[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 Hello HN! It's been about 9 months since we've done one of these and it seems like time for another. Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts. I'll be here for the next 2-3 hours and then after a break of about 1 hour for another 2-3 hours. As usual, there are many possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with. 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! Author : proberts Score : 229 points Date : 2023-07-28 15:43 UTC (7 hours ago) | brianbreslin wrote: | How can startups more effectively use the OPT program? (I work at | a university) I see a lot of graduating international students | who would love to stay in the US post graduation and work at | startups but navigating that seems difficult for startups. | morpheuskafka wrote: | Isn't OPT quite simple for the employer compared to H1-B, etc.? | | For the basic OPT, you don't really do any paperwork--the | school and student do some paperwork and obtain an EAD that you | use for the I-9 form. | | For the STEM OPT extension, you have to be participating in | E-Verify (required in many states anyway), and fill out a | training plan for the two years: | https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/i983.pdf | | I think the bigger issue is continuity--employers that plan to | convert these to other visa types for continue employment will | need to be planning for that from the beginning to avoid | interruptions. | proberts wrote: | All correct. It's easy to employ those in F-1 OPT and STEM | OPT status. And the size or newness of the company has no | bearing on the company's ability to employ those in F-1 OPT | and STEM OPT status. The main additional requirement is | e-verify for companies wanting to employ those is F-1 STEM | OPT status. But this isn't a burdensome requirement at all. | photonbeam wrote: | Given recent industry layoffs, is there less demand for H1B | visas? Ie, is it a better time for applicants to get one through? | proberts wrote: | The H-1B lottery this year was riddled with fraud - so much so | that USCIS will be conducting a second lottery soon - but it | appears that there was no reduction in the numbers despite | layoffs in certain industries. | still-old wrote: | Doesn't this essentially prove that these are mostly not high | skill positions that can't be filled but are actually just a | way to get high skill labor at below market rates? | not-my-account wrote: | Where is there opportunity for fraud in the H-1B system? Fake | / Shell companies sponsoring workers? | legolas2412 wrote: | Calling it fraud is stupid. They deliberately reduced the | work that is required, allowing people to file applications | easily and cheaply. They deliberately allow people to file | multiple applications, that I have not seen a single | legitimate employee file. This is all deliberate, not a | loophole or fraud. | | Also, it is stupid to call H1B a high-skilled visa when you | hand it out via lotteries. I wonder if people consider | winning powerball as a skill? | | But to answer your question, many people filed 10-20 | applications each through fake companies to get H1B. The | H1b acceptance rate was down to 13% and more than half the | applications were filed by people with multiple | applications. | vecter wrote: | Is submitting multiple applications illegal? I'd have to | imagine that you would get caught for doing this once | they see the same person in the system, especially if | they approve the same person multiple times. | legolas2412 wrote: | No, not illegal at all. | proberts wrote: | That's it and the reason a second lottery is being run. | beecafe wrote: | [dead] | winter_blue wrote: | What do you think are the odds of any sort of _legal[1][2]_ | immigration reform passing Congress in the near future? | | [1] Whether that's raising the EB cap (or exempting one from the | EB limit & allowing AOS after 2 years of waiting). | | [2] Delegating legal immigration control partially to the states | (e.g. states being able to issue EB IVs or work NIVs beyond | federal caps), since something like that might be more palatable | to some parts of the Republican party, although I'm not sure if | it'll be enough to overcome the general xenophobia of the GOP. | proberts wrote: | Unfortunately, I don't see any significant changes and I only | say that because fundamental change in U.S. immigration law, | even in the best of political times, is rare. | bubblethink wrote: | 1. There will be no increase in caps. AOS relief from Congress | is also not likely. The executive can take some minor steps in | making AOS a bit better depending on interest, but still | unlikely. | | 2. Not happening. Nothing is getting through Congress anyway. | causi wrote: | _since something that might be more palatable to some parts of | the Republican party,_ | | Quite unlikely. The line would be "California will just let | everybody in and send 'em to our state!" | winter_blue wrote: | I suppose Congress could create a concept of state-level | permanent residence, but even then, if those permanent | residents are allowed to become U.S. citizens, then they | would be able to freely move to a red state, which the GOP | again might find unpalatable. One finer point on this is that | if state immigration policies are structured around a skills- | based points-ranking, the prospective immigrants would all | likely be high-income earners, who are fluent in English. | It's an open question if such immigrants (especially, the | ones who are not white) would still get treated like an | unwanted anathema by GOP-led states. | mcqueenjordan wrote: | Any advice for an US citizen expat who wants to found while | living abroad? (Tokyo, Japan) | | e.g. About whether to incorporate locally or in the U.S., and | that sort of thing -- anything unique to an expat situation. | | (This may be out of your wheelhouse, but I figured I'd ask.) | proberts wrote: | Very interesting but out of my wheelhouse. | pasoevi wrote: | Are there cases where someone without any university degree has | been able to obtain H1B visa? E.g. by having years of experience | but no degree. | PointyDog wrote: | This was my path, so it's possible. I dropped out after year | two of my degree to join a startup and worked for 10 years in | industry. | | I converted 8 years of that experience to 2 years of a | bachelor's degree to make the full 4 required, and had a | University professor provide a letter of endorsement. | | I was applying from Europe, and even then it was apparently a | fairly expensive process for my sponsor. | proberts wrote: | Absolutely correct. The requirement is a four-year U.S. | bachelor's degree or it's equivalent which can be a foreign | degree or a combination of education and experience (or even | just experience) evaluated to be the equivalent of a U.S. | bachelor's degree. The rule of thumb is that 3 years of | professional experience is the equivalent of 1 year of | college education. | gottorf wrote: | > The rule of thumb is that 3 years of professional | experience is the equivalent of 1 year of college | education. | | I know you don't make the rules, but on the surface it | would seem that these numbers are switched around ;-) | proberts wrote: | You're probably right! | pasoevi wrote: | Thanks for the clear answer! is proving the years of | experience usually difficult? e.g. references from 12 years | ago can be hard to get (although I have those 11 years ago | myself). | proberts wrote: | Not at all. Detailed prior employment letters are enough. | dukeyukey wrote: | I'm a UK-based software engineer with 6 years experience in a few | domains e.g. telecoms, fintech, legaltech - could I realistically | get a National Interest Waiver for an EB-2 visa? I don't have any | citations or academic profile beyond a undergrad degree, and that | seems to be the focus. | proberts wrote: | Yes but it's also going to be depend on what your employer does | and your role within the company. | areyousure wrote: | Have you (or anyone else) seen any issues with Russian citizens | (including those not even located in Russia) having issues | obtaining visas to the United States (or other countries)? | proberts wrote: | Yes, I've seen delays, even significant one, although - unless | there's some controlled technology at issue - I've also seen | the visas issued eventually. | aabiji wrote: | Hey Peter, I'm currently in high school in Canada and I know that | I want to live my life in the US. Ideally I would also like to | school in a US university. I also don't have any familial ties in | the US. As an immigration attorney, could you map out how I could | immigrate to the US, in terms of the visa I need and the process | of acquiring a green card? Thank you for your time. | proberts wrote: | Hey. Probably the best way is to go to university in the U.S. | on an F-1 visa. The challenge is the strict limitations on | working when attending school but after you graduate, you will | get 1-3 years of largely unrestricted work authorization and | the TN as a work option as well. Or go to university in Canada | and then when you graduate, work in the U.S. on a TN. | next_xibalba wrote: | What are you seeing in terms of impact of the Canadian Open Work | Permit for U.S. H-1B Visa Holders? Has there been a large volume | of talent moving to Canada from U.S. tech centers? | | Edit: It looks like the 10,000 person cap was already hit [1]. Do | you think there is a huge demand beyond the 10k cap? | | [1] https://www.canadavisa.com/h1bowp.html | Waterluvian wrote: | Might need to ask a Canadian immigration attorney. I've reached | out to a few in the family and will report back if they have | anything to say. | | Edit: sorry. Got the "not that kind of lawyer" response. They | do refugees. | proberts wrote: | That's right. I can't help here. But if you need a referral | to some, let me know. | tamimio wrote: | The might did it out of desperation, but soon they will realize | it was mostly a mistake due to low wages, high prices of goods | and taxes, very limited opportunities and funding for small | businesses, limited market, and obviously the harsh weather is | the cherry on top. | websap wrote: | I know many of my friends who used to work at Meta, Google, | Amazon, etc. who have applied for this visa, or Canadian PR | to move away from the US. People prefer having the emotional | safety of not having to uproot their lives when they lose | their job, over a few more bucks. | | People at senior levels in big tech are now earning 400k CAD. | That should afford a nice life. | praveen9920 wrote: | What in your opinion is required in terms of policy changes for | mobility of talent? | EGreg wrote: | If someone comes to the US on a tourist visa for 6 months, but | then sends documentation to extend their stay based on another | status, can they stay while it's being evaluated, even if it | takes more than 6 months? If it is rejected, how soon afterwards | would they have to leave, and will their stay be held against | them? | Zetice wrote: | Are there courses in law school that prepare you well for this | specific kind of law work, or did you learn most of what you do | through working with folks who had the necessary expertise that | could then be passed along through training? | proberts wrote: | The latter. It's really an apprenticeship process but that's | really how it is for most areas of law. Law school really | teaches one how to think critically and to write. | proberts wrote: | Great questions and comments! Thank you. I'm going to take a | break and return in 1-2 hours. | sergiotapia wrote: | I dread seeing your threads as it flags a significant amount of | time has passed. (This is the fourth one I've seen) Tangible | passage of time! Thanks for doing these btw. | proberts wrote: | Very funny. Life is fast. | hdjsnxbsbsh wrote: | [dead] | ishan_dikshit wrote: | Hey Peter, I want to learn more about the H1B program, why it is | broken, and the bottlenecks and incentives for fixing it. Is | there a resource you recommend? Something to ramp up on this | corner of immigration policy? | | Thanks for doing this! Apologies for the generic question | bobolino123 wrote: | What are the reasons to bring people to san fransisco in the | first place and deal with immigration problems? Why can't | startups just use a payroll provider like deel and have a semi- | global team? | SXX wrote: | At least founders team often can't be semi-global. A lot of VCs | simply wouldn't bother working with you if some people on your | board are not from US and it's even worse if someone live in | some developing country. For them it's too much risk. | Kalpeshbhalekar wrote: | I think there