[HN Gopher] I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does wor...
___________________________________________________________________
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC
startups. AMA
I'll be here for the next 3 hours and then again at around 12 pm
for another 3 hours. As usual, there are countless possible topics
and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with but as much as
possible I'd like to focus on the recently reinstated International
Entrepreneur Parole Program (or IEPP). Please remember that I can't
provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability
reasons because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick
to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll try
to do the same in my answers! Previous threads we've done:
https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.
Author : proberts
Score : 217 points
Date : 2021-06-19 14:39 UTC (8 hours ago)
| bootstrapper101 wrote:
| Peter does a thread here every few months. So I want to share a
| cautionary tale about Immigration lawyers in general and Peter in
| particular.
|
| I had extensive immigration experience in US, where I did many
| filings. Worked with many different immigration lawyers.
|
| In that end with your immigration you are dealing less with the
| law aspects and more with the paperwork filling which is more
| clerical work.
|
| Things that I realized:
|
| There are three types of lawyers:
|
| 1. With big firms like Berry Appleman, Fragomen etc. Very
| conservative in their opinion. Will not be responsive. Have good
| portals to enter information to help with your application.
|
| 2. Single lawyer operation like Peter Roberts: Very aggressive.
| Will give advice not really inline with the law. Very
| disorganized so you will spend a lot of time filling documents.
| Will make many mistakes.
|
| 3. 4-5 lawyer firms: These are the best in my opinion. They will
| pay more attention, have more experience and have decent process.
|
| Issues with immigration filings:
|
| When things are clear and you keep getting approved - things are
| great.
|
| However as soon as things get complicated and you get rejections
| - now it will have negative impact not only on your future
| filings in US but also other countries. Many countries ask in
| their immigration application if you ever get rejected in any
| Visa application. Five Eye countries share all the non
| immigration paperwork with each other.
|
| Issues with Peter:
|
| He was a mix of Snake oil salesman and Fly by night operator.
|
| He would consistently give advice which was very hackish. That
| works when you are trying out ideas for your business, but can
| have major consequences when you are dealing with the government.
| His advice was not in the letter and spirit of the law. He
| completely messed up my otherwise stellar immigration situation.
| I later checked his advice with multiple immigration lawyers and
| every single one of them said that Peter was wrong!
|
| But the worst thing was that as soon as my application was
| rejected, he stopped all communications with me. He wouldn't
| reply to my email and stopped returning my calls. I had to find
| some other lawyer to clear the mess. It hurt a lot more, because
| I was in a very vulnerable situation in my personal life and
| Peter knew that!
|
| I also know others who have bad experience with him. People
| probably don't speak out due to fear and not wanting to rock the
| boat!
|
| My advice to all founders: Be careful when you deal with
| immigration filings. Find someone competent and professional!
| chrisseaton wrote:
| > Peter Roberts: Very aggressive. Will give advice not really
| inline with the law.
|
| Wow that seems like an extraordinarily strong and serious
| professional accusation to make.
| swombat wrote:
| The review of the author's experience with Peter is a much
| stronger accusation, really. Did you read the post to the
| end?
| chrisseaton wrote:
| > The review of the author's experience with Peter is a
| much stronger accusation, really.
|
| That's what I'm referring to. What did you think I was
| referring to?
|
| > Did you read the post to the end?
|
| Please don't accuse people of not reading things.
| dang wrote:
| Not answering emails strikes me as a weaker charge than
| professional misconduct, but the more important point is
| that _no_ internet comment should count as a "strong"
| accusation, unless by "strong" you mean "intense". Such
| comments are always--basically without exception, in my
| experience--carefully crafted to leave out any detail that
| would reveal the other side of the story. We all know how
| dramatically different the story appears when such details
| trickle out later, as occasionally they do; and we all know
| how by then, the dramafest spotlight has usually moved on.
| joering2 wrote:
| If true he should be praised for coming forward. I had six
| immigration lawyers that were totally screwing things up. At
| some point when doing first time meetup of a new lawyer I
| wanted to hire, I embarrassed him knowing more about basic
| Immigration laws that he did!
|
| Majority of lawyers really dont care. They run a caging
| operation. If you call their office and you are not client,
| you will speak with head of the food chain, many times owner
| himself. One you get signed in, bye bye! Thats usually last
| time you hear from him/her - from now on you dealing with
| assistants. And immigration laws not only change often, but
| the USCIS will not comply with their own laws on many
| occasion. I dealt with enough government on average to tell
| you Immigration is sort of different because they serve
| aliens that have less rights than US citizens. For example
| IRS will treat you more seriously because on average 99% of
| their "clients" are USC, capable of calling their
| representative and stirring the pot. Average USCIS "client"
| is usally less powerful foreign citizen with maybe $500
| savings. I was lucky to immigrate with nice saving cushion
| and took USCIS all the way to BIA (Board of Immigration) and
| basically embarrassed the whole local USCIS office, where BIA
| wrote completely shredding response, pointing out USCIS abuse
| of authority, lack of professionalism, and outright rudeness.
| In fact, even though my lawyer screw up so bad that there was
| no choice than actually start all over (with less chances of
| approval since now I have this spoiled milk spilled all over
| my alien number), the BIA went out of their way and told
| local office you will do X,Y,Z and if no issues arise you
| will approve this file. Something that's typically unheard
| of. Dealing with USCIS for 12 years to the cost of close to
| $100,000 I probably should have wrote a book by now. But its
| much worse than you can imagine, I can tell you this much.
|
| Bottom line: get yourself local lawyer, small office type
| lawyer, preferably that worked in gov before. Believe me or
| not, when it comes to USCIS, its all about who you know. My
| last screwup was trying to get an update on the file (typical
| stalling technique is for USCIS to neither approve you nor
| deny, so you are in limbo for as long as YOU have the guts,
| time, energy AND money to continue "harassing" them for
| what's your right per INA) for close to two years.. meanwhile
| I went to this lawyer that used to work for the immigration
| office himself, and during our 30 minute call, he already
| emailed his buddy at USCIS and got back the ANSWER other
| lawyers couldn't get for years (!!).
| hluska wrote:
| If true, there are many better ways to deal with this than
| play forum hero. Law is a regulated profession and comments
| like this are almost invariably complete fucking bullshit.
| joering2 wrote:
| ??
| hluska wrote:
| There are things called Law Societies or Bar Associations
| that are built to accept and investigate these types of
| complaints. That's the nature of regulated professions -
| there are places to complain and investigate.
| bootstrapper101 wrote:
| Do I want others to benefit from my experience? Yes
|
| Do I want to help fellow entrepreneurs avoid negative
| immigration consequences? Yes
|
| Do I want Peter to lose his law license or get
| sanctioned? No. Even though I have specific proof which
| could get him at least sanctioned.
|
| Do I care whether more or less business goes to Peter?
| Also no
|
| His actions turned my life upside down. It took me years
| to fix things. Abandoning me after rejection was worse.
| He talked to me the day before rejection in a very
| positive discussion. After the rejection he didn't reply
| to any email nor returned any call. His paralegal kept
| responding to me.
|
| I am not trying to be vindictive here.
|
| I am just trying to help fellow entrepreneurs. I went
| with Peter based on his AMA. It ended up being a huge
| mistake in my case. Hope others can use my experience as
| a data point to do further due diligence!
| [deleted]
| ianhawes wrote:
| I work in the immigration industry. Not as a lawyer, but I own
| a business that is used extensively by both large and small
| immigration firms (ImmiTranslate).
|
| I will say that some of your characterizations are accurate,
| and others are not. I've not worked with Peter before so I
| won't comment on him specifically, but your assertions about
| law vs. clerical work is spot on. I will add my own input as
| well.
|
| Immigration attorneys in the US are similar to hacking groups,
| minus the illegality. Good hackers have their own 0day
| exploits. Good attorneys have their own techniques for
| obtaining legal status in the US. Dealing with
| USCIS/ICE/EOIR/State is akin to bureaucratic hacking.
| Anticipating what the Government agencies want to see and hear
| in your petition is their exploit. Finding the appropriate
| supplementary evidence is their payload.
