[HN Gopher] I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does wor...
___________________________________________________________________
I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and
startups. AMA
I'll be here all day (with a few breaks). As usual, there are many
possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned
with or interested in. Please remember that I can't provide legal
advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons since I
won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual
discussion in your questions and comments and I'll do the same.
Thank you! Previous threads we've done:
https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts. Edit: Good
afternoon. I will be stepping out now and returning this evening or
tomorrow morning so please continue to send me your questions and
comments and I will make sure to answer every one. Thank you! This
has been great so far.
Author : proberts
Score : 187 points
Date : 2024-04-12 15:34 UTC (7 hours ago)
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| Hello Peter, I have a friend coming from China and pursuing
| bachelor degree in America under F1 visa. What are some options
| available that can get green card as soon as possible other than
| the traditional route f1-> h1b-> eb3 ?
|
| Is self-sponsorship an option?
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| Is there any limitation or challenge in sponsoring greencard by
| very small business and the risk of getting rejected?
| proberts wrote:
| As long as the company has the ability to pay the offered
| green card wage, green card sponsorship by small companies
| usually works. The main issues are unrelated to a company's
| size.
| d3vmax wrote:
| You can look into EB-5 Visa if you want to self-sponsor
| yourself and have the monies:
| https://www.eb5united.com/eb5-visa/
|
| With Priority Processing in Rural EB-5 Projects, seeing I-526E
| Approvals within 1-13 months:
| https://www.eb5united.com/updates/2024/02/eb5-green-card-in-...
| crbaker3 wrote:
| You could always look at an E2 visa if you don't want to invest
| $800,000 in an EB-5 project; however, investment amounts vary
| from $150-400,000. The range is based on what USCIS would
| consider a "significant investment" based on your country of
| citizenship. E2s don't lead to a green card or US citizenship,
| but you may find a USC/PR spouse or another path while saving
| some capital.
|
| Either E2 or EB-5 will have significant fees associated with
| them. Typical EB5 "administration/syndication" fees will run
| $80,000. You may be able to reduce this by going to the EB-5
| Project directly and negotiating. Most of the time, 90% of that
| fee is used to pay a foreign agent(aka finder) for bringing the
| investor
| crbaker3 wrote:
| Oh wait, China doesn't have a E2 treaty. You may still be
| able to find a way via Grenada but I am not sure that tactic
| still works.
| Exorust wrote:
| Hey Peter, How can F1 students start their own startup and how
| does that affect their visa? What needs to be done later as well?
| proberts wrote:
| While they are in school? That's tough and the student has to
| be very careful not to cross any lines. CPT and pre-completion
| OPT sometimes work but there are significant restrictions and
| conditions that must be met. Oftentimes, the solution is to
| take a leave of absence and switch to a work via (if possible
| and it oftentimes isn't).
| clbrmbr wrote:
| Can you comment on different models for international employees
| of a US startup who split time between their home country and
| USA?
|
| It seems clear that they could come a few weeks a year to USA for
| training, meetings, etc. but coming for a year+ to do their work
| in USA clearly requires work authorization.
| proberts wrote:
| The frequency and duration of the trips can raise questions but
| in and of themselves aren't issues; what matters is the purpose
| of the trips, regardless of the duration; they must be limited
| to non-work/non-hands-on activities and the primary beneficiary
| of those activities must be entities or individuals outside the
| U.S. So it's possible to spend a lot of time in the U.S. as a
| visitor without crossing any line. But it's still important to
| be mindful of later repercussions even if no line is crossed;
| that is, if and when applying for a work visa, for example, an
| applicant might be questioned aggressively by a consular
| officer about the applicant's time in the U.S. as a visitor and
| might simply not believe that the applicant wasn't working if
| the applicant spent a lot of time in the U.S.
| frankfrank13 wrote:
| Hey Peter, whats your checklist or just intuition for when a
| company is ready to support H1B visas? Is there some clear point
| between seed-round/current-YC-batch and public-mega-corp?
| proberts wrote:
| The bar is low. It's presumed that the sponsoring company will
| be able to pay the sponsored H-1B worker so the focus actually
| isn't on funding but the existence of basic corporate
| requirements - that is, the company must be incorporated, have
| an FEIN, have physical commercially zoned office space, and be
| authorized to do business where it operates. So, the long and
| short of it is that new small companies can sponsor H-1B
| workers.
| dartos wrote:
| At what point should I make a legal entity for my business?
|
| I'm working on a niche tool and have some interesting and I'm
| just starting to bring on the first users.
|
| At what point should I incorporate?
| proberts wrote:
| That's not so much an immigration question but be careful about
| incorporating and creating products while currently employed
| because your current employer might have a claim over your IP.
| If the question is when can I/should I incorporate without
| crossing any immigration line and when should I get a work
| authorization through this company, then the act of
| incorporating isn't the issue, the question is whether your
| activities and the business's activities require work
| authorization and there are both legal and non-legal lines that
| shouldn't be crossed. The primary non-legal guideline is when a
| a gut level, the activities are no longer a sideline but a
| business, a focus of what you do. The primary legal guideline
| is when the company is starting to generate revenue. In both
| instances, you should look to move to a work authorization
| status.
| ryandrake wrote:
| (Not a lawyer) I remember being told a rule of thumb that you
| should be a separate legal entity _before_ "first contact"
| with a customer because that's generally where most of the
| risk of legal liability starts ramping up.
| proberts wrote:
| That's one approach and a defensible one but I think that
| might hamstring efforts to build a company to the point
| where sponsorship is an option. Another approach is
| providing services or products for a fee. But this is
| really a grey area and risks must be managed against the
| ability to be an entrepreneur and create valuable business
| and technology.