are legal limitations like IP and compliance for | some industries that make it tricky. | proberts wrote: | That's right. But many U.S. companies in fact do use Deel and | similar platforms to employ contractors living abroad. | [deleted] | mirkodrummer wrote: | Any option to apply to something like L-1 after doing remote work | for years from the EU for a US company? I'm not an employee, just | a freelance and the company doesn't have a subsidiary here | proberts wrote: | Unfortunately, no; to qualify for an L-1, your one year of | employment abroad must be as an employee. | golergka wrote: | What level of public contributions are required for a software | engineer to get a dual intent talent visa to US? And what kind of | agencies can help with this? | EGreg wrote: | What are the requirements for an ordinary worker, who isn't | necessarily "amazing", to get a work visa sponsored in the USA? | The employer has to conduct a bona fide search locally and show | that they were unable to find a local worker to do the job as | well as the remote worker? What if the remote worker was already | working remotely, and knows a lot of the codebase etc. ? | | Would something like this visa be most appropriate: | https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent... | tapsboy wrote: | Can we sue the USCIS for not making an interview slot available | for a family based greencard application and then rejecting the | application because we didn't attend the interview before the | time limit? | karaterobot wrote: | If you could change one thing about immigration law in the U.S., | what would it be? | floor_ wrote: | What is your opinion of software patents? | subtech wrote: | If an international student is on a stem opt extension (24 | months) that just started, and does YC, is it possible for them | to get a green card before the stem opt expires? | proberts wrote: | As a general rule, an F-1 student on OPT can apply for a green | card. There are backlogs in all green card categories right now | and this is really what determines the length of the process. | So, assuming the backlogs don't change in any significant way, | those in the highest category (EB1) from countries other than | India or China could get their green card within 2 years but | those in a lower category (EB2 or EB3) or from India or China | should expect the process to take longer than 2 years. | kashfi wrote: | Any insights for DACA? Besides the continual renewal cycles, are | there any new opportunities or options? Many thanks for your | time. | jxf wrote: | I'm a US citizen, but just wanted to say thank you for your work | in helping others immigrate to the US. Our system is both complex | and complicated, and the legal and administrative staff who help | immigrants and prospective immigrants navigate it are doing | difficult but necessary work. | proberts wrote: | Thanks. It's nice work since we get to work with so many | talented and interesting people. | lelima wrote: | Hello Peter, I'm Italian and my wife it's American, we're living | in Ireland, | | What do I need to do for having a work permit in the US? and can | the process be in Ireland? | | we would like to move once I get a job (the job ask if I can | legally work there) | proberts wrote: | Yes, you could obtain a marriage-based green card but because | you are outside the U.S., you would need to go through the U.S. | Embassy in Dublin and this process can take a year or longer. | While waiting, you wouldn't receive a work permit. That benefit | is only available if you apply while you are in the U.S. with | USCIS. | talloaktrees wrote: | not a lawyer, but since your spouse is american you should be | able to apply for a green card and have permanent residency and | work rights | ogsalman wrote: | I want to raise money from private investors (Angels only) no | VCs. What is the easiest way to do that? I have a | following/audience that I want to raise money from. Can I do this | all through SAFEs? Can you please give me what's the best way to | go on about this? | proberts wrote: | Unfortunately, that's outside my area unless you are asking | whether a foreign national can raise money for his or her | startup. | xylo wrote: | I'm currently on H1B. I'm getting married soon to the US citizen | so I'm planning to apply for marriage based green card. Are there | any downsides to apply for EAD(I-765) and Advance parole(I-131) | along with I485? | proberts wrote: | None. You don't have to use them even you get them. | numair wrote: | What's the easiest way for a startup to poach H1B workers from | competitors and large, established companies? Is it even | possible, or are they trapped at their sponsoring company? If | there is a process or workflow for accomplishing this in a | repeatable/scalable manner, I'd be keen to know! | proberts wrote: | The H-1B transfer process is easy for qualified workers even if | the sponsoring company is a startup. So the blocker really | isn't the H-1B transfer process. Sometimes employees are in the | midst of the green card process and feel trapped until they | have a green card or are far enough along in the process such | that they can port their green card application to a new | company. One advantage that smaller companies have is that they | often are much more willing to sponsor employees for O-1 visas | as well as NIW- and EB1A-based green cards and that the | relative impact of employees at a smaller company is much | greater than at a large company and this can help with NIW- and | EB1A-based green card applications. | dogzilla wrote: | How can the government prove a person is undocumented, if they do | not answer questions (and of course they have no ID to present)? | somerando7 wrote: | What would be the advice for Canadians who want to start a | company, but are unable to do so because they are on a TN/H1B? | | As I see it my only options are: | | a) Move back to Canada, start company there. Does this impede | getting VC funding? Can I somehow move back to the US if my | company becomes successful? | | b) Wait until I get a greencard. | | Further question: | | c) Is it better to go TN->PERM or TN->H1B->PERM, what are the | drawbacks of the first option? | ShivTheShiv wrote: | Get some tax advice!!! If you own more than 10% of a foreign | company your US taxes become very, very complicated. I | relinquished my green card after my first tax filing. If you | want to be in the US, found your company in the US. | proberts wrote: | Good advice. Always get tax and corporate advice. There's no | legal issue with going from a TN to a green card but because | of the current green card backlogs - because the green card | process takes so long - you could be in the difficult | position of needing to renew your TN or travel | internationally during the process and you wouldn't be able | to. So an intervening H-1B is helpful, just not required. | somerando7 wrote: | I'm confused. I thought on a TN or H1B I'm not even allowed | to start a company in the US. | adamredwoods wrote: | How do the immigration efforts change between US political regime | changes? Is it easier or more challenging, or does it stay the | same? | proberts wrote: | Significant changes. While immigration laws rarely change, the | way they are interpreted and applied can change significantly | from administration to administration. We saw that when Trump | became President and again when Biden became President. | HDMI_Cable wrote: | What changes specifically? I'm lucky in that I am American, | and honestly have never had to deal with immigration, so know | nothing about it. Do immigration procedures become | harder/easier to navigate? Are quotas (if there are quotas) | reduced? | [deleted] | returningfory2 wrote: | I'll give you some concrete examples: | | - During the Trump administration, the number of RFEs | (request for evidence, often step 1 of denying a petition) | for H-1B petitions increased significantly. I'm reading | that 40% of H1Bs were RFEd in fiscal year 2019 under Trump, | versus 16% under Biden in 2021 [1]. I was personally | affected by this: both of my H-1B petitions were RFE'd | under Trump (I have a math PhD from a top 20 American | university and am working in software). These RFEs are | incredibly stressful, time consuming and costly for | companies. | | - During the Trump administration, USCIS started requiring | almost all employment-based green card applicants to attend | an interview. This significantly slows down the green card | application process because USCIS is bottlenecked on | officers to perform interviews. Biden reverted this change. | | - During FY2022, due to the dynamics of US immigration law, | nearly double the number of employment-based green cards | were available than usual (265k versus 140k normally). | Under Biden USCIS basically had a task force actively | dedicated to ensuring all of these green cards were used | [2]. I think we can pretty sure that under Trump, USCIS | would have had a business-as-usual attitude, not deployed | any special measures, and would only have issued around the | regular quota of visas. | | [1] https://resources.envoyglobal.com/global-immigration- | compass.... [2] https://www.uscis.gov/archive/fiscal- | year-2022-employment-ba... | proberts wrote: | Another very concrete example, during the Trump | administration, USCIS revoked it's long standing policy | of giving deference to previously approved H-1B petitions | when adjudicating extension petitions with the same | employer. This was a significant reason for the above- | referenced explosion in RFEs. Soon after Biden took | office, USCIS reinstated the policy and RFEs dropped | significantly. | kingstoned wrote: | How would a new bootstrapped startup founder maximize his or her | chances of being approved for an O-1 visa? Would it be better to | focus on the E-2 visa instead, where the criterion is mostly | money invested? | proberts wrote: | The E-2 is a more check the box kind of visa while the O-1 is a | good bit more subjective and really just tougher to get. The | issue with the E-2 for new companies is that a substantial | portion of the investment (a typic minimum investment is at | least $100k) must be spent before the E-2 applicant/investor | can apply for the E-2. | clemensley wrote: | How long can a green card holder stay outside of the US without | loosing the green card? What roles do forms I-131 and N-470 play? | Many thanks! | proberts wrote: | If the GC holder obtains a reentry permit, then 2 years at a | stretch and generally up to 5 total without issue. | Caligula wrote: | I have a GC and left a few months ago to Canada. Is it too | late to get a reentry permit? I don't know if I want to | return but having the option for 5 years would be nice. | | ty! | clemensley wrote: | Is a reentry permit a document that can be obtained by filing | the I-131 form, or how can one obtain such a permit? | | Could you spell out what "2 years at a stretch and generally | up to 5 total without issue" means for non-native speakers? | astromeson wrote: | I am very interested in developing a tech career in the US. I | have roughly 5 years of industrial experience and my bachelor | degree is in physics. | | I am currently working as a software engineer in the UK (I'm from | Hong Kong) for the past 2 years and am actively considering the | following: | | 1. Getting a Masters degree in US then work in US with STEM OPT | and apply for Green Card through employer; or | | 2. Moving to Canada, become a citizen in 3.5 - 4 years then apply | for TN status and work in US, then try to find a good timing for | Green Card application | | If my intent is to settle in the US, which route would you | recommend me to go through? | | Thank you so much for your time! | Maciek416 wrote: | I am not an immigration lawyer. Something you should be aware | of is that when applying for a green card, your status as a | Canadian (whether permanent resident or citizen) or as a Brit | (ditto) is completely irrelevant. The green card process sees | your application solely through the lens of your birth country. | The GC backlog for Chinese-born people is very lengthy. So | lengthy that it tests the longevity of a visa or a set of visas | -- it's not a marathon you want to still be running 15 to 20 | years from now. | | For that reason, if your goal is ultimately the US, focus on | the US, because you will otherwise be adding _many_ years to | the process. | | One very notable asterisk to the above: If, while applying for | a GC, your spouse is from a no-backlog country (born in Canada, | UK, or other no-backlog countries), then your application can | essentially adopt that country as the birth country, and you | can get through the