|
| I don't think your assertion of solo attys vs medium sized
| firms is accurate. In my experience, solo immigration attorneys
| focus on the easy to win cases (like K-1 visas and AOS). This
| segment of the market is diminishing because of the fact that
| it _is_ mostly clerical work.
|
| Likewise, the big firms are simply too big and expensive to
| want to approach one-off cases. They deal with the FAANGs and
| Fortune 500 companies.
|
| For those reading this, consider that everyone has
| exceptionally complex circumstances that surround their
| immigration status and legal options here in the US. Obviously
| Peter cannot comment on it and OP has not shared that much
| information.
| bootstrapper101 wrote:
| Most people on this forum are asking about potentially EB-1,
| O1, E2, Entrepreneurship parole etc. These applications can
| get very complicated.
|
| If it was a simple H1 application I think most solo
| practitioners would be fine.
|
| I stand by my comment that you are better off with a mid size
| (4-10 lawyers) firm for more complicated cases.
|
| Bigger firms are too bureaucratic and they want to make money
| with bulk H1 and L1 from bigger corps.
|
| Single lawyer setups don't have strong processes and enough
| variety of expertise. Given that they are solo practitioners,
| there will be less checks and balances if the sole owner is
| giving bad or illegal advice.
|
| In a 4-5 lawyer setup, everyone's skin is in the game. They
| are less likely to sell you snake oil.
|
| In my case money was not an issue. Unfortunately I ended up
| choosing Peter because of YC's credibility ( he said that he
| is a YC advisor and their sole recommendation for immigration
| lawyers).
|
| Many people here might wrongly believe that Peter is somehow
| a part of YC. So felt it might be a good idea to post my
| experience here!
| macksd wrote:
| > Dealing with USCIS/ICE/EOIR/State is akin to bureaucratic
| hacking. Anticipating what the Government agencies want to
| see and hear in your petition is their exploit.
|
| Unfortunately this is very true of many other areas of the
| government. Reading through all of the paperwork and
| possessing all of the practical skills was insufficient for
| me to get approval to build a cabin. I couldn't figure out
| how to get anything past them. A couple of well-connected
| friends chimed in and boom - I got my permit.
| midnightclubbed wrote:
| This is a great insight. Thank you!
|
| Most of the immigration process is simple paperwork as far as
| I can tell. Certainly simpler than filing US taxes. But as
| you note it is all in the details, and a good lawyer will
| know how to ensure applications are successful (and will tell
| you if you are unlikely to be successful).
| meisel wrote:
| So all single-lawyer operations "will make many mistakes"?
| Seems like a broad accusation
| ma2rten wrote:
| Can you be more specific? What advice did he give you that was
| wrong? Was there any reason he stopped communication other than
| the application being rejected?
| hluska wrote:
| Let's see if I understand this. Correct me if I'm wrong!
|
| There's a highly trained and qualified professional willing to
| take six hours out of their Saturday to help, for free. You
| chose this time to be an asshole.
|
| There are two sides to every story but at this point, if you
| told me the sky was blue, I'd ask for a citation.
|
| Edit - Hey Peter, these AMAs always help me one hell of a lot.
| You're loved. I hope you hear that constantly.
| midnightclubbed wrote:
| Yes it is great that Peter gives his time here but don't
| imagine this is for charity. Being on a forum like this (with
| hundreds of potential clients) is a great way to grow his
| business.
|
| I had the misfortune of using a bad immigration lawyer (along
| with a group of colleagues) to do a company sponsored Green
| Card application. The lawyer wasted 2 years through incorrect
| paperwork and poor communication before we fired them and
| restarted from scratch with different (and great) lawyer.
| When you are working on a 6 year H1B visa the clock is
| constantly ticking to get Green Card paperwork correctly
| filed and through the system.
|
| I have no comment on Peter's professional abilities or how he
| runs his company, but calling someone who had a bad
| experience an a*hole is very harsh. The poster took the time
| to issue a warning based on their personal experience,
| immigration issues can totally derail someones life so having
| the right lawyer is critical.
| hluska wrote:
| No, they're an asshole and I'll happily stand by that.
|
| You see, there are things called Law Societies or Bar
| Associations that are built to accept and investigate these
| types of complaints. That's the nature of regulated
| professions - there are places to complain and investigate.
| They take complaints like this very seriously and
| investigate them with almost unlimited power.
|
| Public attacks like this are a sign that either the
| commenter doesn't have a clue how to deal with problems
| like this in a more professional way. Or the commenter does
| know, failed to make a case and has an axe to grind.
| bootstrapper101 wrote:
| Well, sole reason Peter is doing this is to get more
| business.
|
| My post has two parts. First part was tips related to
| choosing a firm and knowing what is at stake if things go
| wrong.
|
| Second part specifically about my experience with Peter. It's
| an anecdote on internet. Take it for what you might.
|
| I agree that I started the name calling for Peter which was
| the best characterization of my personal experience with him.
| You name called me where you had no idea about what really
| happened with me and how Peter actions completely turned my
| life upside down. Might be good to reflect on your own
| actions!
| dang wrote:
| Speaking generally: People need to remember that there are two
| or more sides to every story. It's impossible to evaluate any
| of this accurately in the context of an internet thread, and
| since it's a no-win situation for the person or organization
| being accused, there's no way for the full picture to emerge.
|
| Speaking specifically: Peter handled my personal case with
| consummate professionalism and effectiveness, and I've heard
| many YC startups speak highly of what he's been able to do for
| them. YC has a long track record of helping non-US startups
| extremely effectively with their immigration challenges, and
| Peter has been a big part of that for something like 6 or 7
| years. Given that track record, your story sounds particularly
| one-sided to me, although certainly no one bats 100 and I'm
| sorry that you had a negative experience.
|
| I find it hard to believe that he would "give advice not really
| inline with the law"--that's a charge of professional
| misconduct and would be a bombshell if true. Internet comments,
| on the other hand, are cheap and make it easy to gunsling.
| Readers love drama and everyone loves an underdog, which is a
| vulnerability routinely exploited by disgruntled commenters.
| It's not easy for the other side to defend themselves (let
| alone answer name-calling like "snake-oil salesman"); and it's
| basically impossible for anybody else to tell what actually
| happened. You describe your immigration situation as "stellar";
| whether an objective observer would agree with that is
| something the rest of us can only be agnostic about.
| bootstrapper101 wrote:
| I agree that this story is one sided. If I wanted a closure
| with Peter, it would be in some kind of legal setting. But I
| have moved on.
|
| I just want to use this opportunity to let fellow
| entrepreneurs realize the importance of picking the right
| immigration legal help and to not letting things get messed
| up on the government front
|
| Many people on this thread are thinking of getting some kind
| of immigration status in US but either are outside US or are
| within US on H1/L1.
|
| In hindsight I wish I had never applied for a US Green Card.
| My immigration situation has complications largely because
| Peter's bad advice.
|
| The worst part was when he stopped responding as soon as he
| realized that he has screwed up my situation beyond repair. I
| was in a particular vulnerable situation on the personal
| front at that time, so it made it even worse.
|
| If you look at my past threads, I am in a much better
| situation now. As I said, my sole reason of these posts is to
| help others not get into a bad situation like I did.
| danSimmons42 wrote:
| I didn't realize until now that you are an immigrant, but
| this actually makes a lot of sense. You seem to consistently
| delete comments that show any hint of sympathy for the
| American worker. And more broadly speaking, you seem to
| moderate any comment or content that doesn't tow the liberal
| party line. Canadians can really be the worst sometimes, and
| it is shame that you were able to weasel your way into this
| position that has a lot of power. Hopefully 4chan is right,
| and the day of the rake is near.
| dang wrote:
| Sorry, but I'm pretty sure I don't "consistently delete
| comments that show any hint of sympathy for the American
| worker". You needn't take my word for it though: https://hn
| .algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
|
| The significant word in your comment (besides "weasel",
| which was a good one) is "seem". These perceptions are
| notoriously, hopelessly, even absolutely conditioned by the
| political passions of the perceiver. It's quite remarkable;
| I would not have believed that any social phenomenon could
| be so mechanically consistent as this one turns out to be.