| dartos wrote:
| Oh woah, sorry I didn't see the word "immigration" in the
| title.
|
| Thank you for the answer nonetheless
| skuenzli wrote:
| Do you have any suggestions for finding firm or attorney that can
| help with immigration of health care workers, specifically
| nurses?
|
| I have a friend searching for such a firm now and of the ~15
| firms contacted none had any experience with health care
| immigration.
|
| They have decades of experience with IT services and the path to
| H1-B for IT.
|
| If no suggestions, can you share thoughts on why healthcare
| immigration attorney help seems to be difficult to find?
| dunbar11 wrote:
| My company (healthcare non-profit) filed my H1B on my behalf
| through Kramer Levin. Had to fill out a questionnaire, a little
| bit of back and forth, and they handled the rest.
| skuenzli wrote:
| Thank you - that's helpful.
| proberts wrote:
| There used to be a visa specifically for nurses, the H-1C, and
| when that sunset, the options greatly were reduced but there
| still are solutions if the global organization is structured
| and funded properly. It's not appropriate for me to mention the
| names of firms here but I can give you some via email.
| skuenzli wrote:
| Thank you - I appreciate the background.
|
| I'll reach out to the email address in your profile.
| krembo wrote:
| Do you recommend saas companies founded by non-us citizens to
| form llc and bank accounts in the us, or outside? For the rest of
| the readers- what online service would you recommend for that as
| agent llc + accounting?
| Brajeshwar wrote:
| There are a lot these days. Doola (a YC Company) is one
| https://www.doola.com/
| proberts wrote:
| That really involves a case by case analysis particularly where
| work is being done in the U.S. for U.S. entities.
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| can a US based company sponsor green card for an international
| manager has not taken the job yet ?
| proberts wrote:
| Who has not taken the U.S. job? Yes (if I understand you
| correctly).
| nasso_dev wrote:
| Hey Peter! How can a YC startup be founded in the US if none of
| the co-founders are US citizens? Does it mean after their batch
| they need to leave the country? Or are they allowed to stay in
| the US by the "$100k investment rule"?
| proberts wrote:
| If the activities of founders are limited, then it's possible
| to spend a significant amount of time in the U.S. as a business
| visitor but more often than not, a work status/visa is required
| and the timing of getting that must be managed so that that
| it's possible to remain and work in the U.S. But it's possible
| and done all the time. (There's no $100k investment rule by the
| way unless you are thinking of the E-2 investor visa, which
| requires a substantial investment and is another type of work
| visa.)
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| Can a F1 student start their own company and sponsoring
| themselves?
| proberts wrote:
| See my response above. After they graduate, it's much easier,
| OPT and under certain circumstances STEM OPT permit this.
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| Thank you for your response! Which type of greencard should
| be used by the startup LLC?
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| What options are available for a F1 visa holder to get
| greencard through his/her own startup?
| conqrr wrote:
| What's the easiest way for an H1b holder to work on their own
| startup and control their company? I've heard of VC like
| Unshackled, but taking VC seed is already shackling myself. I'm
| looking more for a solution where I'd pay some fee to a lawyer
| and turnkey solution for a company structure setup.
| proberts wrote:
| There are visas where the foreign national can control/own/run
| the company he or she works for, such as the E-1/E-2, O-1, and
| L-1 visas. It's more complicated and tougher if you want to
| remain in H-1B status and work for your own company; in that
| situation, you have to give up some control to a cofounder or
| board. To be clear, it's possible to maintain your H-1B with
| your current employer and get a concurrent part-time H-1B
| through your own company (assuming the conditions above are
| met).
| BlandDuck wrote:
| My impression is that over the past 20 years or so, the visa
| process has become a lot more bureaucratic, involved, and time
| consuming.
|
| Is that your impression as well? What has changed, and why? Are
| any of the changes for the better?
| proberts wrote:
| I agree. From an outcome standpoint, the changes are for the
| worse. But some of them are understandable to the extent that
| in certain contexts USCIS is paying more attention to the
| letter of the law and not just accepting representations on
| face value but requiring evidence. From my standpoint, the
| biggest negative changes are the delays in the processing of
| green card applications (partly statutory and partly
| administrative) and the lack of access to USCIS officers.
| BlandDuck wrote:
| Thanks, that's sounds very reasonable.
|
| Unfortunately, it also sounds like there is not much push at
| this point to reverse these changes and streamline the
| process.
| proberts wrote:
| Not much although the Biden Administration is prodding the
| agencies involved in immigration to facilitate (within the
| bounds of the law) the attraction and retention of tech/AI
| talent and companies.
| ashconnor wrote:
| My PERM was certified yesterday after 12 months and 2 weeks.
| That used to take 6 months.
|
| I'm now backlogged until October which never used to happen at
| all to ROW (rest of world excluding India and China)
| applicants.
| swalberg wrote:
| My PERM was certified in August. Took a little over 16 months
| because it went to audit. Timelines on PERM shot up around
| the same time as I applied and have been steadily getting
| worse.
|
| Filed I-485 in November, approved in 4 months and a week. So
| once your date comes up, they seem to be moving quickly.
| jxramos wrote:
| Hi Peter, I've been curious regarding what sort of legal
| arrangements a certain family of content providers setup in order
| to display large sections of third party published materials.
|
| Some examples
|
| * Lexis Nexis news archives https://www.lexisnexis.com/en-
| gb/products/research-insights/...
|
| * https://books.google.com/
|
| * https://www.perlego.com/
|
| Google books has restrictions to display a fraction of many texts
| but they obviously reproduced entire texts to filter upon. I'm
| curious if there are commentary apps out there that take whole
| literature and overlay new layers atop it and have published
| reproductions of their own somewhere in their infrastructure.
