[HN Gopher] I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does wor...
___________________________________________________________________
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and
startups. AMA
I'll be here for the next 2.5 hours and then again at around 11:30
am PST for another 2.5 hours. As usual, there are lots of possible
topics and I'll be guided by whatever you are concerned with.
Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases
for 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 : 163 points
Date : 2021-11-12 16:04 UTC (6 hours ago)
| wing-_-nuts wrote:
| Hi Peter. I believe the regs around the H1B require workers to be
| paid close to their US counterparts. Based on what you've seen
| and heard, to what extent does this actually hold true in the
| real world?
|
| The general consensus in tech is that H1Bs are underpaid vs their
| US coworkers, but that many companies in the bay area (FAANG,
| etc) do pay fairly.
| gordon_freeman wrote:
| Asking for a friend - Is it possible to start a startup/side biz
| (while keep doing his full-time job)by an H1B visa holder with
| his wife if the wife is on H4 EAD?
| proberts wrote:
| There is but there are limits on what he can do and
| unfortunately other than not getting paid by the side business
| the limits aren't very clear. If he's interested, he should
| speak with someone so that he doesn't cross any lines.
| gordon_freeman wrote:
| I'll pass your note to him. Thanks so much for your
| contributions to HN and advise. Appreciate it.
| eganist wrote:
| Going by your post history, you tightened from "YC and Startups"
| to just "YC Startups" for most of 2021 before broadening back out
| again - what happened during that time?
|
| (on a larger scale as best as you can tell, rather than just an
| uptick in personal business)
| proberts wrote:
| Sorry! That's a typo which I will correct now. Good eye!
| eganist wrote:
| Aw, was hoping for some macro insights about startups and
| hiring as a whole. lol
|
| So are you still "YC Startups" then, or were the previous two
| typos by omission of 'and'?
| dang wrote:
| They were typos, as Peter's already explained. I've edited
| the old titles now. Good catch btw, I completely missed
| that!
| proberts wrote:
| To be clear, the error was in my previous AMAs. It was always
| meant to be YC and startups. Thanks again.
| zhbhmd wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I'm a founder of a Canadian corp looking to move to the US. We
| have a subsidiary in the US already
| proberts wrote:
| I think your question got cut off.
| botverse wrote:
| Hi Peter! I work for an American company and we have a
| distributed team of developers around the world (India, UK, US)
| and we don't know if it's legal for us to come together for a
| week or two in the states, to plan, bond but also work?
|
| Thank you so much for your contributions.
| yen223 wrote:
| I have found that arranging an interview for the B1-2 visa
| (which is needed if you're not from an ESTA country, and India
| is not) is dang near impossible now.
| abhishektomer wrote:
| Thanks for doing this Peter! I am on an H1B and recently got an
| EAD/AP card valid for 2 years. Unfortunately in the November
| bulletin, the final action date retrogressed and my AoS
| application is not current any more. Can I quit my job and be
| jobless for a few months to work on my own or take classes at a
| university, until my final action date becomes current again?
| proberts wrote:
| I know. The retrogression was worse than expected. Possibly, to
| answer your question, but the facts matter so definitely
| consult with someone before taking any action.
| Grayhornet0101 wrote:
| Hi Peter Roberts, I am henry from Nigeria with a wide fascination
| for building real world stuffs but do not how, for now I am about
| to learn Lisp since Paul graham recommend it for building things
| fast. Do you think my path is the right path
| proberts wrote:
| Do you mean the right path for getting a US work visa?
| kelnos wrote:
| This isn't really a question for an immigration lawyer.
|
| My opinion would be that no, it's probably not the right path.
| Lisp isn't used much in industry at all. You'd be much better
| served by learning something more mainstream like Python, Ruby,
| or Go. Depending on your interests, Java could be a good choice
| as well, if you think you'd enjoy working at a larger, more
| "enterprisey" company.
| PeterisP wrote:
| In general, if someone is in USA on a visa that does not allow
| employment (e.g. the F-1 student visa, or perhaps J-1 exchange
| programs), can they do things like job interviews with USA
| startups (or perhaps starting a startup company registered in
| USA) with the expectation that the actual job would be started
| later, when it's permitted e.g. remotely when back outside of USA
| ?
| proberts wrote:
| They absolutely can interview for jobs. Starting a company is
| more complicated because they can do some things but there's a
| limit and that limit is grey - other than not getting paid by
| their company which is absolutely prohibited.
| d4nyll wrote:
| What are some of the easiest things one can do to qualify for an
| O-1 visa?
| proberts wrote:
| The lowest hanging fruit so to speak are creating a good
| company and/or doing great work as an employee of a good
| company, serving as a judge at competitions/events (or as a
| reviewer for conferences or journals), obtaining membership in
| professional associations that require outstanding achievement
| of its members, and being the subject of media attention.
| apbytes wrote:
| How would one go about demonstrating "great work as an
| employee"? Also would that be enough for an eb1?
| proberts wrote:
| Definitely not enough for an EB1 in and of itself. You
| would need a letter from the confirming and describing your
| responsibilities and achievements.
| ashconnor wrote:
| With the new ruling [0] on L2 visa holders no longer requiring
| work authorization, will spouses be able to work immediately upon
| landing in the United States?
|
| [0] -
| https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2021/11/11/uscis...
| proberts wrote:
| Eventually yes thankfully but USCIS needs to issue guidance
| first and amend the I-94.
| [deleted]
| moneywoes wrote:
| How popular is Canada becoming as an alternative to the US for
| both YC companies and employees? For reference, I believe the US
| takes in approx 2 million immigrants a year whereas Canada's
| target is at 400k. Additionally, the USA's population is 330
| million compared to Canada's 38 million.
| proberts wrote:
| Unbelievably popular. Based on my own limited experience, we've
| seen a lot of entrepreneurs return to Canada and operate their
| US business from Canada and come to the US as needed or simply
| decide in the first instance to base their company in Canada
| rather than the US. This all might change, however, as the
| pandemic continues to get under control.
| yibg wrote:
| Are there any tax implications with this type of setup? e.g.
| equity granted in the US, but then perhaps eventually vest
| and get exercised in Canada.
| proberts wrote:
| That I don't know. You would need to consult with a
| corporate/tax accountant or lawyer.
| shybear wrote:
| Thanks for doing this AMA! I am a US citizen who would like to
| start a company with someone in US on H1B. What is the best
| approach to try and go about this? I know this is a complex topic
| where details matter. Would really appreciate a general framework
| for going about this. Thanks!
| proberts wrote:
| It's complicated because of the general prohibition against
| H-1B self-sponsorship/self-employment so I would recommend that
| you both consult an attorney before establishing the entity.
| alexandra1997 wrote:
| Hey Peter! I am currently in the process of searching for jobs in
| USA that sponsor visa. Do you have any tips or sites where I can
| find jobs? Is it hard for an UE citizen? Thank you.
| throwawayyy181 wrote:
| Hey Peter - wanted to let you know that all of the non-Indian
| managers are being pushed out of my organization and I'm probably
| next. Hope you think about the impact on the people who built
| this country, instead of those here temporarily to lower
| corporate labor costs.
| bobbydallas wrote:
| Why are universities allowed to have an unlimited amount of
| students in the F1/OPT phase when there are obviously limits to
| the h1b lottery and yearly spots available?
|
| Should universities be limited to the number of international
| students that aligns closer to visas availability each year?
| proberts wrote:
| Those are interesting questions which I don't know the answers
| to but I suspect that if there were OPT quotas, a drastic
| reduction in the number of international students would result.
| Bluepacsky wrote:
| Currently I am on E2 as employee in the US. Can I change
| companies by applying and they sponsor a new type of visa?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes, the new company could file a change of status petition
| with USCIS requesting that your status be changed from E-2 to
| another status (or that you change to another E-2 employer).
| [deleted]
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| If you could wave a magic wand and make three procedural ( _i.e._
| politically nonreactive) changes to immigration statute, what
| would they be?
| proberts wrote:
| Interesting question. I'll give that some thought and get back
| to you. What would you do?