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26148870
|
| https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&qu
| e...
|
| https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&qu
| e...
| danSimmons42 wrote:
| Thank you for the links. Is there a way to see what
| comments/users have been shadowbanned?
| ArkanExplorer wrote:
| Hi Peter, How is your or your client's experience with E3 visas?
| proberts wrote:
| It's the best visa out there, it really is, particularly since
| the application can be made directly with a Consulate.
| throwawayiionqz wrote:
| Thanks Peter for doing this.
|
| I had my PERM and I-140 approved in 2017 but haven't filed my
| I-485 yet. Visa (H1B) and sponsoring employer are still the same
| as on the the I-140. Priority date on I-140 is in 2017.
|
| I am about to file I-485. Is there any issue that may arise
| during I-485 processing from the delay between I-140 and I-485?
|
| Thanks so much
| proberts wrote:
| The only issue would be if you've changed jobs or job locations
| and the new job is not an inline promotion but really a new
| position altogether. But the gap in and of itself is not a
| problem.
| j1_h1b wrote:
| Hello Peter, thanks for doing this. Supposed someone has been on
| a J1 visa for last couple of years and had changed it from
| student scholar to research scholar (moving the 2 year timeline
| to 5 year timeline). In the midst of pandemic he/she had to move
| back to India to care for my parents and got my J1 expired.
|
| Now can they go back to US on a J1 visa, is it possible ? Can
| they apply for H1b non exempt positions (those which aren't
| subjected to lottery) instead and if not. What would be the best
| course of action generally do to ensure they get some kind of
| working visa in US assuming they have B1/B2 visiting visa.
|
| Thanks in advance.
| wizzwizz4 wrote:
| > _Please remember that I can 't provide legal advice on
| specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won't
| have access to all the facts._
|
| See above. Perhaps edit your question to make it about the
| general laws?
| j1_h1b wrote:
| Thanks Peter, here is a more generalized question. What would
| be the best course of action for somebody to get back on a J1
| visa since its expired yet legally from what I understand
| since its on a 5 year cycle (research scholar).
|
| Also if not how can they get a working visa in US ?
|
| I also updated the above question to reflect the general gist
| of a situation that I would be grateful to receive some help
| for.
| proberts wrote:
| Thanks for modifying your question. Still, because this is
| very fact-specific, I would recommend that you discuss with
| me or another attorney.
| j1_h1b wrote:
| Oh apologies! Can I ask for a small request in that case,
| can I send you an email with more details about the
| question and if you happend to be so kind, could you take
| a look and let me know if you could possibly help me?
|
| I'd appreciate it terribly!
|
| Thanks so much for doing this important public service.
| proberts wrote:
| Of course. That's fine.
| philipkiely wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Taking a look at the IEPP webpage, I saw some vagueness that is
| common when looking at entrepreneurship visa programs in the US
| and elsewhere, for example:
|
| "The start-up entity has received a significant investment of
| capital from certain qualified U.S. investors with established
| records of successful investments;"
|
| In this context, what is "significant investment?" 100K? 1M? 10M?
|
| In this context, what is a "qualified investor?" Any accredited
| investor? Do VCs apply to some government entity to become
| qualified investors in this program?
|
| I am not personally affected by these definitions ... I am a US
| citizen ... but many friends of mine are foreign nationals in the
| US on various visas so I try to maintain a decent working
| knowledge of immigration options and vague language like this
| makes developing this understanding more difficult.
| proberts wrote:
| These terms are actually defined in the regulations.
| philipkiely wrote:
| Ok cool, for others reading I found it:
|
| Substantial Investment is $250K of funding or $100K of grants
| (Just YC funding would not be enough to qualify on funding)
|
| The qualified investor must be a US person or entity who
| regularly makes this type of investment, has invested $600K
| in the past 5 years, and their investments have created 5
| qualified jobs in the US. So it looks like most VCs and some
| larger angels would qualify.
|
| Edit: source: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/docum
| ent/forms/i-9...
| proberts wrote:
| Thanks for providing! I would recommend that everyone
| interested in the IEPP read the form instructions on the
| USCIS web site. The form is 941. While they do not answer
| every question, they do provide a lot of good and clear
| information about the requirements.
| erehweb wrote:
| If you don't have a green card, can you do any writing for pay
| (assuming this is not your main job) - e.g. would receiving
| [possibly small amounts of] money from a site for a short story
| violate terms of visa?
| proberts wrote:
| It would unfortunately.
| _acco wrote:
| Hey Peter,
|
| We're a US startup. One of our developers is an 18-year-old (!!)
| Brazilian. He wants to forego college and move to the US to work
| with us full-time. We're brainstorming his future possible paths
| to the US.
|
| Ideas on class of visas for someone without a college degree?
|
| One idea is the O class. He has two gold medals and one silver
| medal in the Brazil National Mathematics Olympiads. Unsure if
| these recent accolades in mathematics are sufficient evidence of
| "extraordinary ability" in the related field of programming?
|
| Thanks! A
| proberts wrote:
| The O-1 is really the only option unless you all have
| operations in Brazil and he works there as an employee for at
| least one year, then an L-1 might be an option.
| Student/Academic awards while demonstrating an individual's
| intelligence and abilities generally don't count as awards for
| O-1 purposes (although we still discuss such awards).
| joedalton wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for doing this.
|
| I'm a permanent resident (won the Green Card lottery) and I'm
| currently living in the US. I'm going to marry someone who is not
| a US citizen this summer. When I check the regular process, it
| took almost 2 years to bring my future wife to the US. What is
| the fastest way to bring my wife to the US after the marriage?
|
| Thanks again.
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately there's really no way to expedite the marriage
| based green card process. What's frustrating is that if you
| were a nonimmigrant, she could come over right away on a
| dependent visa but that's not an option for spouses of
| permanent residents. We've had clients give up their green
| cards and switch to a nonimmigrant status because of this. Is
| there any chance that your fiance could qualify for her own
| work visa? Because once here, you could sponsor her for a green
| card, a much better process than going trough a US Consulate
| abroad.
| mshrwed wrote:
| Hey Peter,
|
| Thank you so much for doing this. Much love
|
| From your understanding, do you think it would be possible for an
| international student in the U.S. on a F1 visa to apply for IEP
| and work on their start-up while doing school?
|
| Thanks.
| proberts wrote:
| There is no prohibition on attending school while on an IEP but
| the individual's primary activity would need to in connection
| with the business, not the school.
| [deleted]
| stackbutterflow wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| What's the straightest path to the US for a tech worker?
| proberts wrote:
| It depends on the strength of the worker's background, his or
| her country of citizenship, etc., but, assuming that the worker
| is not from a country with its own work visa (Australia,
| Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Singapore), then an L-1 intracompany
| transferee visa is often the fastest but where this doesn't
| apply, then the O-1 (which also isn't subject to an annual
| lottery), the E-1 and E-2 (which also isn't subject to an
| annual lottery), and the H-1B.
| nafizh wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for doing this.
|
| What would be the best visa for a PhD holder (got PhD from a US
| institution) living in US who wants to start a startup? The
| person is currently in H-1B with an employer and his green card
| under EB2-NIW is under process.
| proberts wrote:
| Either the O-1 or the IEPP (or an E-2 if he or she is from a
| country with a treaty of commerce and trade with the US). Also,
| an H-1B could work but really only where there are other
| founders such that this person's ownership interest would be
| less than 50% and no higher than any other founder/owner.
| paulgb wrote:
| Thanks for doing this.
|
| How common is it for application processing to be outside of the
| published processing times? I have been waiting on an I-131 since
| January so that I can finally leave the country to see family
| while my (marital) green card is processing, but I've seen no
| movement and I'm wondering if I should be worried (it's outside
| of the National Benefits Center's posted 3-5 months). I submitted
| a case inquiry but have not heard back yet.
| proberts wrote:
| Very common unfortunately and right now I-131 applications
| based on marriage-based green card applications typically are
| taking at least 8 months.
| paulgb wrote:
| Thanks. Is there any way to expedite this? My wife and I have
| planned an in-person wedding ceremony in Canada for our
| families based on the posted waiting times so it would be
| very unfortunate if I couldn't go. (We legally got married in
| a virtual ceremony last June)
|
| If it helps, I initially applied in October and it was
| rejected due to a USCIS error. It looks like one of the ways
| to expedite is if USCIS made an error that caused a delay?