|
| I'd like to know how websites like the above are made possible
| with most published stuff gated with permissions going like
| """All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
| reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any
| means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or
| mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the
| publisher""".
|
| Thank you.
| proberts wrote:
| That's a very interesting question but outside my area of
| expertise, unfortunately.
| jxramos wrote:
| whoops, my apologies, I somehow glossed over the immigration
| attorney detail and somehow my mind centered on IP attorney.
| erehweb wrote:
| Is AI changing anything about immigration law work / do you see
| it doing so in future?
| not_a_dane wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| What do you think about high skilled immigration in general post-
| covid era. A lot has happened since then...Ukraine war,
| recession, major macro economic shifts...How do these affect the
| talent pool in US ? Would you share your experiences ?
| proberts wrote:
| I don't see those as the main drivers of change for
| business/employment immigration. I think the biggest change is
| the explosion of AI technology and companies and the massive
| flow of money to AI technology/companies, which in turn is
| driving a frenzy of hiring of tech/AI talent.
| throwfjk wrote:
| Can illegal immigrants be hired?
|
| There are so many educated illegal immigrants. Which is good for
| small startups i think
| proberts wrote:
| If they have no work authorization, they can't be hired
| legally. But even talented illegal immigrants, unless they are
| long-term overstays or have criminal records, can get sponsored
| for work visas.
| idkdotcom wrote:
| What's current USCIS policy, in terms of months, for allowing
| out of status immigrants to be sponsored for say an H1B visa?
| 6 months, 1 year, longer?
|
| Thank you in advance!
| crbaker3 wrote:
| What do you believe would be the best path to citizenship from an
| H1-B visa in most cases?
| nehiljain42 wrote:
| Hi Peter, How easy is it to get an O1-A if someone meets 4 out of
| 8 criteria for extraordinary abilities but wants to do a single-
| member LLC and do some consulting to find the problem they would
| like to build a startup for?
| proberts wrote:
| That could work. There also might be other visa options.
| everyone wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I have a young friend in Russia who is a computer / programming
| prodigy. I'm trying to help him get out of Russia by getting a
| tech job in any other country. He's only 18 atm though. Can you
| give me any advice? I'm based in Ireland so companies I've worked
| for + my friends work for would mainly be Irish. I have good
| contacts in USA and also Germany though.
|
| I want to know...
|
| 1. If a company realizes he would be a great hire how feasible is
| it to hire a Russian?
|
| 2. Can the company help with Visa and getting him out of Russia
| (so as to not be conscripted)
|
| 3. What countries should he be applying for jobs in?
| proberts wrote:
| His age is not a bar. Broadly speaking, there are visas
| available to really bright and talented young people (such as
| the O-1). The issue is that Russian citizens are typically
| experiencing significant delays now when they take the final
| step of applying for a visa at a U.S. Consulate while
| background/security checks are done.
| csdreamer7 wrote:
| Hello Mr Roberts,
|
| How much do you agreed with the internet sentiment that HB-1
| visas are exploitive? What rights or recourse do HB-1 holders
| have that they are not aware of?
|
| I am an American citizen, but I do notice quite a few jobs filled
| by HB-1 that could have been filled by Americans but many
| Americans do not stay in because of low pay or poor career
| advancement.
| proberts wrote:
| The H-1B program is supposed to protect the wages and working
| conditions of U.S. workers (but it's debatable whether it does
| either) but there's no labor market test requirement to employ
| an H-1B workers.
| jbn wrote:
| US citizen here. I have a special situation which I think will be
| only of interest to me...
|
| My wife (a green card holder) and I have moved abroad and her
| travel document is expiring soon (in July). We have no returned
| to the US in the past 3 years, and were not planning to visit
| only for the purpose of resetting the counter..
|
| We are planning to actually fly into the US for a vacation right
| after the expiry date... what if anything can be done to renew or
| extend the travel document (a.k.a re-entry permit)? Of course we
| are in good standing with respect to US taxation.
|
| Else, can she apply for an ESTA (country of citizenship is part
| of the visa waiver program for tourists), which I believe be done
| up to 3 days before travel (is it ok to apply right at the
| deadline when the permit is about to expire but just so we travel
| 1 or 2 days immediately after expiry) ?
| proberts wrote:
| Good questions and a not-uncommon situation. This is very
| specific to your situation so please email me.
| jmyeet wrote:
| Oh wow. Your wife is going to have to prove she hasn't
| abandoned her residency, which is normally automatic with a 2+
| year absence (or even 1+ year without a re-entry permit). This
| will come down to establishing existing ties to the United
| States. Married to a US citizen helps but this doesn't mean you
| can stay abroad indefinitely either.
|
| I hope she was filing US taxes while abroad. Every US citizen
| and LPR has to do this. Not doing so is more evidence of
| residency abandonment.
|
| An obvious exception here is if you were sent internationally
| to work for your US employer on what is essentially a temporary
| assignment eg working for a US consulate in another country.
|
| You have the option of just returning to the US before her
| green card expires. This will probably land her case in
| immigration court and you will need a laywer. Or you apply for
| re-entry at an embassy. You will also need a lawyer.
|
| Get a lawyer.
|
| If you do return and then leave again in relatively short
| order, you can probably kiss that green card goodbye,
| particularly if it's before your immigration court date. USCIS
| takes the view that green cards are for people who _reside_ in
| the United States. The only form of "return when I want"
| status is citizenship.
| ckrodrigues wrote:
| What are the odds of someone with a master's in Computer Science
| and 10+ years of experience (pre-degree) to get a EB-2 NIW visa?