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| > _What would you do?_
|
| [EDIT: Ignore old answer!]
|
| Long-term visas with work authorisation for college graduates
| and a tinkerer exemption of some sort for all work visas.
| jefftk wrote:
| Sounds like you answered "what do you do" and not "what
| would you do"?
| JumpCrisscross wrote:
| :P. Thanks!
| zomed wrote:
| Thanks for taking questions Peter.
|
| I'm a Canadian Founder of a startup in Canada and I'm looking to
| move to the US. We have a subsidiary (100% owned by the Canadian
| corp) that is incorporated in Delaware for a year now. What's the
| best visa for me to look into?
| proberts wrote:
| You likely will have multiple options but the E-2, L-1, and O-1
| might all be options.
| brodouevencode wrote:
| Out of curiosity (and I apologize if this has been asked before)
| - why do you do these?
| proberts wrote:
| I work all the time in my private practice and really don't do
| much charitable work or work for the community so this is a
| small way of doing something. As a firm, we're also starting to
| do some pro bono asylum work but really not enough yet.
| dcow wrote:
| As a US citizen, what is the easiest (or few) country to
| establish residence as a remote worker in?
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately, my expertise is limited to US immigration but
| for what it's worth, I know a lot of US citizens who moved to
| Portugal during the pandemic.
| kami8845 wrote:
| I'm currently waiting for my EAD (Applied for a GC via marriage
| to a citizen). What's your opinion on expedite requests with the
| reason being financial loss (I have a pending job offer from
| startup)? Is it worth trying?
| shekispeaks wrote:
| I am a greencard holder who has moved back to Europe and will
| give up my GC. Can I open and operate stock trading accounts in
| US to manage the money I made in the US?
| proberts wrote:
| From an immigration perspective, yes.
| nnoitra wrote:
| Why give up the GC? That ought to be an interesting story.
| manuelabeledo wrote:
| Not the OP, but you need to reside for at least 183 days a
| year to keep your immigration status.
| 8ytecoder wrote:
| Not OP. It gets tricky to hold on to it if you're not in the
| country for at least 6 months a year.
| anon-686876876 wrote:
| Green cards come with residency and physical presence
| requirements. Leaving the US for more than 6 months gets
| complicated. Making frequent trips back to appear to be a
| resident will eventually be called out.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| 1. Is it possible to join a US startup or company and become an
| employee of it, if you stay overseas and you are not physically
| in the US?
|
| 2. How do you receive equity as remuneration from a US startup
| and register your ownership of the equity if you do not have H1B
| and:
|
| 2a. if you are an employee of US startup but working from
| overseas
|
| 2b. if you are employed by a US company that gave a visa but also
| do contractor stuff for a US startup as a side thing
|
| 3. Is there a way to start and incorporate a new US company under
| your name as a main shareholder, if you are currently employed on
| H1B or H1B1 by an existing company?
|
| 3b. Or do you have to start and incorporate a new US company
| under some other structure?
| Kohquee1xa wrote:
| My company has been struggling to process visas through their
| immigration vendor, based on my experience I don't trust the
| vendor they use, as they won't even check the spelling of your
| name. Am I overstepping if I hire an attorney to triple check the
| paperwork on my side and make me some recommendations?
| proberts wrote:
| Generally speaking, getting another attorney involved doesn't
| help because the company likely won't be open to outside
| advice/involvement.
| DreaIVI wrote:
| My friend and I, we are on H1B working for big tech. We want to
| do a startup in US but it would take us 3-4 months to raise
| funding. In the meantime, can we register the company on our
| name, pull our H1Bs under it, and start working full-time for the
| startup?
| proberts wrote:
| Possibly. The issue is going to be your ownership and control
| of the entity which almost certainly will result in a request
| for evidence. But you can structure the company in a certain
| way - independent board of directors, etc. - to minimize the
| chance of an RFE or even a denial.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| For the same situation, what if the visa is H1B1 and not the
| H1B?
|
| It looks like H1B1 is non-transferrable to a different
| company and needs a new application from the beginning.
| godelmachine wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| My father who is a naturalized US citizen since Oct 2018 (He got
| his GC in Oct 2013) filed for my GC. I am in F2B. I am born and
| raised in India, 32 yrs, unmarried, 5 years of exp in IT.
|
| Priority date - Nov 2017 Petition approved - Nov 2020
|
| My file should be with NVC now, probably in cold storage.
|
| How severely has the pandemic slowed down application processing?
| I have been hearing there will be no change in Visa Bulletin till
| May 2022.
|
| Meanwhile I have also applied for Canada PR under Express Entry
| and got nominated by Ontario province. I am expecting my Canadian
| PR application to be finalized in next 12 months.
|
| Considering this -
|
| 1. When do you reckon I will get my GC?
|
| 2. I intend to be US + Canada citizen, both. Is there anything I
| need to know?
|
| 3. Will I be taxed by both countries? Is there a double taxation
| avoidance treaty?
|
| Many thanks for taking questions, Peter :)
| erect_hacker1 wrote:
| What are the odds the top comment is an Indian asking about
| when he'll become current :D
| proberts wrote:
| The NVC/immigrant visa process is a disaster unfortunately.
| Given how long you have been waiting, I definitely would
| recommend that you or your father contact a local Congressional
| office to make an inquiry on your behalf.
| godelmachine wrote:
| OK, will do.
|
| So I see there could be no guesstimates as to when I might
| get my GC?
|
| Would you please comment on what I ought to know before I
| hold dual citizenship of US + Canada? Or is that even
| possible?
|
| Thanks again for fielding these questions :)
| proberts wrote:
| It's really hard to say because there's such a massive
| backlog and bottleneck but there's no prohibition against
| holding both US and Canadian citizenship.
| godelmachine wrote:
| Thanks so much, Peter.
|
| Honestly appreciate you doing this.
| [deleted]
| bluealienpie wrote:
| Law firm filed for the wrong category perm and it will be 1 1/2
| years before I could get AoS based on new visa. Any way to
| expedite the process?
| proberts wrote:
| It's extremely tough to expedite. Sometimes, if the work is
| clearly serving an important national interest, the process can
| be expedited.
| humanfromearth wrote:
| Not a question, but a testimonial: the quality of work from Peter
| Roberts's firm has declined in the last couple of years. We
| switched to different attorney this year. We've had dozens of
| cases for different people where they made lots of mistakes in
| the applications. I'm not sure why, but I would stay away from
| them.
| named-user wrote:
| I would appreciate an answer.
| noitpmeder wrote:
| To what?
| named-user wrote:
| Why the quality of the firm is decreasing
| anter wrote:
| Would a startup founder with a history of various fairly popular,
| but not huge projects have a chance applying for an O-1 visa, or
| do you have to be a celebrity of some sort (in
| business/science/etc) to get it?
| proberts wrote:
| Definitely possible. The O-1 standard isn't as high as the
| black letter language of the regulations suggests.
| anter wrote:
| Thank you!
| tailspin2019 wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for taking the time to do this.