GC process in a relatively short time (all | other things equal). | | From your perspective "good timing for a green card | application" is ASA-F'ing-P. | asdadsdad wrote: | (short time is 2 years for no-backlog) | what_ever wrote: | Is Hong Kong (where GP is from) treated separately from the | mainland China for GC country of birth purpose? | duncangh wrote: | What is the best source of government data on the H1B program | (e.g total visas per year, count by industry / job function, | nationality of recipient counts)? Also, do you know of any | original sources / documents which discuss the future of the | program and how it will be assessed whether there is enough | talent domestically in a given field of work. Thanks | mixtieboo wrote: | [dead] | longtree wrote: | HI! I am a US citizen living abroad and want to apply for US | citizenship for my 1 year old son through the grandfather clause. | I understand that after filling the N-600K we will need to go for | an interview in the US. We will need to apply for a visa for my | son and my wife will come too. She is not a citizen and requires | a visa too. | | 1. The grandfather does not have to come to the interview, | correct? | | 2. We want to come for a visit for a few months to half a year | (also for the interview), with the option of emigrating either | this trip or in the future. | | What type of visas should we apply for? If it's for a short to | medium trip or for eventual emigration. | | I understood that if my wife enters with a tourist visa and we | then apply from within the US to emigrate it is frowned upon and | can be denied. | | Is this something we would definitely need a lawyer for? What | would the costs be? | proberts wrote: | Very interesting but very case-specific questions which are | hard to answer in writing unfortunately. | crtechmbd wrote: | In your experience, what does the success rate looks like for | incorporating a company with all H1B founders and with 1 US | citizen& 1+ H1B founders? Thanks | proberts wrote: | Very high in fact if handled right. | rootsudo wrote: | Let's say I have a business/startup idea, funding is "fine" but I | wish to just use Filipino nurses due to shortages - (or other | skilled labor from the Philippines) - | | Would it have to be solely through H1B? I've seen/witnessed that | for certain types of jobs, e.g. teachers - alot of these barriers | are moved. | | What sort of obligations would a company have to first show that | they tried but couldn't hire local people, or failed to relocate | people to come? | | Would this just be standard H1B process? There is no exact case | here/situation, I'm just curious because - the nursing license is | transferrable from the Philippines to many USA states (if not | all?) and the Philippines is a country which is known to "export" | it's people, mostly as "OFW" throughout East Asia and Middle East | and as of late Canada. | | I'm curious how this mechanism works - because it seems to be a | win/win. | proberts wrote: | Because you mentioned nursing, I'll respond to that. The issue | with nursing positions is that they often are not considered | H-1B positions. This is why years ago there was a special visa | (the H-1C) for nurses to deal with the shortage. Other than the | H-1B, there really are no options for nurses. | alejo1000 wrote: | Do you have any software you use for your practice that you would | recommend other attorneys? | proberts wrote: | My sense is that the off-the-shelf software is largely the | same. I would raise this question on AILA. | s_dev wrote: | Dual Irish/US Passport holder here -- if I wish to emigrate to | the US do I have to do anything other than buy a plane ticket? | [deleted] | dudul wrote: | I don't think the US recognizes "dual citizenship" - as in they | dont care, not they force you to give up a citizenship. | | Once you have a US passport you are a US citizen, end of story. | Doesn't matter which other passports you hold. You can't be | denied entry into the US. | proberts wrote: | No. From the U.S. Government's perspective, there's no issue | holding other citizenships. But when you travel to the U.S., | you are supposed to present your U.S. passport not your foreign | passport. | throwaway85858 wrote: | Get up to date with your taxes. | WirelessGigabit wrote: | They cannot deny access to US citizens, which you are. | | But... I hope you have been filing yearly taxes in the US... | hsjqllzlfkf wrote: | Hi Peter thanks for this. | | European, PhD, what's the fastest way available for me to get a | green card? | | I've heard of the investor visa, but I can't invest 1mil, or hire | 10 people. | | I've also heard of the H1B, but from what I understand that means | years of uncertainty. | | I've held a L1B, not sure if that matters. | proberts wrote: | Either the NIW (national interest waiver) or EB1A | (extraordinary ability) path. Are you in the U.S. already? | hsjqllzlfkf wrote: | I'm not at the moment. I spent 1 year there. I can go back; | would being physically in the USA improve my chances with | either of those visas? | | Edit. I thought I'd clarify: I've held an L1B and I still do. | I'm not in the US now but I can be. | iamcreasy wrote: | It maybe a tangential question - but can a company chose to | sponsor EB2 visa directly and skip H1B? If the decision is up to | the company what decision usually factor in deciding which visa | to sponsor? | pizzalife wrote: | Hi Peter, just wanted to say thank you for navigating my | complicated I-485 case and helping me get my green card! | proberts wrote: | That's very nice of you to say. Thanks. | dustedrob wrote: | What's the usual cost for a company to change someone's status | from a TN visa to an EB3/EB2 greencard? How long does it usually | take? | proberts wrote: | There are multiple different EB2 and EB3 green card options so | the costs and timelines can vary significantly. The timeline | also can be impacted by country of birth. Very broadly, the | total cost ranges from $10,000 to $25,000 and the timeline | ranges from 1 year (EB1 from a country other than India or | China) to 15 years (non-EB1s from India). For those not from | India or China in the EB2 or EB3 category, the current | processing is about 2-3 years. | AlexanderTheGr8 wrote: | Hi | | I am a ML researcher (with a couple papers) in Canada (intl | student from India), in senior year of undergrad. What are my | chances of O-1? It's supposed to be for extraordinary people | which, by definition, can be a very high bar to clear. | | So I was wondering if there is any point working towards it or | just go with L1B or something? | | Any information would be appreciated. Thanks | prashp wrote: | Having a couple of ML papers on its own is not sufficient, as | per the eligibility criteria (https://www.uscis.gov/policy- | manual/volume-2-part-m-chapter-...) | alsodumb wrote: | Hi! Thanks for doing this! I am a PhD student planning to apply | for EB-1 soon (that's the only path that could work for me due to | my nationality). | | I am trying to understand what it takes for a successful EB-1 | application and have a few questions: | | 1. From what I've seen, the application packet I will send would | be hundreds of pages (with all the expected evidence). I am | assuming the officer reviewing my application wouldn't have the | time and expertise to go through all of it. What exactly would | they be looking for? (in your experience) Is it the executive | summary? What matters the most? | | 2. After the AI and LLM age, citations counts are all over the | place. It's fairly common to have hundreds of citations as a grad | student these days. However, if you are working in a niche area, | how would you prove that your relatively low citation count is | okay in your area? | | 3. F-1 visa is non-immigrant visa. However, I've seen many PhD | students apply for EB-1 and successfully get it as a F-1 student. | How exactly does that work? Would a pending/succesful EB-1 visa | mean I'd never get OPT? (assuming I am waiting for my priority | date). | | Thanks for your time! | letitgo12345 wrote: | You should look into securing your priority date via EB2-NIW | and applying through EB1-B -- that's far easier to get approval | for than EB1-A. | proberts wrote: | Good advice. Regarding the EB1A, it's so fact-specific | requiring a careful review of the facts that it's hard to | respond. All I can say without knowing more is that the | standard while high is almost always within reach of those | with PhDs. | bubblethink wrote: | Not a lawyer. General advice assuming you are from India/China. | | First, don't procrastinate. There is a non linear relationship | between real time and USCIS time. It's something like 1:5 or | more. So 1 month of procrastination is delaying your green card | by 5 months. If you don't think you can do an EB1 right away, | do an EB2-NIW to lock the priority date, assuming you don't | have a priority date already. | | 1. The bar is sustained international acclaim and being at the | top of the field. If you fit the standard researcher profile, | papers, awards, citations, patents, salary and other | quantifiable metrics would be a good place to anchor your | application. | | 2. Supplement it with reference letters and show impact in | other ways. It's all subjective. Look at other templates or get | a lawyer. | | 3. There shouldn't be any interaction between the two, but not | a lawyer. Check with one, especially if you plan to travel. | | Look at AAO decisions to get a sense of what gets rejected. | dev_throw wrote: | Thanks for the AMA, Peter! What are the options for a TN visa | (Canadian) holder if they become permanently disabled (cancer | treatment) and are unable to work at all? Are they able to renew | their TN visa assuming the employer is okay with that? | proberts wrote: | Yes. An employee can maintain nonimmigrant status while on a | leave of absence for health or personal reasons. | BeenChilling wrote: | As a UK national and fresh CS master's graduate from a top | university, what are the best ways to immigrate to the US from | the UK asap? | | Starting as a grad SWE at a chip company in September. Current | plan is to try get hired in a big tech or HFT/Quant after 1 year, | and build most desired skills to help chances of sponsorship in | future. | | Thank you, advice appreciated from anyone. | returningfory2 wrote: | For up to one year after you graduate you're eligible to get a | one year J-1 visa to work in the US [1]. However it will be | quite tricky to find another way to get work-authorized when | the J-1 is over. So I don't really see this as a viable way to | start living in the US long term. | | Probably the fastest and simplest way is to get hired by a big | tech or US-based HFT company in the UK, and transfer over on an | L-1 visa after working there for over a year. In 2021 getting | an international transfer to the US with a FAANG was super | easy, but it may be trickier now with the layoffs and hiring | freezes. Big tech is historically very good at green card | sponsorship; HFTs less so in my anecdotal experience. | | [1] https://www.istplus.com/internshipusa/ | proberts wrote: | Good advice. The L-1 is oftentimes the best - and only - | option to work in the U.S. and it's still easy for qualified | applicants. | sovietmudkipz wrote: | Tangentially related Q: in the USA there are "illegal" immigrants | who have moved into the country. I worry about human rights | abuses against these people. What are the methods available for | these people to become citizens if they so wish? | howinteresting wrote: | Marrying a US citizen is the only practical way forward for | most people. And on top of that, it is only available to people | who entered legally initially (which is around 50% of | unauthorized immigrants if I remember correctly). It is deeply | tragic. | morpheuskafka wrote: | There is not currently any specific "pathway to citizenship" | designed for people who are currently in the country illegally. | They would have to qualify for a green card on the same basis | as anyone else, then apply for citizenship after that. | | However, they often are not eligible to do so because of their | illegal prescence. If one has been in the US illegally, as an | adult, for more than 180 days, they have a three-year ban. | After one year it becomes a 10-year ban. This applies to both | visiting and immigration. They have to return home (or another | country) to serve the ban before getting a visa to return. | | One notable exception to this rule is marrying a US citizen, | but only if the initial _entry_ was legal (i.e. visa overstay, | not border jumping). Being a parent of a US citizen also works, | but the child has to be 21 first. Being