| proberts wrote:
| That's right, sometimes where clear USCIS error is
| involved, USCIS will expedite the processing of an I-131.
| paulgb wrote:
| That's good to know. Is it something I should get a
| lawyer for, or is it fairly straightforward to submit
| one?
| proberts wrote:
| I don't think you need a lawyer for this. Just make sure
| to be clear about what happened.
| fridif wrote:
| My wife and I applied for her green card in September of last
| year and so far she has only completed finger printing.
| Insane
| SpaghettiX wrote:
| What are effective approaches to getting a greencard/ having the
| flexibility to apply to any US based company to join the job
| market there? (I am based in the UK with a British passport).
|
| Thank you for putting time and effort in this.
| keerthiko wrote:
| For the typical (strong) passport holder, one of the most
| reliable routes is to get employment at an offshore office of a
| US-based company with significant international operations (eg:
| Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc). Working for their London office
| should be tenable.
|
| Once there, aim for a transfer to HQ or US-based office via the
| L1 visa (higher likelihood than other US employment visas).
| From there, with a UK passport you will have a much
| shorter/non-existent queue to apply for and be granted a green
| card (within 2-4 years of L1). From there, you have full
| employment (or non-employment!) flexibility within the US.
|
| The whole timeline should be about 4-8 years from getting your
| UK-based US-company job, which isn't short or quick, but far
| more reliable than many other options.
|
| If speed is the priority, you have to take some risks.
|
| - You can shoot to get an H1B but it's the biggest lottery
| shitshow. Large employers are generally unwilling to spend much
| effort on this these days, they may try once and then rescind
| the offer if the application fails.
|
| - You can try to start a business, raise US investment, and
| then qualify for IEP (see other thread here)
|
| - You can find a US-based cofounder(s), start a US-based
| business, and then try (probably multiple times) to file an H1B
| for yourself as an employee of your business. You must hold
| less than some % of the business to be above board.
|
| - Above, but try for an O1 instead of a H1. Lower chances, but
| more flexibility once you get it. Green card is an option
| immediately.
|
| - You can be an impressive individual by filling the criteria
| and apply for an O1.
| proberts wrote:
| Short of qualifying for an O-1 visa, from a long-term
| standpoint, the best options are probably working for a company
| in the UK (ideally in a managerial capacity_ and then
| transferring on an L-1 visa to a related in the US (ideally
| also in a managerial position) or getting an H-1B visa but this
| is subject to a lottery and the odds continue to get worse.
| e-clinton wrote:
| Peter, our startup is incorporated in Delaware and based in NY.
| What's your take on offering equity to foreign employees hired
| via remote.com or similar? Is it a legal headache?
| proberts wrote:
| Legally, you can employee foreign nationals based abroad as
| direct employees without US work authorization or SSNs but my
| clients always tell me that it's a complex and messy process
| both from a logistical and tax standpoint.
| archibaldJ wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for dropping by!
|
| Quick question: what if my start-up focus on psychedelic research
| [1]? Will I run into problem with immigration? (Considering that
| substances like psilocybin is still schedule one)
|
| Or what if my start-up is not about psychedelics but I have
| written & published books/papers on psychedelic? What about just
| blog posts?
|
| [1] say similar to ATAI (founded in 2018) that went ipo yesterday
| proberts wrote:
| I don't think either should cause a problem. Manufacturing or
| distribution would be different.
| archibaldJ wrote:
| oh thanks! That's great to know!
| hustlechris wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thank you for taking time to do this.
|
| Can I get a gun on O1 visa while working in SF?
|
| Thank you!
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the requirements for
| purchasing guns but as far as I know, there's no federal law
| that prohibits foreign nationals from owning a gun.
| immifounder wrote:
| Hey Peter! Thanks for doing this again. I'm a prospective
| immigrant founder from India. I'm currently working on a H1B.
|
| Wondering what your take is on EB5 via loans. My understanding is
| that you effectively just pay the interest? Are USCIS approved
| investment schemes that invite folks to invest, a lot of times in
| property in like random american towns super shady?
| https://www.eb5daily.com/2018/02/eb-5-loan-work/
|
| Also, what do you think about pursuing a PhD to be able to work
| on my startup and eventually getting a O1 visa and green card via
| the PhD. How does this compare to getting funded and applying for
| O1? Whats also the numbers for how many YC immigrants get an O1?
| proberts wrote:
| I've always steered clear of the EB5 program so I can't really
| comment. Regarding your other questions, while not automatic,
| most PhDs qualify for O-1 classification and some type of self-
| petitioning green card, such as a national interest waiver or
| extraordinary ability green card, and funding, while helpful
| doesn't guarantee an O-1.
| parentheses wrote:
| (Separate question so another comment)
|
| Peter, thanks for doing this!
|
| What are your thoughts about what computing can do to positively
| affect the practice and integration of law into individuals and
| companies?
|
| I know the legal space has always been a tough nut for software
| to crack. What is your opinion on why this is?
|
| These are very general questions and I appreciate anything you
| can do to help me understand this space better.
|
| For context, I've built software that helped to construct
| sections of disclaimers/disclosures from business logic. A very
| primitive approach and one that doesn't really go deep, but I
| felt it had potential.
| proberts wrote:
| Lawyers - myself included - are generally technically
| challenged and averse to change. Whatever the technology is,
| for lawyers to adopt it, I think it must be incredibly easy to
| install and use and must show positive results clearly and
| immediately.
| crorella wrote:
| Hello Peter, thank you for offering this space. Is it possible to
| get a work permit in the US as a self employed? What are the
| steps? Are there limitations?
|
| Thank you
| proberts wrote:
| The O-1 visa sort of allows for this in certain circumstances
| and the E-1 and E-2 as well as the IEPP definitely do - at
| least to the extent that a founder would get paid by his or her
| own company.
| Cybuster wrote:
| Hi Peter thanks for doing this again.I am Mexican, I have been
| working remotely for a US company since December 1 2020 but hired
| through through the Mexican office.
|
| My question is: is it possible to get a TN visa without a college
| degree? I need it because I need to move to the US when lock down
| ends.
| proberts wrote:
| It is but the TN occupations for those without a degree are
| very limited. Do you have any tertiary education and what do
| you do for the company? You also might qualify for an L-1
| intracompany transferee visa once you have been employed by the
| Mexican company for one year.
| Cybuster wrote:
| The job I am doing now for this company is Software Engineer,
| I have a contract with them for a salary of ~120K usd per
| year but for that I need to be in the US, for now I have a
| contract with their Mexican office.
|
| For my specific case I have completed my college courses but
| my college is very slow and it still will take me around 1
| year to do all the paperwork, I only have "carta de pasante"
| now but not the degree. Is the "carta de pasante" worth
| anything to get the TN Visa or only the degree?
| proberts wrote:
| In my experience, only the actual degree will be accepted.
| tinco wrote:
| Hi Peter, would you say getting funded by HN or another reputable
| investor is basically a guarantee for a "parole" under the EIPP,
| or is it too early to tell?
|
| With the paragraph about spouses, do they mean that the spouse
| would have to show merit as in able to hold a good job in the US,
| or work for the same business? If the spouse can not demonstrate
| merit are they just not allowed to work or are they not allowed
| to stay in the US?
| proberts wrote:
| Regarding your first question, it's too early to tell but it's
| possible that participating in and receiving funding from a top
| tier accelerator might be enough. A dependent IEP spouse with
| work authorization would have unrestricted work authorization.
| srtanzim wrote:
| Hey Peter,
|
| I am the Co-founder and CEO of an early stage start-up
| incorporated in Delaware. I am originally from Bangladesh and
| have just closed our pre-seed round of $300k from an investor in
| the United States.
|
| Which of the following options would be the best for me?
|
| 1. International Entrepreneur Parole: Raised >$250k so should be
| eligible.
|
| 2. O1: By my understanding, I meet the following criteria:
|
| Award- $300k USD pre-seed investment from a top investor in the
| United States.
|
| Memberships- OnDeck (beondeck.com)
|
| Critical Employment- Co-founder and CEO
|
| Judging- Judged start-ups for investment competition in St. Louis
| ($50k cheques).