|
| My question is similar to the one from @sunir. I'm a UK resident
| and am going through the process of starting up a US-based
| company with a US co-founder.
|
| I plan to travel in to the US for periods of time to meet with my
| co-founder and attend trade shows (likely being in the country
| anywhere from a few days to a week or two).
|
| Is there any reason why I shouldn't be able to do this under the
| normal Visa Waiver Program which the UK participates in? Is there
| a scenario where I should be planning for something like a B-1
| Visa?
|
| Finally, is there an online resource you'd recommend (other than
| the normal government websites) which outlines these options and
| things to consider regarding this type of travel?
|
| Many thanks!
| proberts wrote:
| You really should be fine coming in as a visitor but because
| you are asking, I would recommend that you speak with an
| attorney before your first trip to the US so you understand
| clearly what you can and can't do in the US as a visitor.
| ollerac wrote:
| Hi Peter, what's the easiest way to set up a profit-sharing
| agreement with people working with me? Is there a standard
| contract?
| ariosto wrote:
| Hi Peter, I'm a Canadian on a TN visa (going on second renewal).
| My partner and I recently got engaged (She is a dual Canadian/USA
| citizen). We are thinking of staying in the US for the
| foreseeable future. What's the best way to go about this so that
| I can get permanent residency? Should I see if my current company
| is willing to go through the GC process for me or should we go
| through my partner? Thanks for doing these threads!
| proberts wrote:
| The US-based marriage green card process is really easy and
| straightforward and the processing time seems to be improving.
| It's easy enough that you really could handle on your own but
| because you are in TN status, I would recommend that you at
| least consult with an attorney before filing.
| lomdn wrote:
| Hi,
|
| My questions are about L-1 visa. My employer is an American LLC,
| but I work as a freelancer on a projects basis and locate in
| Belarus. Is it possible to transfer me through L-1 visa? What
| documents do I need to confirm my previous employer-employee
| relationship if I acted as an individual entrepreneur during last
| 2 years?
|
| Does L visa allow my wife to work in the US legally?
|
| Thank you Mr. Roberts in advance
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately you need to be an employee of the foreign company
| (for at least one year) not a contractor/freelancer to qualify
| for an L-1 visa.
| annon2323 wrote:
| Hello, can a H1-B holder work permanently in a fully remote US
| position? Are there any restrictions? Thanks
| proberts wrote:
| Yes. It just needs to be disclosed as part of the H-1B process.
| gautamdivgi wrote:
| This is my experience (not legal advice, ymmv, etc, etc.). I
| have done this when I had an H1-B. I was classified as remote.
| There are two implications:
|
| 1. Prepare for USCIS to visit your home. They want to see if
| you're really working ;). I had someone come and showed her
| around. Make sure you have a designated "office space" in the
| house. This was in 2012 or 2013 so I'm not sure if they still
| do it.
|
| 2. Obviously, if you're applying for your green card, then
| recruitment happens country-wide as opposed to just being in
| your local zone. At least this is what my lawyers said (again
| around 2012-2013 :) ).
| pvarangot wrote:
| I did this on H1-B. Your employer may or may not need to change
| the "statistical zone" where you are working if you move
| around, because salaries need to match it. A work location
| change is an easy H1-B amendment but you need to file it, and
| it may also reset your greencard application on some cases. You
| should really talk to your employer about it, they will need a
| lawyer.
| santhoshnarayan wrote:
| Hey Peter! I'm a co-founder of a US C-Corp, and recently, we had
| been asked if we sponsor / can help re: H1B. This is something
| we'd love to do but we have no idea where to look to figure out
| what the process is, what the costs are, or if we can even do it
| as a small company. Do you have any recommendations re: helpful
| reading?
| proberts wrote:
| The short answer is almost certainly yes, you should be able to
| sponsor someone for H-1B status. Certain things need to be in
| place but these are minimal.
| ciguy wrote:
| Not exactly startup related but perhaps you have some insight. My
| wife is from the Philippines and we are currently in the process
| of applying for her AOS (I-130 and I-485). We left the
| Philippines late last year and went to Mexico for around 6 months
| waiting for things there to normalize after all the covid
| lockdowns.
|
| The Philippines hadn't fully opened to tourists so in July of
| this year we entered the USA with the intention of getting
| married and then applying for a marriage based visa to the
| Philippines for me so I could return with my wife. After we
| entered the USA the Philippines went back into stricter covid
| related lockdown and we found out there was a 9 month wait time
| for the visa I would need to be able to return.
|
| Given these issues we decided to stay in the USA and go through
| the AOS process for my wife instead. My wife entered on a normal
| tourist visa, this was her third visit to the USA since we had
| visited my family here a few times while we lived in Manila prior
| to being married.
|
| Based on my understanding we may have issues with immigration
| since they will assume my wife entered the USA on a non-immigrant
| visa with immigration intent. Especially since we go married
| within a month of entering the USA.
|
| Is there anything we can do to mitigate the chance of a denial
| based on these circumstances?
| proberts wrote:
| Actually I think you'll be fine because it wasn't your wife's
| intent to apply for a green card when she entered most recently
| as a visitor. But I absolutely would speak with an attorney
| before you and your wife have your green card interview.
| pclark wrote:
| Peter! wonderful to see your post here, thank you for helping me
| with my visas and greencards over the years!
|
| peter (clark)
| proberts wrote:
| Thanks Peter. It's good to hear from you again.
| danschumann wrote:
| So if I'm a programmer, with basically no funding, is it possible
| to meet someone online and get them here? What's the minimum to
| get a foreign hire?
| proberts wrote:
| To employ a foreign national in the US? For the company, it
| needs to be incorporated, have an FEIN, and have physical
| commercially zoned office space and the ability - but that
| doesn't necessarily need to be demonstrated now - to operate
| and pay the FN a salary. For the FN, he or she needs to qualify
| for a specific visa, which is probably the tougher issue.
| rsstack wrote:
| Thankfully I'm personally on the other side of this already (got
| my green card less than a year ago). With many jobs becoming
| fully remote, do you think it's still possible to offer
| relocation to employees through L-1s, O-1s and H-1Bs? On the one
| hand, it's hard to claim that they truly need to be in the
| States, but on the other hand, it could be important for the
| timezones to match (and it's an amazing employee benefit).
|
| Obviously my question doesn't apply to in-office or hybrid
| positions, only to pure remote.
| ashconnor wrote:
| I'm in Canada and will be relocating to the United States on an
| L1 visa next year.
|
| I was worried that PERM cannot be filed for remote employees
| but that doesn't appear to be an issue.
|
| https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5bddb770-63de...
| proberts wrote:
| When you say remote, you mean remote in the US, right, such
| as working from home? You definitely can be PERM sponsored as
| a remote employee under these circumstances.
| ashconnor wrote:
| Correct. That's what I meant.
| ricardobayes wrote:
| I would heavily disagree on any benefits of being physically in
| the US. Working for US companies remotely while in a warm
| European place (Italy, Spain, Portugal) is the real deal.
| paxys wrote:
| It is difficult to meaningfully collaborate with a team that
| is working in US time zones if you are in Europe/Asia. You
| can make it work, sure, but saying that there is no benefit
| to being in the same place is disingenuous.
| asPontas wrote:
| How does one go about doing that? I have been living in Spain
| and having a hard time getting remote work with U.S.
| companies despite having a PhD in computer science and being
| a U.S. national. Do you have any pointers?
| rsstack wrote:
| The US is diverse in terms of both culture and climate :)
| Many people I know want to live in the US for various
| reasons. And I can't offer relocation to any European country
| without having operations in Europe, for the same reason that
| people outside of the US can't offer relocation to the US.