a parent of a US | citizen under 21 has no immigration benefits. | Laaas wrote: | The child rule makes no sense to me. What was the motivation? | howinteresting wrote: | The idea is that adults can sponsor their parents for a | green card but children cannot. Of course it makes | absolutely no sense given the disruption to US citizen | children's lives if their parents are deported, but US | immigration generally is quite cruel if you're on the | margins. | Detrytus wrote: | I think parents of US citizen children cannot be deported | for that exact reason: it would leave the child without a | parent. That's why they are called "anchor babies". | | But of course if they leave the US willingly (e.g. | traveling to their home country) they will be banned from | ever coming back. | morpheuskafka wrote: | I'm almost certain that the reason is to prevent people | from entering the US as a visitor when pregnant, having a | child, and then immediately being able to have the one-day | old child petition for the parents. Or having a child while | facing removal proceedings. As it stands currently, the | child still becomes a citizen immediately, but cannot | petition the parents until they are an adult. | | If the rule stays, then US citizen children can be left | with no adults in their life legally able to raise them in | the US. On the other hand, if having a child in the US | becomes an automatic ticket to citizenship, there will be a | significant increase in children being born for this reason | only that may be neglected, and people who want to overstay | and are willing to have a child are basically guaranteed | the ability to do so. | | Another side effect if removed would be that the US border | folks may be unwilling to admit pregnant visitors even with | very legitimate reasons, because they know there is nothing | to stop them from obtaining a green card if desired. | | edit to clarify: even without this rule, you have to have | entered legally, so just illegally crossing and immediately | having a child wouldn't work--you would have to enter as a | tourist or otherwise. | ShivTheShiv wrote: | They want to discourage birth tourism and "anchor babies" | geodel wrote: | Leave the US and apply for US immigration from their own | country? | howinteresting wrote: | This is _the worst possible advice_ in this situation. If you | 're an unauthorized immigrant, DO NOT listen to this advice. | Talk to a lawyer instead. | egocodedinsol wrote: | What nonspecific advice do you have for immigrants who want to | (co)found companies but are on h1b's or student visas? | proberts wrote: | The issues oftentimes are what can the founder do before he or | she moves to the startup and what company-related items need to | be in place before the founder can be sponsored by the startup. | This requires a conversation unfortunately since the advice is | case-specific. My advice then is to find a good corporate | attorney and to speak with an immigration attorney who works | with founders and startups before setting up the company. | maestrae wrote: | I'm currently on an H1-B and I'm considering exploring a startup | idea. My research suggests that I could do a concurrent H1-B but | what I'm not so sure about is the prevailing wage. Is it possible | to get a concurrent H1-B for say 5 hours a week so that I can | actually afford to pay myself as the govt. requires? | proberts wrote: | Yes, a concurrent part-time H-1B can be for as little as 5 | hours per week. But there's the issue of getting it, since | founder H-1Bs can be challenging. | jb12 wrote: | Hey, you did my E-3 visa a couple years ago! Thanks for all the | hard work! | proberts wrote: | You are welcome! | chigwe01 wrote: | [dead] | timestap wrote: | What restrictions/things to know or consider are there for | Canadian founders who are on a mix of TN/H1-B visas? | proberts wrote: | Those already in H-1B and TN status with their company or | looking to obtain H-1B or TN status with their company? | someotherperson wrote: | A friend entered the US on an ESTA last year. They ended up | getting married to their US spouse while in the US, but had no | intention of staying in the US and left on day 88 or so. | | Does this hinder their chances of re-entering the US on an ESTA | for short periods (i.e, in this case, visiting their in-laws)? As | I understand it, you're not supposed to get married while on an | ESTA, but the way the law reads is that you're not supposed to | get married and try to convert it into a residence visa. Which | isn't what happened here. | DrJokepu wrote: | You're not supposed to come with the intent of both getting | married and then staying afterwards on a non-immigrant visa. | Getting married is fine. Getting married and then changing your | mind is acceptable. Immigrant intent on a non-immigrant visa is | what leads to 7A1 refusals. | | Your friend's real problem is the 88 days. Long stays like that | on ESTA are not a problem until suddenly they're a problem. | They raise eyebrows. How did he support himself for 88 days in | the United States? Does he really have strong enough ties to | his home country if he can just stay away for 88 days? I would | not do it again if I was him. Come for a couple of weeks, or | get an immigrant visa. | legutierr wrote: | > Come for a couple of weeks, or get an immigrant visa. | | You mean, come for a couple weeks, _but don 't fall in love | or start a family with an American girl or boy_. | | > Getting married is fine. Getting married and then changing | your mind is acceptable. | | I would imagine that getting married and changing your mind | is what this policy is meant to encourage! What about getting | married and _not_ changing your mind? What about having and | raising children? | | Is it United States policy that the children of such | marriages must be raised only by single parents? | DrJokepu wrote: | I can't really comment on the justification behind the | policy, I can just explain how it works. | | Point is, with a few exceptions (notably, H-1B), coming to | the United States on a non-immigrant visa with the intent | of staying is an inadmissibility (7A1 immigrant without an | immigrant visa). It doesn't matter if you're married of | have children. Coming to the United States on a non- | immigrant visa and then adjusting status due to a change in | circumstances is allowed. | | >Is it United States policy that the children of such | marriages must be raised only by a single parent? | | If it's a bone fide marriage (and if there's a child, it | probably is), the US citizen spouse can petition for an | immigrant visa (which will turn into a "green card" on | admission at the border). Immigrant intent is not an issue | when entering on an immigrant visa. | | My personal opinion that this immigrant/non-immigrant visa | distinction should be removed from US immigration law, but | right now it's there, so these are the rules right now. | proberts wrote: | Not necessarily. There's no restriction on getting married in | the U.S. The restriction is entering the U.S. as a visitor with | the intent of getting married AND applying for a green card. | But if this intent arises after entry, there are no issues, | period. Regarding these facts, your friend still should be able | to travel to the U.S. Your friend should just be prepared to | explain what they did while here and why they stayed as long as | they and what they are coming to do now. At the end, it boils | down to credibility and the truth. There's absolutely no legal | reason here why your friend shouldn't be allowed in again. | [deleted] | wslh wrote: | I am curious: If you are well-off economically and/or starting a | company in US with some few US employees what possible paths do | you need to follow? | mighmi wrote: | O1 or E2 visas can be attached to a company you found. | bkorte wrote: | Hey Peter! What tech (legal and non-legal) do you use? | rejectfinite wrote: | Very interesting stories. I like reading about how hard it is to | get in. Same on Reddit but for my home country. Thank you for | doing the AMA. | proberts wrote: | Just great stuff. Thanks again. I'm taking another break and will | be back again soon. | simonbarker87 wrote: | UK couple, both have engineering PhDs and 10+ years experience in | engineering (dev and automotive), not rich but not poor. Is there | a sensible path to US immigration that doesn't leave them in the | H1B bind or always on the verge of being deported? | rcme wrote: | You could find a US company with an office in the UK that will | let you work there for a year before brining you to the US on | an L1. You could also apply for an O1 if you've published a | lot. | bonestamp2 wrote: | In case Peter doesn't answer, my personal experience has been | that you'll want a more stable work visa than an H1. Given your | skills, one of you should be able to get one (and the other can | come as a spouse and apply for a work permit with the right | visa type). After a few years with that, you can apply for a | green card (permanent resident status). I know people who have | renewed those for decades without becoming citizens. Or, after | a few years with the green card, you can apply for citizenship. | | I know lots of Brits and Canadians in California who have also | followed this path. | | A lot of talk in here about H1B visas, and that's probably | because they're the most plentiful. But, that's not the only | type of visa that people should be thinking about. | proberts wrote: | Thanks for the response. Yes, there are other options that | aren't subject to the crazy and uncertain H-1B lottery such | as the O-1 visa (which, without knowing more, you both | probably would qualify for). And while the O-1 is tied to a | company, this can be your company. A lot of founders in the | U.S. are on O-1s. There is also the intra-company transferee | visa (if you are transferring to a related company in the | U.S.) and the E-2 visa if you are looking to start a company | in the U.S. based on a substantial investment. | injb wrote: | Could you elaborate on how an E2 founder could get to | become an immigrant? | proberts wrote: | Most countries have a treaty of commerce and trade with | the U.S. that gives rise to the E-2 visa. In short, you | must establish a U.S. company, you and/or others from | your country of citizenship must invest at least $100k in | this company, the company must spend a substantial | portion of this on business related expenses, and you | must have a good business plan showing, among other | things, the employment of U.S. workers over a 5-year | period. | injb wrote: | Thanks. I'm asking how it would help you to become an | immigrant (the original question). | 0ct4via wrote: | You could've restated your original question without the | condescending first sentence, GP obviously didn't know | that, so the derision is wholly unnecessary. | injb wrote: | OK I edited and removed the first sentence. Apologies if | I sounded condescending. | bubblethink wrote: | The most straightforward approach in your case would be an | EB2-NIW green card application assuming you were born in the | UK. It basically amounts to showing that you are doing | something demonstrably useful to the US (e.g., papers, grants, | awards, citations, the usual). You can do it yourself on the | cheap for 2-3k in USCIS fees including premium processing, or | add another 5-10k for lawyer fees if you go through a lawyer. | The only issue with this strategy is that consular processing | from outside the US can take up to a year or more. | onetimeusename wrote: | Is a J-1 more likely to be approved than an H-1B? What criteria | need to be met to get a J-1 visa approved? I know people working | ordinary jobs with these fyi. | proberts wrote: | The J-1 is not supposed to be used to fill regular positions | although the J-1 is sometimes abused by companies. The J-1 is | supposed to be for training and career development and the J-1 | trainee/intern is supposed to have the intent to return to his | or her home country or last place of foreign residence. All | that being said, it's generally pretty easy to get a J-1 visa. | codingdave wrote: | I work in a tourist town that only stays operational by | bringing in thousands of J-1s each summer, and it honestly | looks to me more like trafficking more than a legit use of | the J-1 program - housing tied to job status with instant | evictions if you lose a job, that kind of thing. I've always | felt like the whole program feels sketchy with the way it is | used here. Is there a good resource for understanding what is | actually legal or not in the context of J-1 workers, so I can | know for sure when a company in town crosses the line? | proberts