the next 2 months), primarily so that we can be together once I move there. Is there any restriction/complication for newly married couples to emigrate? In the UK, I know that there is extra scrutiny for newlyweds.

3. Because my first H1B stamping has expired (and was 'Canceled without Prejudice' when I was issued my B1/B2), I am assuming that I will need to get a new stamping, and for that, I will need to travel to the nearest US Consulate. Could you please verify this?

4. My Passport expires in July 2019. I understand from research that the Passport needs to be valid for the entire duration of the intended period of stay. Would you recommend I apply for a fresh passport (I will be only able to apply on the 12th of July as in India you can apply for a fresh passport only 1 year before your existing one expires)? The process takes a 15 - 20 days.

I suspect that your field of expertise is one that has triggered the additional review by the Consulate. There's little that can be done when this is the basis for administrative processing. You could contact your local Congressional office and ask it make an inquiry but unless your application fell through the cracks, this usually doesn't change anything. What's your field of expertise, if I may ask?

Hi Peter, thanks for doing this! Have you started noticing any problems with naturalization applications since Trump took over?