| klipt wrote:
| > And I can't offer relocation to any European country
| without having operations in Europe
|
| That's not entirely true - several European countries offer
| "Digital Nomad" visas that are specifically aimed at
| attracting people who _won 't_ take jobs in their host
| country, but will instead receive income from elsewhere and
| _spend_ it in their host country, thus boosting their host
| country 's economy.
|
| See: https://www.etiasvisa.com/etias-news/digital-nomad-
| visas-eu-...
|
| If you partnered with the right European law firms, you
| could totally offer a nice package of US based salary +
| assistance with "Digital Nomad" visa application.
| proberts wrote:
| There's some variation depending on the visa classification but
| yes, an employee could qualify for a visa even if the job is
| fully remote. But the employer must be a US company with US
| operations.
| rsstack wrote:
| Brilliant, thank you!
| asadlionpk wrote:
| Hello, I want to know about E2 visa, Is there a website to go
| look for businesses for sale that are also E2 compatible.
|
| Thank you for doing these!
| proberts wrote:
| There isn't a website but the E-2 visa is really a great option
| for those seeking to establish a business in and move to the
| US.
| satya71 wrote:
| As I understand there's no pathway from E2 to Green Card. E2
| visa holder will need to get extensions every two years. It
| is a great option, but there are a few downsides.
| proberts wrote:
| Actually, that's not correct. There's no connection between
| underlying status and green card options. The connection is
| coincidental, not causal. An E-2 can apply for a green
| card. He or she just will be grounded for a period of time
| while the green card application is pending.
| satya71 wrote:
| Thanks for the clarification.
| 0des wrote:
| Hello, just a heads up, your account is shadow banned.
| dang wrote:
| We've fixed this now
| (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29201489) so I'm going to
| detach this subthread and mark it offtopic so the thread can
| stay focused on immigration questions.
|
| Btw, it's better to let us know at hn@ycombinator.com about
| cases like this so we can be sure to fix them. I only saw this
| randomly. We're grateful when users watch out for each other
| and we're always happy to unban accounts when it's clear that
| they're using HN as intended.
|
| (Detached from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29200985)
| annon2323 wrote:
| What does this mean
| dang wrote:
| I'm a moderator here. It looks like we banned your account
| early on because you posted something that broke the site
| guidelines. We have to be strict about this when accounts
| don't have much history because HN gets a ton of troll
| accounts.
|
| Unfortunately, this also means we have to make guesses when
| there isn't much information to go on, and that leads to
| false positives. Your account looks like one of those, since
| it went on to participate on HN in a good way. I'm sorry
| about that--we always correct these situations when we see
| them, but sometimes it takes time before we see them.
|
| I've unbanned the account now, so everything should be fixed.
| If you need anything else, email us at hn@ycombinator.com.
| chrisseaton wrote:
| Every commented you've posted since 2017 has been silently
| hidden from almost everyone on the site as a punishment for
| something you've done to annoy someone at some point.
|
| You've been talking into a void.
| dorianmariefr wrote:
| I would like to immigrate to San Francisco. I'm currently working
| on a startup in France (I'm a french citizen). I didn't create
| the company yet. Should I go with Stripe Atlas and create an
| American company or a french company? I would like to be able to
| receive funds from the US and from France, not sure who will fund
| my startup.
|
| If I have let's say $100k of funds, am I able to immigrate to the
| US?
|
| Thanks a lot
| proberts wrote:
| In the end, you will need a US company to act as the
| employer/sponsor but there can be benefits to creating a
| foreign company as well. And with money (such as $100k) comes
| options particularly if this money is invested in your US
| company. You will need to consult with an attorney to
| understand your options, however.
| dorianmariefr wrote:
| thanks a lot, I will
| Kal2ef wrote:
| What options are available for current E-2 visa holders to get a
| green card?
|
| I thought it wasn't possible but I saw you mention here that it
| can be done.
|
| I've had an E2 for the past 7 years if that helps any
| proberts wrote:
| Again, there's no connection between one's underlying status -
| whether E-2 or H-1B or L-1 - and one's green card options.
| Someone in E-2 status can apply for a green card. There's even
| an immigration form specific to those in E-2 status that must
| be filed with I-485 applications. The process for those who are
| not on a dual intent visa - that is, an H-1B or an L-1 - just
| needs to be thought through a bit more, that's all.
| lomdn wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I am a Russian web-designer working remotely. I wanna immigrate
| to the US but without an employer. What visa to choose for
| relocation?
| proberts wrote:
| Really the only way to do that is via a self-sponsored green
| card which is going to be extremely difficult unless you have
| won major awards in your field.
| applgo443 wrote:
| As a machine learning engineer, what's the minimum criteria for
| me to apply and get an O1 visa? General consensus seems to be
| geared at having great accomplishments but I saw people without
| exceptional accomplishments also get it.
| proberts wrote:
| A lot of people in AI/ML obtain O-1s and the standard isn't as
| high as the black letter regulations suggest. And it isn't so
| much about demonstrating great achievement as checking 3 of the
| O-1 boxes. So, for example, a publication in a second tier
| journal is really no different from a publication in Nature;
| they both check the publication box.
| throwaway1840 wrote:
| Hi Peter, I am starting a company as the CTO, and my likely co-
| founder is on H-1B visa. I have 2 questions regarding this
| scenario:
|
| 1. What is the current prevailing wage for a SaaS CEO? 2. Will it
| be a problem if we want to be fully remote, given that USCIS
| might visit our office for auditing purposes?
| proberts wrote:
| 1. This will depend on where he will be living/working since
| the PW is location-specific. 2. He can work remote but the
| company still needs to have physical commercially zoned office
| space even if it rarely used.
| throwaway1840 wrote:
| Thanks! What is the prevailing wage for a SaaS CEO in Bay
| Area? Is there a website I can check for prevailing wages in
| general?
| gavnewalkar wrote:
| Hi Peter, I'm an Australian citizen in the US on an H1B, second
| round.
|
| The re-entry stamp on my passport expired Sep 2020, and I
| therefore cannot leave the country till I head to a consulate
| overseas to get the stamp re-issued.
|
| I have 2 questions: 1 - Given the pandemic, is there any way I
| can get the stamp locally without leaving US soil? 2 - If not,
| would you recommend I start the process to book an appointment
| overseas now, or is it wiser to wait?
|
| Thank you so much in advance!
| proberts wrote:
| There is an option to renew by mail which many Australians took
| advantage of during the pandemic.
| m0hit wrote:
| Is this option unique to Australia, or apply globally?
| proberts wrote:
| The E-3 visa is the easiest visa to renew by mail by far.
| HippoBaro wrote:
| My company wants to bring me over to the US from France under an
| L1-B visa. The pandemic makes getting interviewed at an embassy
| very difficult, and the process has stalled because of this. Do
| you have any idea when visa processing will resume, and is there
| anything my employer or I can do to speed things up?
| proberts wrote:
| It's already resumed although there are delays in getting
| appointments. And Paris has been very receptive recently to
| requests for expedited appointments. Also, appointments become
| available all the time so it's worthwhile to check the system
| regularly. For example, London just released a bunch of
| appointments today.
| roastedjalapeno wrote:
| Hi Peter, thank you for doing this.
|
| Friend is waiting on employment based GC to arrive. I was
| wondering if there are any legal limitations of leaving right
| after the GC arrives. Is there a period for which it is
| recommended to stay with the company that filed?