| Does the master's itself increase the odds by a lot or does it
| even make any difference whatsoever?
| strongpigeon wrote:
| A friend of mine is on a TN status (Canadian) and has a lot of
| side-projects he'd love to monetize but feels like he can't due
| to his status. What options does he have to make money off of his
| side projects barring returning to Canada?
|
| Thanks in advance!
| proberts wrote:
| He could change his TN to a Management Consultant but that
| would mean entering into a consulting agreement with his
| current employer (assuming that he also wants to keep this
| employment).
| dotBen wrote:
| Even if this change occurred would he be able to accept
| independent income generated outside of the sponsor of his
| TN?
|
| In this case, wouldn't his new management consultant TN be
| tied to his (now former) employer, so would such revenues
| from his side projects need to flow through the TN sponsoring
| company in order not to step outside of the terms of his TN?
|
| Side question: what are the risks of a TN holder operating
| what looks like commercial side projects whether they
| generate revenue or not (eg publishing a mobile game or
| running a successful website unrelated to the TN they hold -
| is it still commercial activity, is it still seen as removing
| a job from the US labor pool, etc?)
| rocklee93 wrote:
| Hi Peter, what does a prospective founder on h1 need to know
| about starting up with YC? I'm really interested in becoming a
| founder however i currently work a full time job so not sure how
| much time I can legally dedicate based on h1. I also worry about
| the job safety aspect especially given my h1 (i do have an
| approved I140 if that matters). What would be the path to more
| flexibility that you have seen founders take?
| proberts wrote:
| That's more of a YC question because you have to go all in when
| you're in YC. From an immigration standpoint, there are ways to
| find an immigration path participate in accelerators/incubators
| even if currently in H-1B status with another company.
| rashidae wrote:
| How can Mexican founders of a Delaware C Corporation establish an
| office, hire employees, and reside in Texas?
| proberts wrote:
| The TN visa might be the easiest quickest option. The O-1 and
| E-2 also might be options although the timelines are longer and
| the costs are higher.
| speransky wrote:
| How long these days can take L1A to GC process ?
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| A friend recently received greencard through eb3 a month ago. How
| long is it recommended to stay at the job before
| quitting/switching to a different employer
| proberts wrote:
| That's a case specific question but broadly legally there's no
| minimum requirement.
| jacksoncloud wrote:
| This friend has already worked for the current employer for
| over 4 years under h1b visa with at will employment type. In
| this case, is it ok to say it is safe to quit?
| ylboerner wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| thanks so much for doing this! Here is an interesting situation:
| I live in the US on a J2 visa with my wife being the J1 holder
| (PhD student at an ivy league). I (German national) founded a
| startup in my home country and against all my efforts, it's going
| quite well so far. I'm currently holding the CEO/CTO title.
|
| Assume that we'll raise the next funding round (seed) in the US
| (the market is just superior) and relocate/incorporate via a
| C-Corp here.
|
| If my wife and I were to decide that we want to stay in the US
| for a longer time with a path to become naturalized down the
| road, what's the best option?
| proberts wrote:
| It looks like you and your wife will have multiple green card
| paths available to you either through your wife or through you,
| such as the EB2 national interest waiver path or the EB1
| extraordinary ability or outstanding researcher path. Shorter
| (non green card) paths include the O-1 for both of you and the
| H-1B for her, among others. The exact paths will require a
| discussion.
| ylboerner wrote:
| Very helpful, much appreciated. We'll get back to you once
| our plans become more tangible.
| blackhaj7 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| What are the best routes to a Green Card for an L1-B holder?
| mamamis wrote:
| If I am a Canadian citizen but I don't have a computer science
| degree, is my only option to get H1-B?
|
| And can I remotely work for a US company from Canada, given they
| don't have a Canadian office, and I would be paid to a US bank
| account. Would I still need a visa in this case?
| proberts wrote:
| Question 1: No, there are a few TN occupations that don't
| require a degree and the O-1 doesn't require a degree. Question
| 2: No, you would not need a visa; U.S. immigration doesn't
| reach beyond the borders of the U.S.
| shubhe25p wrote:
| Hello Peter, I am on F1 visa in US, working at Berkeley National
| Lab(DOE funded) as an intern for almost a year, I have received
| an offer to join them full time. Which visa should I consider:
| H1B or EB1/2 or O1?
| proberts wrote:
| The EB1/EB2 refers to a green card so that is probably not a
| good option because it takes too long. Between the H-1B and the
| O-1; they each have their relative benefits: the H-1B would
| allow you to travel without interruption during the green card
| process and the O-1 is effectively easily transferrable to
| another employer (while the cap exempt H-1B is not).
| SandPhoenix wrote:
| I work for a large tech company, and have applied for EB3 green
| card in May 2023 (11 months ago). My priority date has been
| current since Jan 1st 2024. However, I have not heard any updates
| about my application. Is there anything concrete I can do to
| speed up the process?
|
| I have read that reaching out to your congressperson/senator
| might help. Do you have any data on how successful this path is?
| sbolt wrote:
| I am in a similar position with a priority date of June 2022
| and have been current sin Jan 1. I would love to hear Peter's
| advice here. The endless checking of the application status is
| tough.
| jp2398 wrote:
| Hi Peter, does the success of an H-1B application depend at all
| on the expertise level of an immigration lawyer representing me?
| saltsaman wrote:
| Hi Peter, at which stage should a founder apply to O1?
| shallichange wrote:
| Why does the EAD/AP card exist? Let's say one is on an L1 visa
| waiting for the GC. Why does the US even bother to issue the EAD?
| proberts wrote:
| A very good question! There were historical reasons for it but
| now it just seems like a way to generate money for the USG.