|
| High Remuneration- Own 60% Equity in my start-up
|
| 3. E2: Being from a treaty country can I apply for this or would
| I need to invest my own money into my start-up?
| proberts wrote:
| The IEP seems like the best option and a good one. The E-2
| would require investments by you and/or other Bangladesh
| citizens into the US company and then expenditures by the US
| company. Based on the information provided, I would put the O-1
| odds at less than 50%.
| riyakhanna1983 wrote:
| Thanks, Peter! Would you know the processing time for IEP
| application? Could it be expedited?
| proberts wrote:
| The processing time is completely unknown right so we'll
| have to wait and see and premium processing isn't available
| - although where the circumstances are very, very
| compelling, it's possible to request expedited review (with
| such requests rarely granted).
| wesammikhail wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thanks for doing this.
|
| As far as I know, the IEP structure has no clear path to
| permanent residency like some of the other options. Is that
| your understanding as well or am I missing something here?
| iamcreasy wrote:
| What does IEP stand for?
| pjam wrote:
| International Entrepreneur Parole
| proberts wrote:
| It's a common misconception that a nonimmigrant status
| somehow leads to a green card or limits the green card
| options in any way. There is no connection between the two.
| So someone in IEP "status" could pursue a green card but
| because IEP is not considered an admission, he or she would
| have to go the immigrant visa route through a US Consulate
| abroad rather than the adjustment of status route through
| USCIS.
| [deleted]
| truetraveller wrote:
| In a remote-work world, why ever launch a startup in the US /
| Canada? Why not launch in a tax-free zone, like Dubai?
| yandie wrote:
| Compliance. If you're building a SaaS startup then it's very
| important to have physical presence in the US
| truetraveller wrote:
| Could you expand on this. Is this only for government-based
| contracts?
| [deleted]
| Sr_developer wrote:
| Better access to funding, networking, bigger talent pool,
| access to some sort of "water-cooling" conversations if you are
| the social type who loves to mingle. But it is true that the
| world is getting smaller. Even as an employee, for many places
| getting a 50% of what you'd earn in the US without having to
| move there could be worthwhile.
| nhnhhnl wrote:
| I Have a B2 visa, could I visit the US for a few months, get a
| job and apply for a different type of visa? And if so, how? Would
| be in the tech industry ofc.
| proberts wrote:
| Yes, it's possible to change status from B-2 to a work status
| but your intent at the time of entry must be for pleasure and
| not for work. The sponsoring company would file a work petition
| for you with USCIS. But of course you must should determine
| whether you would even qualify for a work visa.
| joe2784 wrote:
| Hi, thanks for doing this. I was working for a tech startup under
| H1B. I was laid off 1.5 months ago with less than 1 week notice.
| They didn't say anything about covering transportation costs for
| me to go back to my country. I think they haven't submitted the
| request for withdrawal either. (I checked on USCIS). - Is it true
| that they're legally responsible for paying the transportation
| costs? Can I accept the money without actually going back (due to
| Covid)? - Are they also responsible for paying my salary if they
| "forgot" to submit the withdrawal request? Can I sue them later?
|
| I couldn't find a sponsoring company for H1B transfer. I know I'm
| out of time. But I have plan B so I'm not worrying about
| overstaying. Thank you!
| proberts wrote:
| I really can't comment on any potential claims but the law is
| clear that a sponsoring H-1B employer must offer a terminated
| employee the reasonable cost of a return trip home.
| obblekk wrote:
| We're a 5 person startup with a small amount of angel funding.
| One of our engineering interns is from China and we really want
| to convert her to full time.
|
| What's a good resource to learn about what that even requires,
| costs, and feasibility at our size?
|
| Thanks for volunteering your time!
| proberts wrote:
| To be clear, do you want her employed full time in China or the
| U.S.? If the latter, this was complicated before the pandemic
| and has become even more complicated with the ban on travel
| from China and other countries. But, depending on the intern's
| background, the standard options are the H-1B, L-1, and the O-1
| as well as the J-1 but the J-1 is for trainees and interns and
| is generally limited to 12 or 18 months. The USCIS and State
| Department websites actually provide pretty good - albeit
| general - descriptions of the work visa options.
| WrtCdEvrydy wrote:
| I saw your AMA in Reddit years ago, what can the software
| engineering divisions do to help you?
|
| I had a friend who realized that the lawyers didn't really have
| tooling that was perfectly sized.
| proberts wrote:
| Lawyers - myself included - are notoriously bad at using
| technology and just changing the way that they do things so
| there's no question that there's opportunity here.
| WrtCdEvrydy wrote:
| Well, for obvious reasons, the average developer is
| notoriously bad at knowing the law.
| srtanzim wrote:
| Hey Peter,
|
| D you happen to know how long the processing time for IEPP might
| be?
| proberts wrote:
| That's the big unknown. No doubt USCIS will be flooded with
| applications in the coming months and hopefully sufficient
| resources have been or will be allocated to their processing.
| But this just a wait and see right now.
| jy1 wrote:
| I'm a current YC founder. Looking to apply for either the O1 or
| IEPP. Is there even a rough sense of the timeline for IEPP? Can I
| apply for both while on the visa waiver?
| proberts wrote:
| You definitely can pursue both options at the same time and
| while here on the visa waiver but unfortunately there's no
| sense yet of the processing time for IEPP applications.
| lakshmmi7 wrote:
| Hi Peter! How can one start a business while on H1B and later is
| there any option to convert to a new visa?
| proberts wrote:
| It's doable but complicated because of course you can't work
| for another company unless you are work authorized to do so.
| This a very fact-specific analysis so you will need to speak
| with someone but a significant part of the analysis is where
| the company is in its evolution, just an idea, incorporated,
| funded, clients, product, etc.?
| chsreekar wrote:
| I have a masters admit for Fall 2021 and am applying for an F1
| visa. However there are very few interview slots being opened in
| India right now and the consulates are rejecting emergency
| appointments without any reason. Is there anything we can do to
| secure an interview?
| proberts wrote:
| This is a real problem right now and not just in India but in
| most countries around the world. You could ask a Congressional
| office in the area where the school is located to make an
| inquiry or you could even ask the school to make an inquiry.
| I've had clients report to me that their schools have done
| this. What would you be studying?
| chsreekar wrote:
| Masters in Intelligent Systems Engineering at Indiana
| University
| proberts wrote:
| Again, this is just a tough issue because there are so many
| people in the same position but given the field possibly
| argue that this field is critical to technical
| infrastructure development in the US and the US economy as
| a whole.
| Wenne wrote:
| Hi Peter, For IEPP program, should be file by the employer? Does
| international indepedent consulting apply for the startup?
| proberts wrote:
| The application is filed by the entrepreneur/founder. And
| there's no restriction on the type of business but USCIS must
| believe that the business is going to employ US workers over
| time and isn't just for the employment of the
| entrepreneur/founder.
| lakshmmi7 wrote:
| Hi Peter. How can one start a business on H1B? Is there any
| option to convert to a different visa later?
| proberts wrote:
| See response above.
| zamalek wrote:
| Thank you so much for sharing your time with immigrants -
| hopefully there are more clear skies going forward for us.
|
| I'm currently looking at expediting my EAD (spousal) by means of
| a job offer. I've done a good amount of research, but would love
| to know if you've seen anything improve the odds of EAD expedite.
|
| Have a great weekend!
| proberts wrote:
| It really depends on what you would be doing since most people
| need the O-1 to work so that alone can't be the basis to
| expedite. I've seen expedite requests for teachers and
| government workers get approved as well as those involved in
| vaccine development and COVID treatment. But the vast majority
| of expedite requests are denied unfortunately.
| kyawzazaw wrote:
| Can I go from OPT to EB-2/EB-3 as a Software Engineer? How
| plausible is this? What kind of work do I need to be doing?
| proberts wrote:
| This will depend on whether you have any professional work
| experience and whether your degree is a bachelor's degree or
| higher.
| batjaa wrote:
| If I have an expired visa stamp, is going to a consulate outside
| the US the only option for an extension?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes. And even with renewal by mail, you must be in the country
| where you are renewing your visa.