| proberts wrote:
| Really with AC21 allowing those in the green card process to
| change jobs and "port" their green card applications to a new
| company, there's just no issue with changing jobs soon after
| getting a green card.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| 1. When talking to a US startup or US company, how do you ease in
| and tell the recruiter or the HR about the H1B1 which is easy and
| totally different from the onerous H1B?
|
| Because most of them have never heard of the H1B1 and many of
| them get scared when they hear H1B1 because they mistakenly think
| it is H1B.
|
| 2. How cheap and quick is it to get a new H1B1? In dollars and in
| days.
|
| You are overseas right now and not in the US.
|
| 3. What signs can you use to predict which YC companies can
| support visa?
|
| By their employee count, funding amount, founder origin?
| tt_dev wrote:
| Hi Peter!
|
| TYVM for your time.
|
| I've been in the US for about 4 years now and should acquire
| citizenship in the coming year or two - I'm a Greencard holder.
|
| My grandmother is around 70 years and she's the only one in my
| home country. I really want her to immigrate over here so I can
| take care of her but she's not my "immediate" family (not mom,
| dad, kids).
|
| Is there a route you'd recommend to help get her here and whats
| the success rate of an application?
|
| I'm well off (thankfully) and would be more than able to
| accommodate here financial needs.
| anonymoushippo wrote:
| Are you seeing the backlog for prevailing wage determination /
| documentation as 9+ months, as indicated by the DOL
| (https://flag.dol.gov/processingtimes)? For some visas there are
| other sources of documentation that are acceptable, but without a
| safe harbor provision. Curious whether you've seen things
| speeding up at all lately.
|
| Thank you for taking questions!
| proberts wrote:
| I'm still seeing about 6 months for both the PW determination
| and the PERM review but the processing times seem to be
| increasing slowly.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| 1. Does your account let you see comments made by new accounts in
| which the comment might not be approved by moderators yet?
|
| 2. How often do you create a thread like this? What is the
| schedule that you follow when creating this thread
| dang wrote:
| These are questions for us, not for Peter. The answers are:
|
| 1. No.
|
| 2. There's no fixed schedule.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| 1. Can you approve and make these 5 comments visible to Peter
| and the community:
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203081
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203269
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203387
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203454
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203998
|
| 1. My account lets me see comments made by new accounts,
| green, and those comments have 0 minutes ago as the time.
| Does it mean that those comments were approved in the same
| minute as the submit and then appeared for everyone?
| sunir wrote:
| Hi Peter, my startup is a US Corp (Delaware) with a US-based co-
| founder and US-based employees. I live in Canada and I'm a
| Canadian citizen and I have zero intention of moving to the US.
| I'm the CEO. I'm using an EOR (Remote.com) to pay me in Canada.
|
| I believe I can fly into the US for short trips on a smile and
| wave B1, but I want to be sure I don't need something like an L1.
| I have easily got a TN1 in the past, but I don't think that works
| if I'm a major shareholder.
|
| Basically, I'm the CEO of a US corporation that lives permanently
| outside the US, and I want to cross the border occasionally to
| meet with the team, do trade shows, board meetings, sales
| meetings, and then return to Canada shortly thereafter. What
| permits do I need?
|
| Thank you for your input!
| proberts wrote:
| The answer is very fact specific but depending on how often you
| come and and how long you stay, almost certainly you will be
| able to enter the US as a visitor for a period of time. That
| being said, it might just be easier to get a work status so
| that you don't have to work how often you come and how long you
| stay. Do you have operations and employees in Canada as well?
| sunir wrote:
| Thank you for your insight! I'm the only Canadian right now.
| We're still a small startup. I don't have majority control of
| the company by myself any more as we have raised VC.
|
| I only enter the States for very specific business purposes
| and short durations and the occasional short family vacation.
| Less than 8 weeks in any given year, and much less now that I
| have kids at home.
|
| I am super qualified for a TN1 computer systems analyst. I
| could presumably make a case for an O1 but that's a lot of
| work to prepare.
| proberts wrote:
| You really should be fine coming in as a visitor with just
| your Canadian passport (although consul with an attorney if
| you're really concerned) and the strategy could be to do
| this until you get some pushback.
| bearcobra wrote:
| Hey Peter,
|
| Curious on your thoughts on services like SimpleCitizen or
| Boundless.
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately my experience with these companies/services is
| very limited.
| visaamathrowawa wrote:
| Hi Peter. Thanks as always for the valuable info you provide in
| these AMAs. I'm an engineer on a TN visa who's building a hobby
| project on the side with the eventual goal of turning it into a
| startup. To what degree can I continue working on this project
| without violating the terms of my visa? My understanding is that
| I cannot be self-employed while on the TN, so am I basically free
| to do what I want with the project as long as I don't
| incorporate?
| proberts wrote:
| The lines are grey but really as long as you don't get
| compensated in any way you should be fine. It's less about
| incorporating the entity and more about getting compensated.
| Just make sure to consult with someone before you incorporate
| or make any move to leave your TN employment.
| visaamathrowawa wrote:
| Great, thank you so much!
| anton876 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I am a co-founder of a startup in the crypto sphere. I want E-2
| visa. Is it going to be a problem to confirm the source of my
| investments if I made them in the crypto market? How to prove the
| source of investments?
| proberts wrote:
| I don't think so, you just need to document that the money is
| yours; we've had other clients rely on similar funds without
| issue.
| alanlammiman wrote:
| Do EB-5 investor visas work well in practice for those looking to
| start a business in the US? Looking at the rules it would appear
| to be straightforward as long as you have the capital -invest
| $1.8M and employ 10 people. It there a catch other than the
| amount of the investment that makes it hard in practice?
| proberts wrote:
| They do work well; there's just a significant backlog.
| throwaway-09221 wrote:
| Hey Peter! Thank you tons for your contributions here!
|
| I'm an Indian in the US on an H1B visa and working in software.
| I've also made a product for fun on weekends (which my company
| knows about and approves of).
|
| I was thinking of opening access to it for the world, but as
| it'll involve substantial costs on (cloud) infrastructure, I'll
| have to ask people to pay for usage on it. I don't plan to profit
| from this in any way right now. People will mostly pay for their
| share of usage.
|
| From some rough googling (oh, no!), it seems like this wouldn't
| work under the rules of the H1B as it'd be considered
| unauthorized work. Is there any legitimate way of giving people
| access to this without having to also just pay for all the
| infrastructure myself?
|
| Also would it be fine to just release it for free?
| rsstack wrote:
| Would it be an option to let someone else operate the system
| and collect payments/donations, and then you'd cover the rest
| of the costs? You wouldn't be able to get any profits if those
| ever come in, but I wonder if this would qualify as "not
| working" when all you're doing is giving software & giving
| money.
| moneywoes wrote:
| Could you open up donations for the project instead?
| bmcahren wrote:
| "Donations" in most contexts are just income with no
| expectation of a product in return. e.g. twitch donations,
| patreon donations
|
| PayPal had to explicitly ban the use of the word "Donation"
| for non-tax-exempt companies for instance.
|
| I don't think calling the contributions donations will change
| much and it may actually complicate the payments for tax
| reasons.
| proberts wrote:
| I still think problematic and would have to be carefully
| structured from both an immigration and tax perspective.
| surajs wrote:
| curious if there is a visa that allows more the
| entrepreneurial amongst us?
| proberts wrote:
| The visas most closely aligned with entrepreneurs are the
| E-1 and E-2, the L-1, the O-1, and the IEP (parole).