| yandie wrote:
| If your L1 runs out before the GC is approved, you are allowed
| to stay in the US.
|
| Without the EAD, you will NOT be able to work until the GC is
| approved.
|
| Why is it not automatic? I assume USCIS doesn't want people to
| just get work authorization by filing frivolous i485
| applications
| dcmonkey wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. I'm on an H1B and my employer is
| preparing to apply for an EB2-NIW for me.
|
| Assuming I get an I-140 approved through this, if I subsequently
| leave this employer to pursue my own startup, would it be easy to
| retain this I-140 and/or the associated P.D.?
| RecycledEle wrote:
| Is it legal for a US employer to not promote US citizens that are
| currently part time to full time while hiring H1 Visa workers who
| do not do as good of a job?
| ab_testing wrote:
| Because the current I485 processing time is around 41 months or
| just shy of 4 years. That card gives you to opportunity to work
| and travel in/out of the country while waiting for your green
| card.
| John_Cena wrote:
| I don't believe that was the question.
| johnsanders wrote:
| Hey Peter.. many thanks! My husband is from Gibraltar and his
| spousal green card application has cleared USCIS and is with NVS.
|
| Gibraltar has changed the name of the criminal record document it
| issues but NVS has not updated its system. So they keep rejecting
| his documents even though we included a letter from the police
| commissioner explaining the situation.
|
| Any suggestions?
| proberts wrote:
| Call or email the NVC (there's an email address for questions)
| and if that doesn't work, get your Congressional representative
| involved (something that is done all the time and probably
| would be helpful here).
| fht wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Current Bio PhD student here. I would like to know more about ~
| minimum requirements and costs for applying for an EB2 NIW. Bio
| papers take a long time to come out, so I would like to know
| whether I can still apply during the PhD while some of the papers
| are still in peer review or whether I would have to wait for a
| postdoc.
|
| Thanks for doing this!
| proberts wrote:
| Published papers are not a requirement for an EB2 NIW filing;
| they might help but they're absolutely not required.
| spxneo wrote:
| Recently there was a thread about whether SaaS pricing
| information (enterprise plans behind Contact Us form) could be
| protected under NDA as a trade secret and whether a customer
| sharing how much they are paying for an enterprise plan would be
| in trouble or not.
|
| Can you share your thoughts?
| https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39980222
| proberts wrote:
| Good question but outside my area of expertise.
| bozhark wrote:
| What would be the best manner to help a EU resident who works for
| a US co.?
|
| Green card? Visa? Remote?
|
| Any suggestions would be very helpful. Specifically regarding
| taxes of income.
| proberts wrote:
| I can't comment on taxes. Are you asking about the best way to
| work in the U.S.?
| atq2119 wrote:
| I'm maybe in a similar situation as OP so let me clarify what
| I would ask -- might be the same as them.
|
| Citizen and resident of an EU (Schengen) country, de facto
| working for a US company, though the employment contract is a
| standard employment contract with the local (EU) entity.
|
| Interested in moving to the US to become a permanent resident
| and eventual citizen, and I expect that the current company
| would be interested in sponsoring. What's the best path?
| frozenbird wrote:
| Hey Peter, appreciate the offer!
|
| What advice would you give to a talented teenager who is looking
| to get to the U.S. under a B1/B2 visa for a short period (under 3
| months) to engage as a volunteer in activities for a non-profit
| in the US (the organisation covers living expenses for the
| duration of their stay) and has failed a few times to get a visa
| approved? what would you advise them to do? Is the visa type
| incorrect?
|
| For context the activities would be in the likes of content
| creation, helping organise events and perhaps open source
| software development.
| proberts wrote:
| Broadly speaking, a B-1/B-2 would appear to be appropriate but
| U.S. Consulates oftentimes deny applications for such a visa
| even if it is the appropriate visa for other reasons (such as
| concerns about the applicant remaining in the U.S. or working
| without authorization) and the U.S. Consulates have a lot of
| discretion to deny such applications. You might want to look at
| the J-1 or even the H-2B or H-3 visa.
| thegginthesky wrote:
| Hey Peter, I'm a foreigner residing abroad with an american
| spouse of 10 years and we have kids holding American Passports.
| I'm currently working as a contractor for a company in the US,
| but I'm thinking of moving to the US and applying for the IR1
| visa due to family reasons. I am the primary earner of the
| household.
|
| What are my limitations in this case? Can I keep the contract I'm
| currently in while the visa process chugs along? What about proof
| of income?
| the_svd_doctor wrote:
| I'm sure Peter can answer this much better than I can, but just
| in case: you might want to look into Direct Consular Filing and
| whether it applies to you
| https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/direct-consu...
| https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrat...
| proberts wrote:
| For you to apply for your green card while in the U.S., you
| need to be in the U.S. in a work visa status, not in a visitor
| status. Alternatively, you can get your green card outside the
| U.S. through a U.S. Consulate (known as an "immigrant visa")
| but that process would take longer 6-18 months (versus 6 months
| or less if filed in the U.S.). And your employment as a
| contractor (as well as your and wife's assets) can be used to
| meet the financial support requirements.
| fl7305 wrote:
| A friend of mine did the "fiancee visa" in Europe at the local
| embassy there. It took something like 3-5 months to get the
| visa approved for travel to the US. Once there, he could start
| working immediately.
|
| But this was a long time ago, I have no idea what the
| processing times are today? Are they listed online?
|
| And above all, since his spouse did not work in the US, so they
| needed a US based citizen with "not bad" finances to sponsor
| him.
|
| If you're an independent contractor based in a different
| country, it'll be fun times figuring out the taxes for the year
| that you move to the US. Both your old country and the US will
| want a cut.