wrote: | The State Department's website has very good information on | the J-1 regarding the employer's responsibilities and the | worker's rights. | tiredofspam_k wrote: | I'm currently on a H1B visa with a company. Due to family reasons | I intend on going back to my home country and spend some time | with family, which means I'll have to quit work. Is it possible | to come back to the US, assuming I'm able to secure a job with a | company? And will this have to be done before the expiration date | of the H1B document? | proberts wrote: | Without knowing all the facts, no; another U.S. company could | sponsor you for an H-1B after your current H-1B expires without | having to put your name through the H-1B lottery again. | tiredofspam_k wrote: | Thank you for answering! I do have a clarification question | though. Will I have to go through the lottery again in case I | try before my H1B expires? | proberts wrote: | No. | _corvo_ wrote: | I'm from India, planning to move to US on L1 as an IC. I want to | get green card in 3-5 years or get out of the country. If I get | green card, I want to look at bringing my parents permanently to | US. | | As someone without any research papers, any significant industry | presence, how difficult will it be to get an EB1 green card if I | start chipping at requirements now? | | How doable is getting parents within next 5-7 years? | tequila_shot wrote: | Unless employees in your company are reporting to you in India, | your hopes of getting into an EB1 category is close to zero. | You need to prove that you've managed EMPLOYEES of your company | in multiple countries other than the US. | proberts wrote: | You can't sponsor your parents until you are a U.S. citizen and | you must be a green card holder for 5 years (unless you are | married to a U.S. citizen) before you can apply for | citizenship. Will you be managing any employees in your | position in the U.S.? Are you managing any employees now? | _corvo_ wrote: | No, I'm not a manager and won't be managing any employees. | proberts wrote: | It's going to be a long process to a green card then. The | only reasonably fast path is the EB1A extraordinary ability | path and the standard is very high and difficult and | subjective/uncertain. | cyberninja123 wrote: | Hi Peter, thanks for doing this AMA! | | I am from India as well, and I am currently a startup co- | founder for a self-funded startup that currently employs | about 5 American Citizens full time. My other co-founder | is with me on the idea of continuing the self-funding | situation and acquire more customers which will increase | our revenue. | | I am considering applying for EB-1 but wondering what my | changes would be to get a GC through that path, would you | rather advise me to wait a bit more until we hit 10 | American Citizen workers in our company? | _corvo_ wrote: | Thank you for your responses, appreciate you taking the | time. | glonq wrote: | If an employee has been working for a US company for a few years | (like on a TN or L-1A visa), is it common or expected that the | employer might cover the costs involved in getting permanent | residency? Or is typically on the employee to sort that out | themselves? | proberts wrote: | Most companies cover the GC costs for existing employees. | T3RMINATED wrote: | [dead] | sass_saas wrote: | From India! I have an I129 (Successful H1B lottery selection) | with an old firm, but never got stamped an H1B in the past due to | Covid. | | Will this affect my visa approval in the future as I am working | on a startup which will be incorporated in US? | proberts wrote: | Not at all. | mandeepj wrote: | NAL! From what I know, stamping is only required if you want to | leave the country (US in your case) and come back. | shytey wrote: | Can I grant myself a visa with my own LLC? I co-own and run it | remotely, it's making 600k profit from 4mil revenue. It's based | in the US, I'm from Ireland, living in the UK. It hasn't taken | investment but we reinvest a lot of revenue in growth. | shaburn wrote: | Can I start a tech startup on an OPT visa while I work for | another large tech company? | barbariangrunge wrote: | What is the "how to work for an American company/startup as a | Canadian 101"? | jackall wrote: | What are the chances of getting an EB-1C petition approved for a | small startup (15 people), pre-traction, managing 7 - 8 employees | directly, who are all based outside the US? | proberts wrote: | The company's size isn't a problem; the problem is that the | employees whom you manage all outside the U.S. You also need to | show that you managed multiple employees for at least one year | abroad before transferring to the U.S. | sanctified384 wrote: | Regarding the GC backlog for India, what is your best guess for | the number of years it will take for priority dates in 2016 to | become current? | WirelessGigabit wrote: | Which category? 1st 01JAN12 2nd | 01JAN11 3rd 01JAN09 OW 01JAN09 4th | 01SEP18 | | OW = other workers. | | So check the diff between those dates and your date. | proberts wrote: | It's impossible to say because as I'm sure you know, the | numbers don't always progress, sometimes they retrogress. But | I expect at least 5 more years. | letitgo12345 wrote: | For EB1 - probably Oct. | | For EB2/3 -- likely 15 years or more... | dustedrob wrote: | My employer was in the process of getting a PERM for me when they | announced layoffs, which caused the petition to be denied. How | soon after a round of layoffs is it "safe" to apply again? | proberts wrote: | The employer must wait at least 6 months. | susanthenerd wrote: | I'm still in high school but here is my question. Would it be | possible to create a startup on a F-1 visa(student visa) and then | sponsor yourself if the startup gets enough money to afford | paying an employee and get a work visa that could later lead to a | GC? Thanks | stale_data wrote: | Do you have any advice for Canadian founders who's TN grace | period has ended and are leaving the US to immediately return as | a visitor? I'm not paying myself yet, so no employee contract/job | offer. Will the border officers be upset at the fact that I'm | returning as a visitor right after the TN grace period has ended? | Any documents I could prepare to make it easier? Thanks! | andrewfurey2003 wrote: | I'm doing a CS degree in Ireland. If I want to start a company in | the US, how hard would it be to get the necessary visas to get | in? | cushychicken wrote: | What's the typical fully loaded cost for a company to bring | someone in on an H1B or similar visa, in terms of attorney time | and application fees and whatnot? | proberts wrote: | There is some range depending on the size of the U.S. workforce | and whether the petition is filed with premium processing. A | rough range for a company with less than 25 FTEs would be | $4,000 to $5,500. For a company with at least 25 FTEs, add $750 | and if the petition is filed with premium processing, add | $2,500. | cushychicken wrote: | Thanks for the detailed answer! | neodypsis wrote: | What is premium processing? | Maciek416 wrote: | It's like TSA pre but for certain steps in the USCIS flow | chart. | ra7 wrote: | Case adjudicated within X calendar days. Typically, 15 | calendar days for most types of petitions. | | https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request- | premi... | matchbox wrote: | To get the visa application processed in two weeks, else it | will take up to 4 months or so. | proberts wrote: | All correct! But with an H-1B to H-1B transfer, the | filing alone allows the sponsored employee to work so | sometimes there's no need for premium processing. | samgray2933 wrote: | What about cost in applying for a green card while on H-1B1? | no_wizard wrote: | Has demand for your services fallen as VC funding is drying up? | I'm curious how "in demand" you are at this point due to economic | headwinds | ramraj07 wrote: | What do you think happened with the sudden jump in EB1 backlog | for India to 2012? | letitgo12345 wrote: | They ran out of GC numbers for the year. It will probably jump | back to 2022 in Oct | mynegation wrote: | Canadian citizen, I got an offer from US company. Still need to | check with their immigration folks, but should I push for TN-1 or | H1B? Also worth mentioning that my spouse has L1A and I am | eligible for employment authorization through that (but has not | applied yet). What are the pros and cons of each approach? | kecupochren wrote: | How common are H1Bs for people without a degree but with 12+ | years of experience? Is that a legit thing? | proberts wrote: | Very legit. The experience just needs to be professional and | well-documented and the evaluation done by a reputable | evaluation service. | kecupochren wrote: | Documented meaning I need to have all my previous job | contracts/documents? What if the companies don't exist | anymore? | PointyDog wrote: | I replied elsewhere - but this was my (successful - now an LPR) | path. | | My lawyer told me you need a 4 year degree equivalent, and 4 | years of experience can convert to a year. | | If you have zero university education, that would be 16 years' | experience required, based on that lawyer's legal instruction. | shagie wrote: | The relevant part is 8 CFR 214.2(h)(4)(iii)(D)(5) ( | https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/8/214.2#h_4_iii_D_5 ) | | > 5) A determination by the Service that the equivalent of | the degree required by the specialty occupation has been | acquired through a combination of education, specialized | training, and/or work experience in areas related to the | specialty and that the alien has achieved recognition of | expertise in the specialty occupation as a result of such | training and experience. For purposes of determining | equivalency to a baccalaureate degree in the specialty, three | years of specialized training and/or work experience must be | demonstrated for each year of college-level training the | alien lacks. For equivalence to an advanced (or Masters) | degree, the alien must have a baccalaureate degree followed | by at least five years of experience in the specialty | tehsauce wrote: | 8 years of real experience equated to 2 years of university? | That is such a shame. | pasoevi wrote: | I don't see 8 => 2. I see 3 => 1 from Peter and 4 => 1 in | this answer. | ke88y wrote: | This is ridiculous in both directions. In one direction, | someone can have 12 months of tech industry experience with | more knowledge than a Masters degree holder. In the other | direction, it's also possible to have 30 years of real | experience in the tech industry without being particularly | skilled labor (the apocryphal "three months of experience, | repeated a hundred times"). | elfleco wrote: | This was my own path; I had to use a service to certify my | experience (it included getting multiple letters of | recommendation from previous employers) and after three tries I | got my H1B. The odds of getting accepted for each year were | impacted because the pool for people without degrees is smaller | than the rest, so it took patience and time. | proberts wrote: | USCIS applies a 3 to 1 rule. | cj wrote: | Do you have any general recommendations to founders or hiring | managers to keep in mind when hiring people on visas? | | I understand there are certain visas that an individual can | obtain independently (like a TPS visa, or being the spouse of a | L1 visa holder) without employer sponsorship, and other visa | types that require employer sponsorship and other paperwork (I | believe even visas like a TN require some coordination with | candidates). | | Generally speaking, are there any considerations you recommend | small startup employers take when interviewing and hiring visa | holders? Which visa types require the company to hire an | immigration lawyer vs other visa types that don't? Links to | external resources would also be helpful if there's a go-to | source for this type of information. | proberts wrote: | No sponsorship is required for the spouses of those in E-1, | E-2, E-3, and L-1 status, or spouses of those in H-1B status | who are in the green card process and it's generally easy for | companies to hire workers from the five countries with their | own visas (Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, and Singapore). | It's also generally easy for companies to hire those already in | H-1B status - that is, to "transfer" the H-1B to their company. | It's also generally easy for companies to hire those with PhDs | (often via the O-1). It's also generally easy for companies to | hire those in F-1 OPT and STEM OPT status but these workers | will require sponsorship to continue working and this | sponsorship usually