| poorlydefined wrote:
| Hey Peter! I'm considering a move to the US with my current
| employer in the near/far future. What's the best way to do so if
| I want to keep the option of getting permanent residency open?
| I'm Australian so I'm qualified for an E-3 visa, but as I
| understand it, it's only for non immigration intent so applying
| for any sort of permanent residency would be grounds for it to be
| revoked. (for context, company is a 1000+ head count
| multinational and I'm currently working in a satellite office)
|
| On a semi related note - what's the actual definition of
| "equivalent to a 4 years US bachelors degree"? I have a 3 year
| B.Sc from an accredited Australian uni. Would that count against
| me in any way?
|
| Thanks for opening this thread!
| anon3485734587 wrote:
| IANAL. I have a 3 year BSc from Australia. This was very much
| the norm when I studied; I think 4 year degrees are more common
| now.
|
| For my visa, my employers' lawyer paid an accredited firm to
| examine my transcript, confirm it was equivalent to a 4 year US
| bachelors, and put that in a letter which was part of my
| application. Interview was at the consulate in Australia, no
| problems.
|
| Later in life when I was working in the US and applied for a
| green card, my employers' (junior) lawyers took the view that
| the 3-year wouldn't suffice - the rules are either different,
| or being differently interpreted by a separate arm of the US
| government.
|
| I had 5+ years of relevant work experience before my current
| company/role, which is considered just as good for the green
| card process, so we relied on that. Because that was a clearcut
| option, I didn't fully explore whether good lawyering could
| make the 3-year degree, and/or my several years of experience
| for my current employer in an evolving role, work.
| proberts wrote:
| Without my knowing all the details, it is highly likely that
| you would qualify for an E-3 visa easily and as an E-3 visa
| holder you could pursue green card status (despite what you
| might have read or heard to the contrary).
| jy1 wrote:
| My experience on the credentials: You need a trusted 3rd party
| to certify that your degree is equivalent.
|
| Your lawyer should be able to find the right certifier. e.g.
| https://www.naces.org
| proberts wrote:
| To be clear, the standard for obtaining an equivalency isn't
| hard to reach whether based on just experience or a
| combination of education and experience.
| narrator wrote:
| What's the best secondary reference for immigration stuff in
| Westlaw or Lexis?
| [deleted]
| Sr_developer wrote:
| As a developer from a run-of-the-mill Latin-Country (No special
| job agreements a la Mexico/Chile) what would be my best chance to
| get a visa-sponsored job? Work as a local in my country and bid
| my time for a L1 opportunity? Anything else without resorting to
| the H1B grind-mill?
| proberts wrote:
| The L-1 is an option or an E-1 or E-2 if you are from a country
| with a treaty of commerce and trade with the US. And if you
| want to work for your own company, the IEPP and possibly the
| O-1 would be options.
| Sr_developer wrote:
| Thanks a lot for your time Mr Roberts.
| nachteilig wrote:
| Thanks for doing this. I have a green card and have been out of
| the country for a few years doing a PhD. I've been getting
| reentry permits during that time. Due to corona and having a baby
| I haven't been able to return to the US to apply for a new
| reentry permit and it's now expired.
|
| How should I handle that, especially when crossing the border?
| Have they relaxed the rules due to corona?
| cdeshpande wrote:
| Hi Peter
|
| Thanks for your AMA. I work for a startup and am planning to file
| EB1C. Here's my situation 1. I am currently manager at the
| startup in Canada. I will complete one year as a manager in June
| 2022. I will complete one year in Canada in Oct 2021. 2. My
| startup has an office in USA too
|
| Here are my questions 1. Do I need to file L1A before EB1C? Can I
| file EB1C directly from Canada? 2. Do I need one year
| "managerial" experience outside of USA to be considered for
| EB1C/L1A?
|
| Thanks CD
| proberts wrote:
| No; yes; and yes to the EB1C and no the L1A.
| ltae wrote:
| Do you do strictly immigration work or do you get involved in YC
| founders' numerous domestic violence cases?
| adorearun wrote:
| I am in H1B visa.Can I invest in a company as Board of Directors
| and use that to apply for GC?
| proberts wrote:
| I'm not sure that I understand the question. Do you mean
| investing in a company and serving on the board of that
| company?
| throwawaytax31 wrote:
| Hi Peter, this might not be directly from your ballpark, but
| perhaps you have thoughts on this.
|
| I wonder what is your recent experience on SaaS businesses and
| tax liability? With recent changes across the globe, SaaS
| companies are responsible for emitting sales taxes in the country
| of the customer.
|
| Do early-stage startups try to handle this on their own (using
| specialized accountants) and services like TaxJar, or do you see
| a movement to use Merchant of Record providers, who handle all
| taxation on the SaaS' behalf (like paddle.com)?
|
| What are the potential liabilities for neglecting these issues
| for too long?
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately this is outside my area although they appear to
| be important issues.
| gigatexal wrote:
| To all the founders (and others who might become founders) hoping
| to move to the US -- please don't let the Trump administration's
| rhetoric on immigration dissuade you from relocating. We need
| your talent. Your companies help spur economic growth.
| proberts wrote:
| Agreed! And I think the IEPP will make a huge difference.
| toblerone123 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thanks for your AMA. I work for one of the big tech and I am a
| European citizen. We just sent my I-485 forms to USCIS(I-140
| approved in pp). According to USCIS, it will take anywhere from
| 13 to 16 months to get it approved. Per portability rules, I
| understand that I can switch companies to a similar job after 6
| months of I485 pending. However, I have a desire to start my own
| business, what are my options? Would it be best to stay put until
| I485 is done?
| proberts wrote:
| It's possible to "port" your green card application to your own
| company - we've been involved in this many times - but USCIS
| scrutinizes these portability requests closely to make sure
| that the business is real and that there's real and sufficient
| work being done.
| toblerone123 wrote:
| Thank you! I will be working with an immigration attorney
| when I decide to take the leap then!
| productceo wrote:
| What can you be doing (and cannot be doing) on the side to
| prepare to run a startup full-time if you are on H1-B visa,
| waiting for an EB green card?
| snihalani wrote:
| Hey Peter, I have an approved I-140 with an old employer. I am
| switching jobs to a new employer. If my priority date becomes
| current, could I switch back to an old employer, and get a green
| card?
| victorhn wrote:
| I am from Mexico and am currently employed on a TN visa, if my
| company intends to start working remotely, is it valid to keep
| working under this visa if i won't be physically living on the
| USA (i would live in Mexico, but maybe travel to US some days per
| year to US) or should i switch to another schema (like working as
| a contractor)?
|
| Also, what about working for some months on USA and other months
| on Mexico? Does the visa allow this scenario or are there chances
| the custom agent get more inquisitive about these frequent trips?
| proberts wrote:
| The TN is irrelevant if you are living in Mexico. You can work
| for a US company without a TN visa or any type of work
| authorization if you are living in Mexico. Once you enter the
| US, however, you would need work authorization and your TN
| would remain valid for the limited intermittent employment that
| you describe. You might have some explaining to do when you
| travel to the US because of your absences but legally what you
| describe is fine.
| onalucreh wrote:
| hi Peter. I'm a Brazilian junior cloud architect that's on his
| early career and would like to in the near future(~8 to 12
| months) work on startups in other countries like Canada and
| Netherlands. how should proceed to be fully prepared for that
| kind of work and migration?
| dcolebatch wrote:
| IMHO - certifications are the best way to prepare for career
| mobility. Follow your interests there, as there are lots of
| options and paths to take.
|
| Shameless plug: Contact info@tidalmigrations.com to discuss
| options.
| br4m wrote:
| Hi, the company I work at in the Netherlands regularly hires
| Brazilians (also juniors) for cloud projects! And they fly over
| here and get settled and everything. Is there any way to
| connect (if you're interested)? They even facilitate the whole
| visa process and everything.
| proberts wrote:
| I can't comment on the Netherlands but for the US, just
| continue to do great work and continue to develop your skills
| and whenever possible participate in things public, that is,
| present/speak at conferences and other events, participate in
| or serve as a judge at hackathons and other competitions (such
| as Kaggle for example), write articles, and participate in open
| source communities and initiatives.