| satya71 wrote:
| I'm no lawyer, but if your intention is to release the project
| but to cover the costs, it should be possible to set up a
| 501(c)3 (or partner with one). The organization can charge a
| fee to cover the costs, and you don't personally need to get
| paid.
| proberts wrote:
| It is a gray area but I don't see any issue if you release it
| for free. Getting paid, even if to cover your expenses, is more
| problematic, however. I wouldn't say it's a complete non-
| starter but it would have to be structured very carefully and
| properly to avoid crossing any lines.
| safog wrote:
| I would love to know more if you have pointers as well. I
| always assumed it was a no-go and released a few apps for
| free over the years.
| proberts wrote:
| We would need to talk but I evaluate this question - what
| can I do on the side - by looking at the extremes first to
| set the parameters. So, for example, ideating or building a
| product in your garage is clearly fine and getting paid
| cash for selling something that you created is clearly not.
| But in between these two extremes there are gray areas. So,
| for example, is creating something and posting it publicly
| problematic if people start using and sharing it at no
| cost? That seems fine, right? What if there's a cost to
| using this product but the cost is simply to cover and only
| to cover administrative costs? And does it matter if this
| is all associated with an individual or with a company
| created by an individual? And what if this creation is only
| accessible and used by those outside the US? There
| definitely are grey areas and potential arguments to be
| made to allow for certain seeming work-related activities.
| eb1-qun wrote:
| Is there any documentation you'd be able to point to about
| how to structure this? Not the OP but in a similar boat.
|
| Or would you recommend reaching out to an attorney to do this
| instead?
| proberts wrote:
| Really the latter because what's out there is just too
| general to be really helpful.
| OJFord wrote:
| IANAL but could you not just base the business and get
| paid in the home country? Surely even if US taxes on
| worldwide income it's just that, tax, not any sort of
| 'unauthorised US work violation'?
| umbcorp wrote:
| No. They check your tax returns every year with some
| automated process. If you document any income that is not
| approved youll be in trouble. My college rounded up all
| the international kids doing business in their own
| countries and told them to stop immediately.
| OJFord wrote:
| Weird, I just don't see why business-related (or even
| employment) income in other country X should be any
| different to investment income, rental income, etc. in
| other country X.
| paxys wrote:
| Every attorney I have spoken to in the past has said that
| something like this is a clear and obvious violation of H-1B
| visa terms, so I'm curious what the "gray area" you are
| referring to is.
| software_daily wrote:
| Can you tell Grace to meet me at the giant hydrant
| virde wrote:
| Hi, thanks for doing this. Does having a special international
| tier status visa like a tier1 visa in the UK followed by a
| British Citizenship, help with getting an O1 visa in the US?
| Tier1 visa is pretty much the the UK equivalent of the O1 with a
| pretty comprehensive proof process.
| proberts wrote:
| There's no connection between the two - that is, no deference
| is given to those with a Tier 1 visa - but often those who
| qualify for a Tier 1 visa also qualify for an O-1 visa and -
| most importantly from my perspective - the Tier 1 paperwork can
| be reused to support an O-1 petition.
| victorhn wrote:
| I am currently working on a TN2 visa (Mexican citizen), my
| company wants to sponsor me my H1B and then, if i got it, sponsor
| my GC. I heard that there is a route where you can go from TN2
| visa directly to GC, but that the process is risky if not handled
| carefully. What is your view on this?
| TehShrike wrote:
| Do folks in your circles talk about the meta of US immigration?
| Is there any expectation that as the US workforce ages and the
| tax base declines, that worker immigrants will be allowed in more
| freely over the next decade or so?
| proberts wrote:
| That's an interesting question which I haven't really thought
| about but as the US possibly moves to a more market driven
| immigration system, the aging of the US workforce could have a
| major impact on US immigration policy and practice.
| proberts wrote:
| Thank you for all the questions and comments. I'm taking a short
| break and will be back soon.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| Hi Peter
|
| Are you able to see these comments with questions or are they not
| visible for your account?
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203081
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203269
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203387
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203454
|
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29203998
|
| Because this is a new account and it looks like comments from
| this account need to be approved first by someone in hn before
| the comments can appear.
| eslaught wrote:
| I can see your comment(s).
|
| I don't think there is an approval process for new accounts.
| drupdrup wrote:
| Hi Peter.
|
| What is the advantage of getting a company registered in
| Delaware? I see YC focuses companies get registered in Delaware.
| proberts wrote:
| I'm not a corporate attorney but the general view is that
| Delaware law is the best law for companies to operate under
| from both a liability and operational perspective.
| nnoitra wrote:
| Is it possible for someone to create a company in the US and then
| self-sponsor themselves an H1B?
| proberts wrote:
| Strictly speaking, no, self-sponsorship is prohibited in the
| H-1B context. But if you have cofounders, own less than 50%,
| set up an independent board, etc., it could work.
| nnoitra wrote:
| If the cofounders are family members(w US citizenship) would
| it raise red-flags for collusion?
| proberts wrote:
| Not so much collusion as concerns about whether they are
| really independent of the foreign national cofounder.
| nnoitra wrote:
| Independent in what way? Capital, expertise or not
| sharing any family ties at all?
| proberts wrote:
| Independent in the sense that their ownership/control
| isn't really just your ownership/control.
| bothra90 wrote:
| By an independent board do you mean that the H1B holder
| cannot themselves be on the company's board? Re: 50%
| ownership, is 50-50 split OK, or does it have to be less than
| 50?
| throwawayy37r3 wrote:
| What is the shortest period of time possible legally to become
| permanent US citizen? Lets say if a Nobel prize winner decides to
| become permanent citizen of US. How quickly this would be
| possible?
| yonibot wrote:
| I'm a Canadian software engineer but my degree is in law (I'm a
| self-taught developer). Do people in my situation manage to get
| H1B or TN visas despite not having a technical degree?
|
| Thanks a lot!
| carfacts wrote:
| Was in similar situation, though Australian. I got a letter
| from an education/certification expertly that said my past
| experience as dev and education (also had a BA) was equivalent
| to a BS. Recommend you get an attorney/Peter to help you
| proberts wrote:
| A bachelor's degree in a related field based on an evaluation
| of education and experience can work in the H-1B context but
| is not acceptable in the TN context where a bachelor's degree
| is required.
| gassiss wrote:
| Can a master in the field replace the bachelor? Eg. I have
| a bachelor in business, going through a master in CS, am I
| eligible for TN visa as Software Engineer or Computer
| Systems Analyst?
| sb2nov wrote:
| 1/ Do you what countries are allowing third country nationals to
| get an H1B visa stamp?
|
| 2/ When will Canada and Mexico allow that?
|
| PS: It seems impossible to get an appointment in my home country.
| proberts wrote:
| That's the $64,000 question because it changes all the time and
| so is incredibly challenging and frustrating. That being said,
| the trend is definitely toward the opening up of consulates in
| general and to third-country nationals in particular. Many of
| the US Consulates in Europe, for example, have opened up. We're
| also seeing a positive change as a result of the lifting of the
| travel ban on November 8th. Regarding Canada and Mexico,
| there's been no announcement but I suspect soon - and Mexico is
| accepting TCN applications but only on an emergency basis.
| elevenoh wrote:
| Which country's PR would you recommend for a looking-to-exit-
| Canadian looking to a) pay less tax (53% income rate is too
| high!) & b) face less investing regulation (e.g. Ontario banning
| access to certain crypto exchanges)?
|
| Is there a popular one these days? e.g. paraguay
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately I'm not up on that information.
| barbazoo wrote:
| Just out of curiosity, how do you end up with a 53% income tax
| rate?