takes the form of the H-1B visa, which | requires going through the H-1B lottery, a very messy and | uncertain program. | Gunnerhead wrote: | In June 2021 I tried entering the United States with a TN packet | as an Engineer with a Bachelor of Computer Science. However, the | officer denied me the TN status saying I need an Engineering, not | Computer Science degree, to qualify for the Engineer TN status. | | Given the denial, in July 2021 the hiring company then applied | through USCIS premium processing again for TN Engineer with my | Computer Science degree and I was approved. I was let in at the | border with my TN status without issue. | | In August 2021, I we back to Canada, and then upon re-entering | the US with my TN I was sent to secondary given my previous | denial on record. The officers basically rechecked my packet and | asked so many questions about my previous denial, the officer | then lets me in but states "you might not be so lucky with the | next officer". From what I understand they can take away my TN or | even just deny me entry in the future based off the previous | denial. | | I haven't left the US since then, but want to visit Canada and | come back. However, I'm terrified of the officer denying me entry | based of my previous denial. What are my options here? My | company's lawyer basically said we just have to try and hope for | the best. | | Thanks so much! | fuckyah wrote: | [dead] | djmips wrote: | My advice is to do the renewal without having to go to the | border to face capricious judgements by under trained by all | powerful border staff. It is possible to do the renewal early | and via mail at a main immigration office. Now this information | could be dated and please seek the advice of Mr. Roberts for | current methods. | pj_mukh wrote: | This happened to me too. Mind-boggling dumb. Had to switch out | of TN (E2 in my case) for it to stop happening. | | Still spent 3 years going to secondary, "just because". | proberts wrote: | I'm sorry that I'm coming in late to this but for certain TN | occupations, the outcome has less to do with the applicant's | qualifications or the offered job and more to do with where | the applicant applies. There are some airports and land | crossings that are very good, that is, reasonable and fair. | proberts wrote: | I know. This is really stunning but true. CBP officers have the | right to review the admissibility of TN applicants any time | even if they have a TN approval notice. But there's a solution | of sorts. Please email me separately because this will be very | case-specific advice. | anorwell wrote: | As a CS degree holder, I got two TN visas, both as a Computer | Systems Analyst. This was ~10 years ago. I'm curious if | something has changed to make Computer Systems Analyst | positions or applications less frequent. | Maciek416 wrote: | Much like the other commenter, I learned to never ever do any | of this stuff (ordinary travel or renewals) via land crossings. | You can have a major trajectory change to your life on the | whims of a border guard who is just having a bad day even if | all of your ducks are lined up and perfectly documented by a | large multinational. Bend over backwards to avoid land | crossings until you can secure yourself a greencard. | arcticbull wrote: | It doesn't really matter which crossing, IME, you may always | encounter a power-tripping officer, and officers at each kind | of entry port have the same power. I've been waved through no | questions asked at land crossings, pulled into secondary and | interviewed by 6 officers in pairs of 2 at an air crossing - | and vice versa. Ultimately, admission is at the discretion of | the officers unless you're a citizen. Even a green card | holder can be denied re-entry on the basis that they | 'abandoned their residency.' | jkaplowitz wrote: | > Even a green card holder can be denied re-entry on the | basis that they 'abandoned their residency.' | | I don't believe CBP is allowed to deny a green card holder | entry on this basis if you provide any evidence that | amounts to a colorable claim of being an LPR, such as a | physical green card. They are allowed to pressure you to | officially give up your status by convincing you to sign an | I-407, but you have the right to decline that and insist on | being let into the country because you believe you did not | abandon your residency. In turn, CBP could choose to refer | you to an immigration judge, but this would still involve | letting you in. | | If they do want to bother with the referral, CBP would take | the physical green card, give you alternate proof of | status, give you a Notice To Appear for removal proceedings | before an immigration judge, and let you in with all the | same rights as any other green card holder on a tentative | basis. Yes, the immigration judge would still revoke | permanent residency if you are found to have abandoned your | residency, but you have the chance to involve your | immigration lawyer and argue your case before the | immigration courts. And there might be a long wait before | you even get the court date in the first place. | | I am not a lawyer or other immigration professional and am | speaking generally here based on general information. If | you think you might be in a situation where this would | happen to you, consult an actual professional for proper | legal advice applicable to your case. | [deleted] | klipt wrote: | > Even a green card holder can be denied re-entry on the | basis that they 'abandoned their residency.' | | If you're actually living in the US and just taking | occasional vacations abroad this is extremely unlikely. | | Where people get caught out is when they're trying to | basically snowbird between two countries while still on a | green card. In that case it's better to first serve your 6 | years in the US to earn citizenship. Then you're free to go | anywhere anytime you want. | arcticbull wrote: | If you want to 'snowbird' like that without waiting for | (or ever planning to get) citizenship, you can apply for | an I-327 Re-Entry Permit. [1] | | You can apply with form I-131 and like $575. | | While it can take 3-12 months to process, if you apply | more than 60 days before travel and complete your | biometrics appointment, you can leave and pick it up at a | foreign embassy or consulate. This helps you avoid the | presumption that you abandoned your US residency. | | [1] https://rjimmigrationlaw.com/resources/what-is-a-re- | entry-pe... | afavour wrote: | > extremely unlikely | | Very true. But the point the OP is making is that your | entire fate is in the hands of a CBP officer and they are | a very, very mixed bunch. | | I repeat OP's advice to avoid a land crossing, I'm not | sure exactly what it is but I suspect partly that land | crossings have much less time pressure. I've had my car | pulled over and partly taken apart looking for "anything | suspicious". We were two men in our mid twenties and I | think the agents were just bored, honestly. | Maciek416 wrote: | Understood -- the big multinational I was working for | employed an immigration law firm that tracked many such | crossings, and they practically begged me not to try | crossing by land based on their statistics (which suggested | a higher probability of trouble in land crossings). I | joined that statistic and learned to never take any chances | with any part of this. | arcticbull wrote: | Very interesting, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks! | joshvm wrote: | One option is to apply for Global Entry/NEXUS for Canada. You | will have a single potentially miserable interview with a CBP | officer who might bring your denial up because I'm sure they | ask if you've been refused entry before. But if they're happy, | you can enter the border without speaking to any agents (or a | significantly reduced chance). Once cleared, on arrival, they | snap a picture of your face at a kiosk and wave you through on | an iPad (no passport involved). It works out to around 20 | dollars a year plus your home country's admin fee. | | This doesn't solve your problem entirely but if you're legally | allowed to be in the US then there's nothing underhand about | taking advantage of the program. | | I think NEXUS might be easier, but when I did this as a | European the border agent didn't really know what to do and was | very grumpy that I didn't provide a US address to send my card | which I was told by a different airport I didn't need. Once | that was sorted, I haven't had any trouble since and it usually | eliminates queueing at the border. | | If you're physically in the US, do it at an airport if you can | get an appointment - they tend to be much more relaxed than the | border guards. | ashconnor wrote: | I was going to suggest this but I don't think it would | prevent being pulled into secondary. | | Also, make sure you tell them you are on TN status or they | will happily wave you through on B1 which you won't know | until you download your updated I94. | nrmitchi wrote: | > Also, make sure you tell them you are on TN status or | they will happily wave you through on B1 which you won't | know until you download your updated I94. | | Bingo. I had the unfortunate experience of crossing after | obtaining a renewal through USCIS, but before my original | TN had expired. | | Despite giving them all of documentation, including the | I-797A and new I94, the agent entered me based on my old | TN, which expired.... a couple days later. | ashconnor wrote: | Also on TN status with a Computer Science degree. It appears to | be luck-of-the-draw with the CBP officers. I also have two | Software Engineering modules and my program was under the | Faculty of Engineer which helps. | | I initially applied for L1B at Peace Bridge and was told that I | needed to show the company I worked for was profitable (not | true). | | We drove to Detroit-Windsor from Fort Erie as they told us | there were no appointments until three weeks out (you don't | actually need an appointment I found out later). | | In Detroit I was denied my L1B because "the last year you | worked abroad cannot count towards your acquisition of | specialized knowledge" (also false). | | My opinion of CBP is you need to get the right one or have your | lawyer on speed-dial so they can argue with the officer. | | Getting status at the border used to be seen as a pro for | Canadians but more and more I'm seeing it as a con. | bonestamp2 wrote: | > However, the officer denied me the TN status saying I need an | Engineering, not Computer Science degree, to qualify for the | Engineer TN status. | | My wife had a similar thing happen (not a TN visa though). The | immigration lawyers got to work and she was allowed to try | again a couple weeks later. This time the officer agreed with | the assessment that she was qualified for that visa type. The | original officer had a very narrow perspective on how a certain | job title was defined that was not inline with how most | companies operate. | | If your company has a Canadian office, the lawyers could try | getting you on an L visa. Or there's an E visa. Once you're on | one of those visas then your company can sponsor a green card. | Green cards are much more stable and they're easier to renew. | Then citizenship if you want to go that far. | Maciek416 wrote: | I am not a lawyer. The transition from TN->GC is possible too | under the right (narrow) circumstances. The big tradeoff is | not risking travel while within the lifecycle of one TN term, | and likely not being able to straddle a GC application across | the boundaries of a TN renewal period at all. For some | countries of birth, a TN term is not long enough to get | through the GC pipeline. But for Canadians born in Canada, | ones who have family willing to visit them instead of the | other way around, it may be doable. Or for folks born in | other countries which have no GC backlog or a short one. | YMMV, but I have personally seen someone go L2->TN->GC. An | unusual sequence but necessary given the particulars of that | case. | ashconnor wrote: | It's totally possible to go from TN to GC but you won't be | able to leave the United States from the point you file | your I140/I485 until your Advanced Parole document turns | up. You also can't get a new TN should you need one. | lannisterstark wrote: | Cbp officers are sometimes.... dumbasses. | | One told me I had to get a Mexican visa if I were to come back | since I was visiting so often. Mexican visa. To enter the | United States. | sbassi wrote: | Been in the US 4 years under L1, then changed status to E-2, so | far 2 times, so that is almost 8 years working legally in the US. | No path to citizenship and can't get out