| a2128 wrote:
| Is H-1B an option if I don't have a bachelor's degree (never went
| to university)? I'm currently doing remote contracting for a US
| company and I'm wondering what my options would be for working in
| the US
| proberts wrote:
| The requirement is a bachelor's degree or higher or its
| equivalent and equivalent can be based on a combination of
| education and professional experience or even just professional
| experience. So the H-1B might be an option for you. Also, an
| O-1 doesn't require a degree but the standard is higher than
| (and different from) the H-1B.
| gigatexal wrote:
| As an American living abroad who wants to help my international
| friends I've worked with get to the US and into tech jobs could I
| sponsor them or vouch for them in anyway? One is an Indian
| citizen the other Turkish but will soon have his German
| citizenship.
| proberts wrote:
| Not really. If you had a U.S. company, you might be able to
| sponsor them.
| matsemann wrote:
| I think the best you could do perhaps would be to act as a
| reference or use your contacts at US companies (if you have
| any) to give your friends some leads.
|
| One person I know has a valid visa and is in the US already
| (due to his wife taking a phd there), but has been unable to
| secure a job for many months now. The market is rough.
| sidharthv wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| My wife is going to pursue her PhD in US in the coming months,
| and I'm working as part-time remote employee of a US startup,
| while owning a startup in India. What options do I have, which
| would allow me to visit her for 1-2 months, without affecting my
| work?
|
| I've heard B1/B2 holders being questioned during entry after they
| stayed for a month during previous trips. As I'm not working full
| time for the US company, I'm not eligible for L1.
| proberts wrote:
| A B-1/B-2 visa would not allow you to work for the U.S. company
| while here or your Indian startup while here. It might seem
| like overkill but possibly get an O-1 through the U.S. company.
| There's no minimum amount of time that you must spend in the
| U.S.
| sidharthv wrote:
| Thank you, will try that option.
| mska wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| For F1 students, is it permissible to use the 3-year OPT period
| to operate a self-owned LLC?
|
| Can one be employed by another company while managing their own
| LLC during this period?
| the_wannabe wrote:
| I'm an Australian living in the US on an E3 visa. I would like to
| get a green card, but we never win the lottery to move to a H1B
| and start the process. My youngest daughter was born in the US,
| and so is a citizen. Is there any way to get a green card without
| having to win the H1B lottery?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes. You can be in E-3 status and pursue a green card; it just
| means that your international travel might be limited during
| the process.
| botero wrote:
| I moved from e3 to green card. There is a no-travel period
| between petition and granting, but it's possible
| shrubble wrote:
| I am actually curious if you see any indication of people
| leaving/emigrating from the USA? Either serial entrepreneurs who
| have already had some success or those who feel there are
| sufficient opportunities with less hassle elsewhere.
| proberts wrote:
| Definitely, particularly Indian citizens because of the awful
| waits here to get a green card and because of the good
| opportunities and elsewhere to build a business.
| bbconn wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| I'm a pure mathematics PhD student (from SE Asia, studying in the
| US) graduating at the end of this year. I expect to work at the
| intersection of finance and tech.
|
| I have heard that the standard for O1 visa is a bit lower these
| days. Do you know if ~5 publications with ~20 citations is enough
| to qualify for O1? This is low compared to CS people but is
| pretty respectable in pure math. If not what are my options
| beside H1B? Thanks!
| fillmore wrote:
| Hi Peter, thank you in advance for considering the question.
|
| I'm a Canadian citizen, living in Canada. In the past I've
| considered moving to the US to work there.
|
| I don't have a university degree. I attended university for ~3-4
| years, did not complete my degree, and then enrolled in a 3-year
| college program which conferred an Ontario College Advanced
| Diploma. I've worked full-time as a software developer since
| then.
|
| I think my expertise is comparable to my coworkers, many of whom
| have completed university degrees (albeit in a variety of
| disciplines, not specifically related to technology).
|
| Could I move and work in the US under a TN visa? I'm concerned
| that, because I don't have a degree, I would not qualify. Though
| I do have specialized training (diploma + work experience).
|
| Or am I looking at this backwards? i.e, if a US company were
| interested in hiring me, they would handle the visa requirements
| (I'm unsure if this would be TN or otherwise).
|
| Thanks!
| amstan wrote:
| I've been through this.
|
| The "Computer Systems Analyst" TN profession is the usual path
| there (though rather weird). You need letters from your
| previous employers that you worked for 3 years full time. Some
| colleges in the US can even give you a degree equivalency on
| that basis.
|
| > if a US company were interested in hiring me, they would
| handle the visa requirements (I'm unsure if this would be TN or
| otherwise).
|
| They would (one can even do pre-approval), but some of them
| need handholding, and there's only so much they can do. But
| sometimes you might be surprised by the magic they can do (ex:
| doing the equivalency work).
| epa wrote:
| No you cannot. TN requires you to have specialized degree. You
| can only be sponsored for H1-B by an employer (hired and move
| same time).
| rdl wrote:
| Curious if you've seen any E-2 visas granted to people from
| Grenada, etc. to people not born in those countries (i.e.
| naturalized) after the 2021 (?) NDAA/Portugal friendship/etc.
| legal change. to E-2.
| rdl wrote:
| Also, do you know of startups taking advantage of TEA status
| (e.g. 99% of Puerto Rico) to lower the EB-5 investment
| requirement back down to $800k? (I didn't realize it had gotten
| up to $1.050mm; that's high!)
| boringg wrote:
| What are you telling people who are either on a visa or looking
| at getting a visa with the upcoming elections coming up and a
| potential reversion to a previous administration with more strict
| visa rules?