|
| Federal: 33% of taxable income over $216,511
|
| Provincial: 20.5% on the amount over $222,420 (max, BC)
|
| Obviously the average rate will be far less than the marginal
| rate.
|
| https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individ...
| markdown wrote:
| They don't end up with a 53% rate. Just a tax dodger who's
| trying to avoid giving back after they've benefited from a
| system.
| barbazoo wrote:
| That's what I was thinking too.
| dkarp wrote:
| Hi Peter, have you seen any change in immigration as a result of
| covid? What do you believe the long term impact may be?
| proberts wrote:
| Really the main change has been at the consular level with the
| shutdown and reduced operations at US Consulates and
| unavailability of visa application appointments. But this
| finally seems to be changing. Regarding long-term impacts, I
| really don't see any other than possibly greater sensitivity to
| infection disease-related requirements - i.e., vaccinations and
| testing - for immigration benefits.
| jedberg wrote:
| I just wanted to say that when I read this I thought it said
| "imaginary attorney" and that's why I clicked.
| proberts wrote:
| That's pretty funny. Sometimes I feel that way.
| immihelpme wrote:
| Peter,
|
| Thanks for doing this!
|
| As a Canadian permanent resident, does having a US based LLC with
| funding (~$125k) allow me any immigration options into the US? Or
| a Canada based corp, with a US subsidiary.
|
| Considering the EB-1 green card as an option here as I would be
| the CEO.
| proberts wrote:
| Landed immigrant status in Canada doesn't really change the
| analysis/options other than that if and when it comes time to
| apply for a visa, you should have little problem getting an
| appointment in Canada. I suspect that your mention of EB1
| probably is a reference to EB1C, the multinational manager
| option, and that requires significant and ongoing operations in
| the US and Canada as well as one year of employment with the
| Canadian company.
| kingcharles wrote:
| If I am indicted in a criminal case, but not convicted, will it
| affect my ability to renew my green card? (I'm here legally on a
| 10 year green card)
| proberts wrote:
| The facts definitely matter and it will need to be disclosed
| when you renew your green card but generally - very generally -
| an arrest without a conviction doesn't impact a renewal
| (although it could impact an application for citizenship).
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| Can you be arrested, to assist in further investigation, but
| not indicted?
|
| If you are arrested but not indicted, how does it affect
| immigration?
| proberts wrote:
| Because the ultimate legal issue is not whether one was
| convicted but whether one committed acts that would be
| considered criminal and so one could be arrested and not
| convicted or not even arrested at all but the record shows
| - or they inadvertently admitted - that they committed the
| elements of a crime. While it's rare that USCIS goes behind
| an arrest that didn't lead to a conviction, it can and
| sometimes does.
| munk-a wrote:
| As a technically skilled American I found it was far easier and
| cheaper to get into Canada on a spousal visa than the other way
| around (by the time we decided to move to be together we already
| had a lot of proof of relationship established so the overseas
| spontaneous union seemed unlikely to fly). Has it become any
| easier to bring in foreign spouses in the past twenty years or
| does it remain easier to go the other way?
| proberts wrote:
| For foreign national spouses already in the US, the green card
| process really isn't bad and seems to be getting better. The
| problems are with sponsoring a spouse who is outside the US.
| That process - the NVC/immigrant visa process - is a mess right
| now and very slow.
| munk-a wrote:
| Thanks for the reply! Yes, my spouse has no prior immigration
| status (except being a former green card recipient). That's
| about how it was two decades ago as well.
| [deleted]
| oceliker wrote:
| Hi Peter, thank you for doing this! I am currently on an F-1
| visa, waiting to switch to H-1B in January. I have a previous J-1
| visa so I'm currently in the process of waiving the two-year-
| rule. When the waiver is approved, can I file a change of status,
| or do I have to leave the country to apply for the visa?
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| How is it possible to get a H1B in January?
|
| Because H1B is only granted in October about 6 months after you
| apply for it before the April deadline.
| oceliker wrote:
| Yes, my petition was approved starting October. But I'm
| finishing up my F-1 this semester, and will be starting the
| job in Jan.
| proberts wrote:
| It depends on how the H-1B petition was filed. I suspect
| that it was filed not with a request for change of status
| but with a request for consular notification which means
| that after you get the waiver you will need to leave the US
| and apply for an H-1B visa at a US Consulate abroad.
| oceliker wrote:
| Thank you so much! Yes, it is consular notification. Will
| try to get an appointment asap then.
| infinite_beam wrote:
| unsure of this poster's situation, generally if your h1 is
| filed by not-for-profit orgs or academia,the h1s are not
| subject to the cap/lottery system and can be applied for
| anytime a legitimate job offer exists.
| sg47 wrote:
| Why is the Lincoln Processing Center moving so slowly in
| processing I-485s? It's issuing roughly 80 GCs a day whereas MSC
| is issuing in the order of 1000s.
| proberts wrote:
| I know that USCIS is looking to fix this by staffing up the NSC
| and reallocating cases.
| xriddle wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thanks for doing this again. Is a work authorization visa (TN H1B
| etc) required to be hired for a remote US position for a Canadian
| not looking to relocate just yet.
|
| Thanks
| proberts wrote:
| No. US immigration only comes into play if one will be
| physically in the US.
| mettamage wrote:
| From a legal/immigration standpoint, do you have a clue as to
| why many companies only mention that a remote position is US
| only?
| akshaykumar90 wrote:
| Companies will have to setup a local entity in your country
| of residence to pay you.
| xriddle wrote:
| As usual, you rock!
| soneca wrote:
| What are the legal risks for a US company to hire a foreign
| contractor in a model that is more like of a full time employee?
|
| I am the foreign contractor in this situation and I like it. I
| wish many more companies would hire this way, since a real FTE
| would require the company to establish a presence in my country
| (which will never happen).
|
| I understand the risks of hiring as contractor with an employee-
| like agreement if I was in the US. But I am not. So what are the
| risks then?
| morpheuskafka wrote:
| It would ultimately be more of a question of the laws of your
| country. From the US's perspective, even if you were an
| employee, it would be foreign source income as long as you
| remain outside of the US so they aren't going to gain any taxes
| if you were considered an employee.
| soneca wrote:
| Thanks, makes sense. On my side is all good. I formed a
| company to export services. But that's why I wonder why more
| companies don't do this
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| What did paperwork did you have to do to form a company to
| export services?
|
| Is it possible to just export services as a sole proprietor
| without forming a company?
| soneca wrote:
| I think it depends on your country. Also I am not sure
| how well legal terms translate. I am in Brazil, so I
| created what I would call a _"sole proprietor company"_
| that can export services.
| proberts wrote:
| So that I understand, do you mean being based outside the US
| but being employed by a US company as an employee or
| contractor?
| mettamage wrote:
| If it is the same case that I want to be in them I think
| he/she means:
|
| * He/she is employed by a US company as a contractor and
| works remotely
|
| * He/she is not a US citizen and lives outside the US
|
| * In the day to day work and team culture, there seems to be
| no difference between employees and contractors
| proberts wrote:
| Thanks. Then this isn't really a US immigration issue since
| this person will be working remotely/outside the US but
| more of an employment law/tax law question.
| soneca wrote:
| Exactly as mettamage said, so yes, more of an
| employment/tax law question. Anyone on YC to do a AMA on
| that? :)
| lhorie wrote:
| The way I've done this in the past is by registering a
| company in my home country and billing through that. For
| the company procuring your services, it's no different
| than paying for a service like AWS. The company you
| registered is responsible for paying applicable service
| taxes for rendered services as well as payroll taxes and
| other contributions as required by law on behalf of the
| employee, aka your physical person.