from US to my country | without loosing status. Is there anything different I could do to | improve my situation? | throwaway3895 wrote: | Me: EU citizen, with a PhD. Wife: US citizen. We live in Europe. | Wife cannot work due to a disability. How complicated would it be | for us to move to US? | proberts wrote: | There might be a public charge issue. Either you and your wife | would need to show enough liquid-ish assets or you would need | to have a job offer from a U.S. company. | embwbam wrote: | My girlfriend is Canadian, and an AMGA Rock Guide (American | Mountain Guide Association: the US certifying body). She would | like to be able to work for gyms and guiding companies in the US. | What's the best way to make that happen? (short of marriage... | fool me once!) | | Should we hire an immigration attorney? | | Do you know if it would be easier for her to get permission to | work in Europe? | proberts wrote: | You definitely should get fact-specific advice from an | immigration attorney. Is she looking to live in the U.S. | permanently or just work here when there's work? | ecec wrote: | Hey Peter, thank you so much for doing this! I'm currently a F-1 | student in Michigan doing CS major undergrad. In Jan, I had a DUI | case with BOC: 0.09, and I just started with the whole court | thing. Since I don't have a result yet, will a bad record lead to | an eviction of the country or will it lead to a hard time later | if I ever want to apply for green card / H1B in the future? | TNWin wrote: | I want to setup part of the development team outside of a US in | Nepal. The country has very restrictive policies around | transferring dollars outside of the country. It maybe the case | for others as well. I am not sure what to do next. Do you | recommend different kinds of attorney - tax? corporate? Do you | recommend a company that has done these kinds of setups? | mavins wrote: | As a Canadian, for L-1Bs adjudicated by CBP at a Canadian port of | entry, how long does it typically take for USCIS to send the | I-797 approval notice after processing? CBP officials have not | shared the tracking number for USCIS tracking (WAC #) during the | border processing and hence there's radio silence on the | processing. Do you recommend international travel and re-entry to | the US with just the endorsed I-129S, passport stamp, and current | I-94, without any problems? | | Thank you! | proberts wrote: | Months! Although this after-the-fact approval notice isn't | required for reentry. The I-129S is associated with a blanket L | application so this would only be relevant if you obtained a | blanket L and if you did, you definitely should be keeping in | your passport and presenting to CBP an endorsed copy. | Zpalmtree wrote: | I am in the US on a H1-B visa, and my employer is starting the | process of sponsoring me for a green card. I was born in the UK. | Is this likely to succeed, and is there an estimated time it | takes to be selected? | TheMagicHorsey wrote: | Does it now make more sense for Indian engineers to immigrate to | Vancouver or Toronto to work at a startup rather than the Bay | Area, given all the recent uncertainty and delay around | greencards? | raulpegan wrote: | What is the process like for employees waiting for i485 approval | (2+ year wait times) who decide to change companies? Assuming | EAD/AP and everything else has already been approved. | | My understanding is that the application is "portable" to an | extent, but what exactly does that mean? Does the PWD need to be | filed again? | | From a startup's perspective, what does the company need to do to | accommodate this incoming employee? | proberts wrote: | Generally it's very easy to port an I-485 application after the | I-140 has been approved and I-485 has been pending for more | than 6 months. The primary requirement is that the new job in | the same or similar occupation as the previous job and that the | new company is a real company with the ability to pay employee. | But the job location, job salary, job level can all be | different. | raulpegan wrote: | Thank you for the response!! | | How specific is "same or similar"? Say, going from front end | web dev to machine learning. Or going from VLSI to full stack | web dev. All very similar in that they're software | development heavy, but do have significant differences in the | actual field. | proberts wrote: | Similar within the field of software engineering or | software development or even more broadly than that so I | see no issue with the examples above. | Herdinger wrote: | Hi I am not really asking for specific advice (since I know our | situation is already not working out to nice...), I just want to | highlight how absurd the state of affair is and maybe get some | input on that. | | My wife is a US citizen and we currently both live in Germany and | planed to move at the and of this year. We've filed a I130 in | November last year and got an initial estimate of it being done | right now (7 Months not to bad). But looking further into it it | takes at least 15 Months to process this stage of immigration, | worst case scenario it could've been 50 months (4 year!!!) | | This wouldn't all be to bad but to add insult to injury it looks | like I'm effectively barred from entering the US during this | period and US customs can even bar me for 5 years from entering | the country if I try. | | I just feel incredibly sad about the fact that the way to go if | you have a sweetheart in the US seems to be to illegally marry on | a Tourist entry into the country... | | The earliest the US would even respond to our inquiries is in | 2024, which is frankly ridiculous. | | There doesn't seem to be any workarounds other than transferring | on an L1 Visa between companies that are situated in Germany and | the US, every other visa is single intend (i.e illegal if you | plan to stay and the US gets to decided if you're trying to do | that) | | I don't understand what the US is scared of, taking their social | benefits? Especially since 90% of the I130 are approved, there is | no reason it takes that long or needs such rigorous vetting. | | Peter if you know any better or disagree please let me know :( | proberts wrote: | Unfortunately I've seen these terrible delays with our own | clients and there's little that can be done other than what you | suggest: get to the U.S. on some type of work visa and then | pursue the green card when here, which is a very fast process. | But one correction: you are allowed to travel to the U.S. as a | visitor while your green card application is pending; you just | need to maintain a home abroad and not work when here. We've | had spouses in the same situation spend months and months in | the U.S. while waiting for the green card process to run its | course. | throwaway9971 wrote: | I am in similar situation, except wife is in India with | younger kid and I am in US with elder kid in university. I am | told there is a good chance she will be denied tourist visa | even if not yet applied to GC, as rest of us are US citizens. | And she will be denied tourist visa after applying for GC. | proberts wrote: | That's a separate issue. If one already has a tourist visa | or is from a visa waiver country, there really are no | issues traveling to the U.S. while the green card process | is pending if you are smart and careful. But it's very | difficult to obtain a tourist visa if you are in the green | card process. | Herdinger wrote: | Thanks for the quick response, I agree if it would be that | easy, sadly I've had friends that were turned away by customs | for that exact reasons (staying months while they visited | last time) and got recommended against even trying to enter | by an attorney since the I130 in flight might be used by US | customs against me. | | I don't think you or anyone can assure me that if I am | currently trying to enter the country for a visit I might not | be turned away by customs (worst case scenario being barred | from entering for years). | | I don't know how you can plan your existence around random | chance of US customs. | | Please correct me if I'm wrong with that assessment. | | To come highlight again, this has been a huge surprise to my | wife's family who resides on both sides of the political | aisle. | | They assumed it would be bad, but not quite how bad. | proberts wrote: | With the right advice, you should be fine to travel. Never | has a client of ours in your situation had an issue | entering the U.S. | lanice wrote: | Not advice, just some words of encouragement: I am in a very | similar situation (German citizen, US citizen spouse), and we | started our I130 petition at the end of August last year. We | got the approval notice (for the I130) literally this week. | | So with your November filing, I think it would not be | unreasonable to expect an update within the next 3 months or | so. And from there on it should go fairly fast, probably just | 1-3 months from an approved I130 to a GC. | | Good luck! | proberts wrote: | Good guidance. That's what we're seeing as well with | marriage-based immigrant visa applications, about 9-12 months | for the I-130 to be approved and then, depending the | consulate, about 1-4 months to get the immigrant visa. | quotz wrote: | I am in a similar situation. Is there anything we can do if | we havent heard back from them in more than 18 months? | meowmeowwoof wrote: | how are tax records examined when applying to transition from lpr | to citizenship? | proberts wrote: | Depending on the relevant GC period (whether 3 or 5 years), an | applicant for naturalization must provide copies of his or her | federal tax returns or tax returns transcripts for this period. | neilsharma wrote: | If I'm a citizen and want to sponsor my parents to get green | card, do they have to spend 6 months/year in the US? Is there a | way around this requirement? Life abroad is better for them so 6 | months/year in the US is a lot, but having the flexibility to | come and go would be nice without having to deal with visas. | proberts wrote: | The short answer is no, they do not have to spend at least 6 | months a year in the U.S. We have many clients whose parents | essentially live in two countries. Certain easy steps just need | to be taken in advance. | tshrjn007 wrote: | What green card options (Indian born) do founding employees for a | startup have? And how probable are those options? EB-1, O1, etc? | | If on paper, we can show we're co-founders does that change the | equation? | gnandigam wrote: | What is the immigration process to move to another company if you | are waiting on I-485 approval (status: pending, but EAD granted)? | I'm currently laid off from the company that petitioned for my | GC. (I'm not sure if I received a visa number). | proberts wrote: | If your I-140 has been approved and your I-485 has been pending | for at least 6 months and you will be working in a similar | occupation, then it should be easy. The wrinkle here - which | would require a conversation - is your layoff. | gnandigam wrote: | I-140 approved. I-485 pending for 1 1/2 year. Have been on | H-1B throughout my employment (i.e., haven't used AP or EAD). | What wrinkles do I have? | | Thanks a lot for taking time to answer me. | afr0ck wrote: | I am an Algerian citizen who is currently doing PhD studies in | computer science in the UK. My area is systems and computer | architecture. | | The job market in the UK in my area is very slim I can't find the | type of jobs I would like to do. That's the reason for me why I | want to move to the US. | | What are the possible routes that I can possibly take to | immigrate to the US? | proberts wrote: | Unless you have U.S. citizen relatives, the path to the U.S. | usually requires sponsorship by a U.S. company. The good news | is that many with PhDs qualify for the O-1 visa, which avoids | the whole H-1B lottery mess. You also could do a post-doc in | the U.S. (typically on a J-1 visa) and then convert this to a | longer term work visa or even green card. | afr0ck wrote: | Very insightful! Thanks very very much Peter! | joker_minmax wrote: | If you (US Citizen) marry out of the country, and stay with your | spouse (foreign citizen) in that country, how long is the current | wait to come back into the country and have your spouse with you | on a CR1 visa? And are there any advantages to K-3 over CR1? | Gabriel54 wrote: | - While the K-3 visa technically still exists, in practice it | is rarely granted (i.e. on the order of 1 or 2 every year | globally) [0]. You can apply for it in addition to the CR-1 | visa but in practice, once they approve your I-130 petition the | K-3 visa application will be cancelled automatically (and you | will move forward