| throwaway902100 wrote:
| Hey Peter, after a deportation for visa overstay on B-2 (6 months
| allowed-canada, 3 months over) - is there any recourse? Does
| I-212 ever work?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes, 212 often works particularly after a lapse of some time.
| throwaway902100 wrote:
| Thank you Peter.
| plaidfuji wrote:
| Thanks for your time. Do you see any political movement one way
| or the other for opening up H1B quotas or otherwise making that
| process more likely to succeed in the next couple of years?
| proberts wrote:
| That's a great question. I don't know if the political numbers
| are there but this is definitely something that is being
| pushed.
| sh8055 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| what restrictions common tech worker visa types (H1B, L1B) place
| on employee location in the US? Specifically, do they allow
| remote work (office location in state A, visa worker working
| remotely in state B)?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes, remote employment is allowed for all visas but it
| generally needs to be disclosed as part of the application and
| changes from office to remote employment can trigger the need
| to file new or amended applications.
| hervature wrote:
| Hey Peter, thank you for your time. I was wondering if you could
| comment on when we'll see some type of vote on the US Citizenship
| Act of 2021. Not looking for anything overly specific, but more
| along the lines of: before 2022, sometime in 2022, or never.
|
| Additionally, your thoughts on the likelihood of TITLE III --
| REFORM OF THE IMMIGRANT VISA SYSTEM passing would be greatly
| appreciated. I am finishing up my PhD in STEM and that piece of
| legislation would make the immigration process for us infinitely
| easier.
| proberts wrote:
| My apologies but I just don't have a good sense of the passage
| of any major immigration legislation. I've been wrong so many
| times in past, expecting changes/compromises without anything
| significat happening.
| proberts wrote:
| I need to sign off now. I will be back in about an hour. Great
| questions and comments by the way. Thank you!
| [deleted]
| brutus1213 wrote:
| Hi Peter. Has the immigration situation for foreign CS PhDs
| wanting to get EB1 in the US gotten better? I had heard things
| had slowed down (with RFQs for clearly qualified researchers)
| during the last few years. What kind of timeline can one expect
| today? Also, I have heard Canadians are able to apply for EB1
| without an H1B (I heard something crazy that it can be done while
| not in the country but also on TN). Can you pls comment on this?
| Thanks in advance.
| proberts wrote:
| It's really too early to tell regarding the standard being
| applied to EB1A petitions under the Biden Administration but
| based on our relatively limited anecdotal data, it still seems
| to be very high. And yes, Canadians in TN status can apply for
| green cards and green card applications can be pursued even if
| the individual is not in the country.
| returningfory2 wrote:
| My EB-2 PERM was approved last week. My employer is giving me the
| choice between concurrent filing of the I-140 (with PP) and
| I-485, or filing the I-140 with PP and then filing the I-485 upon
| approval.
|
| Is there any reason _not_ to file concurrently? I 'm surprised my
| employer is giving me the choice because I can't think of a good
| reason to file separately given that I have no upcoming travel
| plans.
| proberts wrote:
| Unless there's a problem with your qualifications (which I'm
| sure not), there's really no reason to file them separately and
| delay the filing of your I-485.
| returningfory2 wrote:
| Thank you!
| jy1 wrote:
| Hi Peter, for visas for YC Founders. Have you heard about
| passright? or do you recommend working with a lawyer directly?
| Interested in O1 or IEPP. (but open to other options)
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately, I have heard about it but I don't know much
| about it. Both O-1 and IEP could be good options. There are
| pros and cons to each. Relatively speaking, the O-1 is more
| subjective/discretionary but premium processing is available
| while the IEP seems like a more "check the box" type of
| application and spouses can get work authorization but the
| turnaround time is completely unknown.
| digianarchist wrote:
| How much on average does it cost, in legal fees, to process a TN
| visa and an EB-2 Green Card application?
|
| I've had two US employers now and both have promised to bring me
| down and then backed off because of costs (I'll be covering
| relocation).
| ipaddr wrote:
| $160.00 filling fee. $2500 for employer to speed up process.
| diab0lic wrote:
| The lawyer involved costs a lot more, and is likely what GP
| post is asking about.
| proberts wrote:
| Legal fees for both vary greatly but I've seen anywhere from
| $1500 to $5000 for a TN application/petition with $2000-$2500
| the most common and $2500 to $10000 for an NIW petition with
| $5000-$7500 the most common.
| [deleted]
| exhibitapp wrote:
| If you are Canadian you don't really need a lawyer for a TN
| application. Just prepare your own supporting documents
| (including offer letter) and go to your nearest US land border.
| It's relatively straightforward, just be polite with the border
| agent, and if your application is valid you should have no
| problems.
|
| I've represented myself twice and it was a smooth process.
| arnaudsm wrote:
| Hi Peter! Do we think we'll see a significant H-1B reform in the
| next 2 years? Are you optimistic with the Biden administration?
| proberts wrote:
| I hope so and I think the Biden Administration would liek to
| make significant changes to entire immigration system but
| because immigration is such a political and divisive issue and
| often crosses party lines, I think the changes will just be
| incremental and limited.
| impetus1 wrote:
| Hi peter, I have an early stage (corp I havent renewed this year)
| What steps would I take for obtaining an h1b for a employee if
| they were deported? Any approaches appreciated!
| proberts wrote:
| It really depends on the basis of the deportation and whether
| the employee requires a waiver and would qualify for one.
| wornoutman wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I am a Canadian citizen with a diploma in Computer Programming
| and 3 years of experience as a Programmer Analyst. Will I be
| eligible to get a TN Visa to work in the US as Software Engineer?
| proberts wrote:
| Is the diploma for a 4-year bachelor's degree program? If so,
| then yes; if not, then you would be limited to the occupations
| of Computer Systems Analyst and Scientific
| Technician/Technologist and Management Consultant once you have
| 5 years of experience.
| gmanis wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thank you for doing this. I asked this question earlier but
| missed seeing your reply so I'll state it again.
|
| Can someone who has some unused time on H1B from long time ago,
| use it if they have a job offer from a US tech company and is
| presently outside the US?
|
| It's been 11 years since last present in US and the visa was
| approved a year earlier I believe.
|
| Thank you.
| proberts wrote:
| The guidance isn't crystal clear on this but the concern is
| that this person would be subject to the lottery again since
| more than 6 years have elapsed since he or she was last in H-1B
| status. That being said, we've had H-1B petitions approved
| where the gap was greater than 6 years.
| gmanis wrote:
| Thank you for your reply.
|
| I was definitely wishing to avoid the lottery but I guess
| it's on case to case basis.
| smithsonian112 wrote:
| I have a Computer Science PhD and am an EU national. I would like
| to work in the US but am worried about being tied to a specific
| employer on a visa, but I don't understand if this is just
| something I would have to accept. Is there a resource you can
| recommend that would clearly explain the options available to me?
| Additionally I don't understand whether I would be subject to a
| lottery or whether with a PhD it is almost a sure thing to be
| able to get a work visa. Thank you so much.
| proberts wrote:
| You likely would qualify for an O-1 which is not subject to a
| lottery. You would be subject to a lottery for an H-1B unless
| the H-1B would be to work for a non-profit entity engaged in
| basic research or another cap exempt entity. There are visas
| that allow for self employment or at least employment with a
| company created by the foreign national (O-1 sort of, E-1 and
| E-2, and IEPP) but oftentimes the path to "free agency" is
| through the green card process - which under certain
| circumstances can be applied for without company sponsorship -
| and with a PhD you likely would be able to apply for a green
| card on your own.
| smithsonian112 wrote:
| Thank you so much!
| OanaFlorescu wrote:
| 1) How often do YC startups (seed/series A/ etc) sponsor H1B
| visas for their emploeeys? If not often, what are the blockers?
|
| Background: I am from Romania (part of EU), currently working in
| United Kingdom. The plan is to get an L1 from a big tech co
| (currently working at Facebook). But I'd be very happy to find
| out startups sponsor H1Bs as well.
| yandie wrote:
| Blocker would be the H1B lottery. You'll have better luck using
| L1 and then convert to a green card than going down the H1B
| route.