|
| Basically the benefit to the client company is that it
| lifts the burden of employment/taxation questions from
| them. The benefit for you is that since you now own a
| proper company, you have more tools to manage your
| finances, for example your company could conceivably pay
| for office expenses, effectively making those purchases
| pre-tax (as opposed to paying yourself the equivalent
| amount and being subject to income tax deductions).
| soneca wrote:
| Yep, that's exactly what I am doing, for all the reasons
| you said.
| brailsafe wrote:
| As a self-employed Canadian I recently interviewed with a startup
| based in the U.S and received an offer. I'd be invoicing them,
| and they'd be paying a fixed monthly rate into my corporate
| account. They rescinded their offer, citing what I think is just
| a scapegoat, which was they they spike to their lawyer and
| concluded that the nature of the relationship was too close to
| employment, and would leave them liable under Canadian employment
| law. I say this was probably a scapegoat, because they were
| inflexible on arranging any other form of agreement, and it came
| suspiciously after I asked about how to bill for time off. Have
| you ever encountered anything like this, and is it really a
| concern I should consider in the future? They also didn't have an
| entity in Canada, and it would have purely been a contractual
| arrangement at the outset.
| proberts wrote:
| I haven't seen that and I've seen very close contractual
| relationships between Canadian contractors and US companies but
| unfortunately because this concerns Canadian law, I can't
| comment.
| curiousgal wrote:
| .
| proberts wrote:
| There are no explicit rules but typically school records,
| employment records, and housing records and letters from people
| who know and/or lived with you.
| tombert wrote:
| Hi Peter, My wife just got her green card. How long before she's
| allowed to apply for citizenship ?
| proberts wrote:
| If she's married to a US citizen for at least 3 years after
| getting her green card, she can apply then; otherwise, it's 5
| years.
| Trias11 wrote:
| US Citizenship is essentially an IRS trap.
|
| She'll be forced to pay taxes on her worldwide income for life,
| regardless of where she lives. I'd think twice. She can have
| all the benefits with just a green card for next 7-8 yrs.
| paxys wrote:
| Citizenship has nothing to do with it. You are still taxed on
| worldwide income if you are a permanent resident or in many
| cases even if you are here on a work visa.
| Trias11 wrote:
| But if she can find a great business or financial
| opportunity overseas or built successful online business -
| she can leave USA, return GC and escape the IRS tax racket.
|
| Not so fast if she's citizen. Think twice.
| villnn wrote:
| Hi Peter! I currently have work authorization through DACA and I
| also have a legal entry. I'm curious if you recommend trying to
| get h1b or stick with my current status. I do want to find a path
| to secure a green card but unsure if staying with DACA is my best
| option.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| If you gained legal entry in the first place, how did you get
| DACA after the legal entry?
| villnn wrote:
| No it's the other way around. First I was granted DACA then I
| did advance parole and obtained a legal entry.
| onn_h1b1 wrote:
| Ok that makes sense now.
|
| How did you obtain legal entry after the advanced parole?
|
| Which countries are eligible for DACA or is it totally open
| for people from any country in the world?
| villnn wrote:
| So with advanced parole you are given a permit to leave
| the country and come back legally thus making a "legal
| entry". DACA from my knowledge is available to any
| nationality as long as the requirements are met which I
| think include being present in the country before 18
| birthday. So you should definitely research DACA if you
| think you're eligible but I'm also not sure if they are
| still accepting applications...
| benhalllondon wrote:
| Do you know if 01 are travel restricted at the moment? I tried to
| parse the Presidential Proclamations but was unclear
| proberts wrote:
| There's nothing that specifically limits travel by those in O-1
| status. The challenge is getting a visa application
| appointment.
| vasili111 wrote:
| Stay with b1b2 visa was extended by US government and total stay
| in US is 8 months. When person leaves to home country after how
| much time he can return to US with same visa?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes but he or she needs to be very careful because he or she
| likely will be scrutinized and questioned aggressively by CBP
| when traveling back to the US.
| beef-supreme wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Any idea how long the wait for interviews is in Montreal for a
| family First preference F1 that's been document qualified?
|
| Cheers,
| proberts wrote:
| Where exactly is this person in the process?
| beef-supreme wrote:
| All the documents have been accepted and waiting on NVC to
| work with the consulate to schedule an interview.
| proberts wrote:
| Unfortunately, the NVC/immigrant visa process is a disaster
| right now; the NVC is completely overwhelmed. If the
| process drags on, I would recommend that you contact your
| local Congressional office to make an inquiry.
| oneplane wrote:
| Why is the process constructed in such a way that a person is
| unlikely to be successful at immigration on their own? It seems
| like a form of gatekeeping that is kept out of the law but still
| applies in real-world scenarios.
| proberts wrote:
| Good question. Some processes are easy but the temporary work
| visas are confusing.
| borjah wrote:
| I'm Europe based at the moment, but I'm curious about how to
| validate your degrees from an European country to be recognised
| in the USA as a valid diploma and search for a job. Maybe is not
| your area of expertise, so I'm sorry for the question if is not.
| whimsicalism wrote:
| Not the OP. The validation probably comes in the background
| check stage (not the hiring stage) and the background check
| companies should have the expertise to check degrees in Europe.
|
| All in all, this should definitely be manageable.
| proberts wrote:
| And from a US immigration perspective, you can get an
| education evaluation service to evaluate your education in
| terms of its US education equivalency. These evaluations
| aren't expensive at all.
| borjah wrote:
| Cool thanks!
| borjah wrote:
| nice, maybe USA is the next stop in my carreer
| ryanelfman wrote:
| Do you forsee the government doing anything able slow wait times
| for Visa/green cards?
| proberts wrote:
| The green card process through USCIS seems to be speeding up
| significantly.
| godelmachine wrote:
| Hey Peter, in one of the other comments you mentioned that
| NVC/ immigration process is a disaster, whereas here I see GC
| through USCIS is speeding up.
|
| As I understand, once USCIS approves a petition, it goes to
| NVC where paperwork is checked to be documentary qualified
| and then consular interviews are scheduled.
|
| Is there a difference between the 2? Asking because
| ultimately both are responsible for issuing GC's.
| proberts wrote:
| I was referring to the final stage of the GC process (not
| the penultimate I-140 stage), an I-485 application filed
| with USCIS and an immigrant visa application filed with a
| US Consulate abroad via the NVC. The former is speeding up
| and the latter is a slow mess.
| outPersona11 wrote:
| I am a DACA recipient, and have not been able to renew my
| application due to a situation that I will not get to specific
| with. I am still working at a tech company and been extremely
| anxious this past few months about what my company might do to me
| since its been expired for almost a year. I've worked so hard for
| this and can't the fact that I might get fired due to this. Any
| suggestions or sources that can help on this? Sorry for being a
| bit generic but this means a lot to me.
| proberts wrote:
| I know what you're referring to because we've dealt with that
| issue for several employees of one of our clients. But it's
| really impossible to advise without knowing all the facts.
| hannibal529 wrote:
| Hey Robert I'm a Canadian new grad who received an offer in the
| US. Last summer I interned at the same company but under their
| Canadian corporation. If I work for a specific amount of time
| under their Canadian corp, can I qualify for a L1 when I want to
| move to the US?
| proberts wrote:
| Possibly. That will depend on whether the position is clearly
| professional or managerial in nature. But L-1s for Canadians
| usually work.
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