| einar-io wrote:
| Hi Peter, thank you so much for doing this.
|
| What are your recommendations for a successful EB2 NIW
| application for someone who holds an MS in Computer Science from
| EU? For example, is there a any particular salary minimum, an
| expected number of years of experience, or do I need to run a
| company? E.g. what can I do to improve my odds? Thanks.
| xandrius wrote:
| Thank you for this, Peter.
|
| As a non-US tech worker, I find many American companies not
| willing to hire (through my own pre-established company), is
| there something I can do to make that easier/smoother?
|
| I have worked that way before but it seems a hard sell to many
| other. What do you recommend?
| tinytera wrote:
| Hi Peter, thanks for taking this. How feasible is it for a
| Canadian Citizen who has a software consulting service to apply
| for E2 visa? Is it worth pursuing? What things are important to
| keep in mind for that?
| probablynish wrote:
| Hi Peter - I understand that it's possible for recent STEM
| graduates to be self-employed, or a 1-man C-Corp, for the first
| year of their post-completion OPT. But in the 2 year STEM
| extension, it seems that you need a distinct supervisor to fill
| out I-983.
|
| How do you suggest that a "solo entrepreneur" modify their
| business structure so that they can continue working on their
| business projects during the STEM OPT period? I've heard some
| people say that you need to have US Citizen co-owners of the
| company who own a majority share; others say that it suffices to
| have US Citizens on the Board, as this technically gives them the
| ability to remove you. Is there any such setup that is clearly
| within the bounds of the STEM OPT program?
|
| Also - are there any other options aside from the STEM OPT
| extension? In particular, if the individual is from an E2 treaty
| country, is this the sort of business that could qualify for an
| E2 visa, or do those businesses have to have the potential to
| employ US Citizens?
| proberts wrote:
| In the end, it's up to the school and they all view this
| differently but I see the focus as supervision (not ownership)
| so you need someone, an advisor or board member, who is well
| educated and experienced in the field who would act as the STEM
| OPT supervisor/mentor.
| probablynish wrote:
| Thank you!
| probablynish wrote:
| Hi Peter - a followup question if I may. Do you think that
| this kind of "solo entrepreneur" business model would be a
| good fit for the E2 visa? In particular, where the individual
| does not envision employing any other people, nor getting
| large amounts of VC funding (think more like bootstrapped
| growth). Or does the E2 visa require more 'scale'?
| ashconnor wrote:
| Peter there's ongoing debate raging on whether showing immigrant
| intent at any point, precludes one from using a single intent
| visa such as TN anytime in the future. Is that true or is it the
| case if one can demonstrate close ties to your home country and
| abandonment of intent that you can resume use of these non-
| immigrant visas?
| dannyisaphantom wrote:
| Thanks for taking the time to do this today!
|
| I'd like to ask how you found yourself practicing in this area of
| the law and any advice you may have for those who will be
| entering law school in a few months.
|
| I will be heading into my first year of law school in a few
| months with some general ideas of what I'd like to do after
| graduation (compliance, regulatory, M&A, contracts) with no
| concrete ideas either way.
|
| - Would you have any specific advice on what you would have liked
| to have done in law school that would have helped you later on in
| your career that you'd recommend students to tackle early on?
|
| - Are there any "wasted time/effort traps" that you might caution
| students to look out for as they navigate their program?
| proberts wrote:
| I think immigration is a great area of the law because as a
| lawyer you deal with amazing people and companies, get to know
| some really smart and interesting people, and can make a
| difference (help founders, employees, families realize their
| dream of living and working in the U.S.). It's one of the
| things that that makes America great (at least that's what I
| think) and it's great to be a part of that journey.
| temp91223 wrote:
| Hi, Peter. Thank you for taking questions again.
|
| Would you recommend a 3rd year(2 more years to go) US PhD student
| with moderate research portfolio( + strong recommender )to look
| into EB2/NIW or O1 visa? The end goals are to immigrate to the US
| and avoid H1B lottery.
| proberts wrote:
| The O-1 and NIW standards aren't as high as most people think
| and most PhDs (and PhD candidates) qualify.
| temp91223 wrote:
| Thank you. Would it help the process if the degree is from an
| US institution? I am debating whether to transfer out to an
| European institutions as my PI is moving there.
| swalberg wrote:
| Does that apply broadly to PhDs or just tech related ones?
| I'm thinking specifically about a PhD in Political Science,
| dealing in tech adjacent national security topics.
| Josh613 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| We have an employee that just won the H1B lotto. We don't
| actually pay employees any cash (all future payments). Will this
| be an issue?
|
| Thanks!
| aced123 wrote:
| Hi Peter, which kind of visa would you recommend for a computer
| science master graduate from Germany. Thank you very much.
| autoexecbat wrote:
| Getting a visa and staying on it can be emotionally difficult
| situation, do you know if there are therapists who specialize in
| helping with this area?
| BhavdeepSethi wrote:
| I'm sure this was a serious message, and hope it gets answered,
| but it really made me laugh out loud. Reminded me of the "I
| know the feel/I feel you" meme.
| pretzel5297 wrote:
| Can a non-US citizen who got into YC incorporate in the US and
| stay there? What does the visa process look like?
| oflannabhra wrote:
| This is incredibly helpful and generous of you. This is
| completely not specific to tech, but I have a friend who
| emigrated from Congo very young. As a young adult, he committed a
| felony. He served his time and was released last year. ICE did
| not pick him up from the prison, so he went home with his
| parents. He has a ruling date from an immigration judge this
| summer. He recently turned himself in to ICE after discovering
| they wanted to hold him until his hearing was resolved. He has an
| attorney, but his parents are very private.