| bhflm wrote:
| Hi peter! I'm currently working for an US based startup remotely
| from south america. Without a formal university degree, but
| somehow 3-4 years of experience on the field. Is it possible for
| them to help me get a working visa? I want to ask them in a good
| way if they could help somehow but I can't seem to get any info I
| could leverage.
|
| Not wanting a greencard whatsoever, just a temporary working
| visa, something that lets me travel tbh. I've travelled (pre
| covid) previously with a J1 visa, and have a couple of friends
| who usually do H2B but for ski retail industry, and I don't know
| if any of those would fit my situation right now.
|
| Also, Embassy down here is closed so I can't do my tourism visa
| (B1/B2) for travelling, and I'd love to get down there this
| summer.
|
| Is there any way I could get a visa for travelling ? I'd really
| appreciate a reply.
|
| Thanks!
| proberts wrote:
| The options are very limited, an H-1B if somehow your education
| and experience can be evaluated to be the equivalent of a
| bachelor's degree or an O-1.
| maverick-iceman wrote:
| Hi Peter.
|
| With regards to the O-1 Visa, my understanding is that it's an
| art more than a science.
|
| As a master of this art could you please provide resources on the
| O-1 visa and what are the must have?
|
| Eg. Number of newspaper articles mentioning the founder and
| relevance of the publication?
| proberts wrote:
| I think it's a combination although oftentimes very
| straightforward particularly for scientists. For
| entrepreneurs/founders, it's more complicated but as a very
| general rule, press that mentions the founder by name and his
| her work and really anything public, such as publications,
| speaking engagements, presentations, etc. help. USCIS
| essentially is looking foe third-party/objective validation of
| an applicant's "extraordinary abilities."
| maverick-iceman wrote:
| Thanks for answering . Let's say I get interviewed by the
| press, and there is a mention of my publication in a journal
| .
|
| Is that invalidated because the assumption is that I provided
| it during the interview vs. them doing third party
| verification and getting to my publication independently?
|
| If that's the case is it better to have 2 separate articles,
| one mentioning the publication and the other being the
| interview?
| proberts wrote:
| Not at all and quite the contrary; mention of an article
| that you wrote in a publication gives credibility/weight to
| the article.
| firangizg wrote:
| Hey Peter, I am an international student in US. How can I create
| my own startup on F-1 visa?
| proberts wrote:
| This is a long and nuanced conversation and really impossible
| to convey in writing because while it's possible to do this,
| your activities associated with your startup would be limited.
| proberts wrote:
| Thank you again for all the great questions and comments. I'm
| going to sign off now and return again in about an hour.
| JordanJaye wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I'm the CEO of my startup. It's based out of Canada. We're doing
| about $8K per month from our clients in the US (for the last 1.5
| years).
|
| I would like to move to the USA. Is the best option an E-1 visa
| (Treaty Traders Visa). E-2 Visa wouldn't work because I over
| $100K at risk in the US.
|
| Would you recommend I search out for legal council and have them
| take care of the paperwork or is it straight forward enough where
| I can do it myself?
| proberts wrote:
| I definitely would recommend consulting with an attorney to
| determine the best path and then depending on the path, you may
| or may not need an attorney to execute. It's hard to tell based
| on your description but the likely options are the E-2 (or E-1
| if the company is involved in trade between the U.S. and
| Canada), the O-1, and the L-1.
| gentleman11 wrote:
| Simple question: Canadian interested in working for American
| companies. Do I need to get pre approval to work via some permit,
| or does an employer handle it after getting hired? Is it a
| lottery for the permit?
| proberts wrote:
| You need a job offer and can't start working for the company in
| the US until you have obtained work authorization. Often the
| best option for Canadians is the TN and broadly there are two
| paths, applying in advance with USCIS and then raveling to this
| with this approval notice or applying as you are traveling to
| the US with CBP at a Canadian airport, at the US-Canada or US-
| Mexico border, at a CBP office at US airport if traveling to
| the US from a country other than Canada.
| copycatchiller wrote:
| Hi Peter - thank you for this! I am from Mexico and working on
| STEM OPT on an expired F1 (can't travel), lost H1B lottery two
| years in a row now.
|
| Are there good reasons for Mexicans on STEM OPT who intend to get
| a GC to keep entering H1B lottery, instead of getting a TN visa
| and attempting change of status? Are there other avenues?
|
| Thank you!
| proberts wrote:
| There's a pervasive misunderstanding that someone in TN status
| cannot pursue a green card and must be in H-1B status to do.
| This is just not true.
| SV_BubbleTime wrote:
| For anyone curious like I was, _T_ rade _N_ AFTA _Visa_
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TN_status
| proberts wrote:
| That's correct so when pursuing a green card while in TN
| status, the applicant should only travel internationally
| after commencing the green card process on an advance
| parole travel document (not on a TN) or get his or her
| green card through a process abroad, called immigrant visa
| processing. An applicant for a green card in TN status
| should never seek admission in TN status if he or she is
| the beneficiary of a pending or approved I-140 petition
| unless he or she is immigrant visa processing and only then
| after consulting with an immigration attorney to understand
| the issues, process, and risks of doing so.
| jdsully wrote:
| You can technically apply for a green card but border guards
| can and do use it as evidence that you don't intend to stay
| "temporarily" and deny your TN as a result.
|
| They can reevaluate your TN status at every crossing, and
| there are many stories of this happening to people returning
| from holiday when I was at microsoft. The TN is efficient to
| get but has its downsides.
| parentheses wrote:
| Specific to the program, USCIS states on their site [0]:
|
| > their stay in the United States would provide a significant
| public benefit through their business venture and that they merit
| a favorable exercise of discretion
|
| Can you unpack this and explain what this means and how one can
| establish that this is the case?
|
| [0] https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian-
| parole/inter...
| proberts wrote:
| The question is whether this is presumed where the founder
| meets the basic requirements, that is, 10% ownership, active
| business operations, and $250k in investments from qualified US
| investors. We just don't know yet whether much more will need
| to be shown if these basic requirements. We'll et a much better
| sense of this in the coming months. That being said, I think,
| assuming the above requirements are met, that applications will
| be approved where the investments are from top tier investors
| or a top accelerator is somehow involved.
| emmap21 wrote:
| Hi Peter, I am thinking of applying EB1A, however still wondering
| about the competitiveness of this VISA and IEPP, e.g. processing
| time, fee, acceptance rate, etc. Would you mind providing some of
| your thought? Thank you.
| proberts wrote:
| It's hard to compare in the abstract but an EB1A is highly
| subjective and discretionary and the standard that's been
| applied the past few years has been very whereas the EIP seems
| much more like a check the box type of application. The
| uncertainty regarding the processing time of IEP applications
| is the biggest negative, I think.
| lwansbrough wrote:
| I've heard that an option for Canadian workers pursuing US
| citizenship is to apply for a TN visa, then apply for consular
| processing from Canada while under TN visa status. Does this seem
| like a good option?
|
| I've worked remotely for a small company for a number of years
| and am a core team member. I suspect I fit one of the definitions
| for an L1 visa except that the US company doesn't have a presence
| in Canada other than my home office. Would this qualify? Or does
| there need to be a legitimate Canadian subsidiary to even be
| considered?
|
| I suppose my last option would be H1-B but that seems like the
| least favourable.
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately there needs to be a legitimate operating entity
| in Canada with office space, employees, etc.
| rlabrecque wrote:
| Hey there, I'm a Canadian living in the US on an L1 right now,
| it was a good fit for me. What my company did was set up a
| Canadian Entity (subsidy) and started paying me through that
| for a year before I made the trip. It worked out well.
| hourislate wrote:
| Peter is back trying to drum up more business for himself.
| [deleted]
| hourislate wrote:
| >This is an abhorrent comment. He is already maxed out in
| terms of clients and time. He doesn't need more business.
|
| He's so maxed out that he is spending time here answering
| questions, so charitable of him. I'm sure he won't follow up
| on any good leads since he has too much business.
| dang wrote:
| I see these immigration AMAs as a service to the community.
| They are among the most popular threads we've ever organized on
| HN, maybe the most consistently popular. If Peter gets business
| out of it, that's reasonable--why shouldn't it be a win/win?--
| but from an HN point of view it's a side effect.
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