Hi Peter, do you help with EB1A eligibility determinations and petitions ? My US company has a foreign subsidiary where our CTO leads a team of 15 people.I want to bring them in the US ideally on L1A. Is it worth exploring ?
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
#82Hi Peter, I am a Canadian citizen. My B.Sc. and M.Sc. are in mechanical engineering, but I have been working in the software industry as Software Developer and Data Scientist. Would I be eligible to get a TN to work in the software industry in the US? If yes, could you please refer me to resources to learn more about eligibility restrictions, e.g. details about what if any limitations I need to keep in mind when I ap…
The short answer is yes but the application would need to be done the right way and you would need to find a U.S. employer willing to take this "risk" (although I really don't see any risk).
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#83What’s the best way for a U.S. startup to have a contract worker (developer) that is from, works and lives in Mexico and also offering them some type of equity or stock options? How do we structure things to minimize and efficiently handle any taxation they incur? Any difference in other countries, say South Africa or Poland?
Those are non-immigration questions because U.S. immigration doesn't apply to people employed outside the U.S. so any compensation structure would be fine from a U.S. immigration perspective. I can't comment on the tax considerations/issues.
Thank you very much for the reply. I forgot to add:
What considerations should we take (if any) if we intend to support them coming to the states and becoming employees after turning profitable or a successful funding round.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#84Regarding the O-1 visa class as a consideration to migrate to the States: 1) What is the threshold for extraordinary? How is extraordinary established? 2) Is there a quota on the number of visas issued per year? Related, is there a quota on the number of visas per country of birth?
I'm not Peter, but I guess I can answer this: 1) For O1 it's checking the boxes - one paper or one award is the same as 10 papers or 10 awards. Even for non-technical people where papers aren't really a thing, an article about a company was written in a high-profile website and that persons name was mentioned. He got an O1. I also know a strong competitive programmer (but no other achievements of value) who got it -…
How come everyone isn't on an O1 instead of trying things like H1B?
Getting a paper published seems a relatively low bar - first year PhD students manage it just fine, someone working in industry should be ok doing it.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#85My startup will bring products from overseas and I will ask travelers to bring my some products. My question is I heard international visitors or tourists can’t be engaged in commercial activities while visiting. What I’m trying to do is making them act as carriers and I pay them for the services. I am trying to find a solution around it. Thanks Mo
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#86Hi Peter, do you help with EB1A eligibility determinations and petitions ? My US company has a foreign subsidiary where our CTO leads a team of 15 people.I want to bring them in the US ideally on L1A. Is it worth exploring ?
We do and the L-1 is definitely worth considering. I'm also happy to refer you to other immigration attorneys in your area.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#87Hi Peter. I'm in the US working with an EAD obtained through a pending asylum application. I'm interested in making the transition to a work-sponsored greencard. I have not been able to determine if this is possible.
Do you have any insights into this process?
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#88The H1B situation in the US has been described as very "luck" based to me, and some have called it "a mess". Is that still the case? How much does it actually depend on luck, or other factors such as country of origin, occupation, etc.?
If you are not from India/China its all good otherwise its a 100yr wait currently.So yeah country based discrimination baked into US immigration law sucks.
The OP asked about H1B and I think you are talking about green card.
Btw 100 years for a green card? I don't think Chinese citizens have such a long wait although Indians have to wait a long time.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#89My startup will bring products from overseas and I will ask travelers to bring my some products. My question is I heard international visitors or tourists can’t be engaged in commercial activities while visiting. What I’m trying to do is making them act as carriers and I pay them for the services. I am trying to find a solution around it. Thanks Mo
Yes, that's problematic both from a legal standpoint and from a practical standpoint - they will be questioned aggressively if the admitting CBP officer sees that they are carrying a product. But this still could work because the concerns and restrictions are less when a product is manufactured abroad. They can't be coming to the U.S. to make sales but they could be coming to the U.S. to deliver products made from abroad and already purchased.
Re: I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
#90Hi Peter. I'm in the US working with an EAD obtained through a pending asylum application. I'm interested in making the transition to a work-sponsored greencard. I have not been able to determine if this is possible. Do you have any insights into this process?
It is but it will depend on a number of factors including what status you were in when you entered the U.S., when you applied for asylum, and where you are in the asylum process.