with the CR-1 visa application) | | - The first step to get a CR-1 visa is to file the I-130 | petition, which as per [1] is taking about 12 months on | average. Your luck may vary. | | There is no magic pathway unfortunately but on the positive | side, your spouse will be a permanent resident as soon as they | enter the country. | | [0] https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa- | law0/v... | | [1] https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/historic-pt | proberts wrote: | Agreed. Generally it just makes sense to apply after getting | married rather going the fiancee visa route. And expect 12 | months or so. | [deleted] | contingencies wrote: | Hi Peter. We spoke by phone last year. I am shifting a venture | from China to the US as an Aussie. While things are nominally | easy for me, and you raised the interesting point that spouses | are now in a better situation under the Aussie category, I note | we are _still_ waiting for a visa interview for my family | (Sydney). We intend to complete financing in the US before | December then exit and re-enter on new visas with the self- | sponsorship route and a good deal of investment in the bank, at | which point the various paperwork you advised as supporting (eg. | real estate) should be trivial. My question to you is this: how | do we speed up the next visa changeover? We will only have 90 | days up front. After which, a plethora of initial setup work | (equipment commissioning, etc.) needs to occur demanding of | presence. I can 't afford to sit around this long waiting for | bureaucrats again and I don't want to be separated from my | family. Can we apply while actually in the US on another visa? | Can we iteratively amend an application with new data (eg. real | estate, investment agreements, etc.) after it is lodged as this | information settles? Or perhaps, is there any way to apply with a | business case for expedited processing at US consulates? | | We are also now looking to bring in a few Europeans with | exceptional professional skills in allied areas. What do we need | to look out for in doing this and which visa category is the most | stable for their application? As a startup are we limited in how | many people we bring in? Right now there are at least two. I | recall in the past I was on some sort of management-for-new-US- | subsidiary type visa (~2010) and this was preferential to the H1 | types. Cheers. | textread wrote: | Have any YC founders previously opted for 'citizenship based on | investment programs' such as St. Kitts & Neves etc? | proberts wrote: | I haven't seen that with any YC founders but other clients of | ours have opted for foreign citizenship investment programs and | they seem to have worked well. | booboo28 wrote: | I work as a software engineer on H1B visa due to expire in Sep | 2025. | | My workplace is processing my GC, currently pending DOL wage | certification. | | I hate my job. | | If I change job, it appears they'll have to start the process | again. It looks like I will lose work permit if I don't receive | i140 on time. | | I haven't run the numbers but is it too late to change jobs now? | What are my options? | | It's too stressful! | proberts wrote: | I know. It's awful. But if you find an employer who's willing | to help, you have plenty of time. And - although not 100% true | - in my experience, it's never good to stay in a bad job | because of immigration. | jewelry wrote: | I'm managing a software engineering team for a medium size | startup (400 engineers) and one common question is about the | source income restriction of H1B employees. One example is that | O'Reilly reached out to one engineer on a book deal, and it seems | to be impossible to proceed considering he's on H1B. Any angle to | work around it? | proberts wrote: | Good question. Separate income streams are complicated. A | concurrent part-time H-1B is sometimes an option for other | employment. The problem with this specific situation is that a | concurrent part-time H-1B would have to be structured, at least | in part, as paid employment. | HDMI_Cable wrote: | If you could reform the immigration system in one way, how would | you do it? Would you say that US immigration is currently broken | for tech workers? | | Also, how does US immigration compare to other countries, such as | the UK, Canada, or Germany? Is it easier to immigrate or harder? | throwaway63820 wrote: | My startup is taking off, but I'm on H1-B, about to get my perm | and apply for I-140. | | I haven't incorporated, haven't setup an LLC, have accepted | payments on my girlfriend's sole proprietorship. What can I do | here that doesn't screw me over when it comes time for my | interview? | proberts wrote: | You have to be very careful here. The payments are a problem. | Maybe obtain a concurrent part-time H-1B through your company. | joey-mamba wrote: | How important is a degree for o-1? and what are easy or non- | negotiables or important conditions or awards that definitely | make someone qualify for a o-1? | Detrytus wrote: | Nobel Prize is your best bet :) Also, if you are an athlete | then Olympic medals help. Other than that, it's all subjective. | proberts wrote: | A degree is not required at all. Of course those with an | advanced degree by virtue of having obtained an advance degree | often check a number of O-1 boxes (publications, | journal/conference paper review work, original and significant | contributions). I'm not aware of any easy awards that would | help. | itronitron wrote: | Regarding remote work between Europe and the USA, is there an | easy path for US based companies to hire a US citizen or an EU | citizen to work remotely from an EU residence? | proberts wrote: | Unfortunately, this isn't really a U.S. immigration question. | U.S. companies can employ anyone who is outside the U.S. | without needing to obtain a U.S. work visa. U.S. immigration | doesn't apply if the worker is outside the U.S. | JulesRosser wrote: | The US company I work for is remote first and we hire all | around the world. | | Not sure how helpful this is, but our method is that if we have | a registered company in their country they will be hired as a | typical employee. Anyone hired in a country we don't have a | corporate presence in is hired as a contractor. | aced123 wrote: | Hi, I'm from Germany and have nearly my master degree in computer | science is there a possibility to immigrate to the US? What would | make the most sense? How long does it take? Thank you very much | for your time! | aced123 wrote: | And How much does it cost? | aced123 wrote: | And how much would it cost? | citiz3nkan3 wrote: | My situation: - I am on an H-1B visa and working at BIG_TECH_CO - | I am in the final stages of my EB-2 green card application | process, which is sponsored by BIG_TECH_CO. My I-140 was approved | a few months ago, and I-485 is pending. BIG_TECH_CO's immigration | lawyers have told me that they believe my priority date will | become current in October, when the green card numbers refresh | for the government's fiscal year. - In mid September, my I-485 | will have been pending for >6 months. | | I would love your help understanding two scenarios. Specifically | - If I were to leave BIG_TECH_CO and join another company in | October, would I be able to maintain my green card application | according to AC21? - Same question, but what would it look like | to work for my own company instead? | | From what I have been able to gather by reading online, I would | qualify to transfer employers after six months. However, a few | pieces are still unclear to me: - If I switched employers, my | understanding is that I would want to stay on my H1B until the | I-485 is approved, to minimize risk in case the I-485 is denied. | I assume that would be a fairly seamless process if I were to | transfer it to another employer, but would I be able to transfer | it to my own company? - If I pursue a naturalisation application | 5 years after the green card is granted, would the government | look unfavorably on the fact that I moved employers so soon after | the I-485 window has passed? My limited research has raised this | as a concern, on the basis that USCIS grants green cards on the | assumption that the applicant has the intent to be "permanently | employed" by the filing party? - Is there anything else I'm | missing? | proberts wrote: | There's no issue from a naturalization standpoint with changing | employers if AC21 applies. That's the whole point of AC21, | facilitating job change. AC21 is easy, as long as the I-140 has | been approved, the I-485 has been pending 6 months, and the new | job is in the same or similar occupation as the sponsored job, | the I-485J should get approved without any issue. Regarding | maintaining H-1B status, it's a nice back-up but not all | employers will support it - as long as the new employee has an | EAD of course - although it's rare that a pending I-485 | application isn't approved. | citiz3nkan3 wrote: | Thank you for the response Peter! Really decent of you to | take the time to help us all. The process can be stressful, | as I'm sure you know. | I_am_tiberius wrote: | Are you permitted to voice opinions here that may not endorse | YC's stance? | proberts wrote: | There's no YC stance. I'll do my best to provide helpful, | honest, and independent answers and advice. | PettingRabbits wrote: | How would somebody that qualifies as a TN NAFTA Professional | (e.g. Canadian applying for engineering job with relevant | engineering degree) answer the question of "Are you authorized to | work in the US?", particularly with regards to sponsorship? As I | understand it, the question is to determine if the employer needs | to apply for a visa, (H-1B, etc) but according to USCIS all the | employer has to do for TN is provide a letter outlining the job, | employee qualifications, etc. Is this considered sponsorship? | proberts wrote: | The TN is company-specific so if you are applying for a new | job, even if you have a TN with one company, you would need a | new TN and even though the TN process is generally simple and | easy, it qualifies as sponsorship. | PettingRabbits wrote: | >it qualifies as sponsorship. | | Rats. It's gonna be tough to make it past the first screening | round with a No answer. Oh well, fingers crossed some good | referral action can help. Thanks for the insight. | hdjsnxbsbsh wrote: | [dead] | thrawa8387336 wrote: | How often do you see mistakes in application? Was doing TN to GC | and my case was considered abandoned because we never got the RFE | for medicals. We also never got any warning online or otherwise. | After 9-months of the supposed RFE, it was denied. My lawyers | recommended not reopening because of TN | proberts wrote: | It might have been an issue - I can't know without knowing all | the facts - but your lawyers should fight hard on not receiving | the RFE and the resulting denial, file a motion/appeal, get a | Congressional office involved. This isn't uncommon and usually | USCIS will correct this. | boomchinolo78 wrote: | Thank you! At this point we reapplied but left thinking, what | if we had filed a motion? The main thing was they did not | know how quick it would have reopened and I risked running | out of authorization in the meantime. | | They did not strike me as particularly knowledgeable as to | getting a Congressional office involved even though I brought | it up. Just big-tech provided lawyers, not sure how effective | they are when the process deviates from usual | focom wrote: | I will soon have my Canadian passport. Is the TN visa really easy | to get at the border? | proberts wrote: | You need to be applying to work in one of the NAFTA-listed | occupations and have the appropriate qualifications (generally, | a related degree). If do, it's generally easy. It's also | usually handled by the employer's immigration attorney. | vethrowaway wrote: | Hi, what would a reasonable path and timeline look like for a | Venezuelan national (that holds a BSc in Engineering) hired by an | U.S. software company to emigrate to the U.S. legally? Is the | correct visa an H1B, or could something like an EB work better in | that scenario? | pushkar2911 wrote: | What is a good way for someone with Canadian Citizenship but | Indian born to move back to US? I did my MS in US and then moved | to Canada on PR after failing to get H1B after 3 attempts. I | don't work for FANG and work for mid sized Canadian company, so | moving through my company is difficult. | | I would love to move back to US because of more employment | opportunities than Canada. | letitgo12345 wrote: | TN visa ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-07-28 23:00 UTC)