|
| What are his chances of not being deported? Does the current
| situation in Congo affect this? Is there anything I can do to
| help his case?
|
| Thank you so much.
| proberts wrote:
| Of course the details matter but his time in the U.S. as a good
| citizen, his parents' presence here, and the situation in the
| Congo all should help him and a supportive letter from you also
| should help. But it's really impossible for me to comment
| because I don't know what his lawyer is or will be arguing.
| jp42 wrote:
| This may sound troll post, but i assure you its not, I'm
| genuinely curious. Can someone currently in USA on h1b or F1 but
| didn't get selected into lottery go to Mexico, enter USA
| illegally like many others these days. Register himself/herself
| and get some sort of work authorization and start working in
| tech?
| proberts wrote:
| I don't see how unless seeking asylum.
| XCabbage wrote:
| Preamble: As I understand it, it is permissible for a European
| who works for a US company to visit the US as a "business
| visitor" on an ESTA in order to visit the company, as long as the
| visit is not for "work". Various sources list activities that are
| deemed to be "business" and not "work", such as attending
| business meetings or attending a trade show, and entering on an
| ESTA for these purposes is thus acceptable.
|
| Question: What I'm _not_ clear on is whether the business-but-
| not-work restriction... 1. merely means that the _purpose of your
| visit_ has to be business-but-not-work, or 2. requires that the
| visitor _refrain from all "work" activities_ while in the US,
| even if they weren't the reason for visiting and would have
| happened anyway.
|
| Concretely: suppose I am a programmer who works remotely from
| Europe for a US company. I visit the US to meet my colleagues
| face to face and attend a trade show with them (business, not
| work), but these activities don't take up 100% of my time. Rather
| than sit around idly during the downtime between "business"
| activities, I do some of my ordinary programming work, of the
| sort I would do back in Europe. Have I broken the law?
| proberts wrote:
| That still would cross the line even if that wasn't your plan
| when you entered.
| Thomashuet wrote:
| Could you expand on this? Where is the line? What's work and
| what's business?
| XCabbage wrote:
| Interesting. I know for certain from experience that some
| ESTA visitors and their employers assume the law does NOT
| work like this, and that as long as you're visiting for a
| legit "business" purpose you are not required to suspend your
| ordinary work activities while in the US. Good to have
| confirmation that this is wrong and that you DO have to
| suspend your ordinary work duties for the duration of the
| visit.
| DragonStrength wrote:
| We all know startups are crossing that line all the time with
| their "off-sites," hanging out in Airbnbs and coding together
| for a week or so at a time around conferences.
| cynicalsecurity wrote:
| This is the most European question I would have ever imagined.
| skybrian wrote:
| It's US law. Are there similar European laws?
| Swizec wrote:
| The European attitude is: Am I breaking the law? How do I
| make sure I'm not?
|
| The American attitude is: I'm not breaking the law until
| someone tells me to stop.
| michaelleland wrote:
| The European (ok, Swedish) attitude is: the authorities
| are there to enforce the law.
|
| The American attitude is: the law is there to support the
| authorities.
| bzmrgonz wrote:
| what you do is, crank up your vpn, choose an European end-point
| and connect back to the US to do your work... lol... lol. I
| tell you.. american law is ridiculous... IT has gone global and
| they still have that ridiculous provision in the books. They
| are perfectly fine for us to milk the american IT cow from
| afar.. but don't you dare come spend that cheese in the
| contiguous USA... I think once an IT professional clearly shows
| ability to work remotely, they should be allowed free access to
| spend that cheese back in the economy which employs them.
| bzmrgonz wrote:
| Maybe what could help is if you operate under an LLC. (myself
| inc.), that way when you visit, you visit as a company... but
| I am not a lawyer.
| senorrib wrote:
| Nobody visits as a company, such thing simply doesn't
| exist. And if you work under ESTA or B1/B2, you're
| violating the law.
| tmountain wrote:
| Not a lawyer, but it seems unlikely that anyone would
| scrutinize your visit closely enough to care.
| lolinder wrote:
| Your reply is currently shadowing an answer by an actual
| immigration attorney on the AMA that they started.
| dheerkt wrote:
| Do publications to my BigCo employer's engineering blog count
| towards an O-1 application? Or is it just Research
| Papers/citations to formal journals that matter?
|
| What are some other common ways to build a portfolio towards an
| O-1 application other than research citations or founding a
| startup?
|
| Thanks for this AMA!
| proberts wrote:
| They could come under comparable evidence or maybe even support
| original and significant contributions but they won't count as
| publications. The lowest hanging fruit so to speak are serving
| as a judge at hackathons or other competitive events, obtaining
| membership in an association that requires outstanding
| achievement for membership (such as, for example, IEEE
| membership, sometimes), and speaking at major conferences or
| events (under comparable evidence).
| pcthrowaway wrote:
| Does open source software count as a publication?
| treesciencebot wrote:
| How transferable the open source experience from major projects
| (like being a core developer of the python language itself) in
| terms of O1 to provide the criteria of "reviewing other's work"?
| proberts wrote:
| Very transferable and also helpful for a green card
| application.
| jppope wrote:
| Why is everyone super interested in moving people from another
| country to the United States for work? It feels like in the
| Software world you should be able to work anywhere where there is
| internet. What advantages are there for someone to get a visa,
| and move to the United States aside from advantages to the
| company?
|
| (Full disclosure, my mom is an immigrant, moving to the US
| obviously made sense at the time.)
| proberts wrote:
| I think it's to be near the action (SF, NYC, Miami, Austin) and
| to work in person with others (which we know is a different
| experience) but I don't really know.
| zeroc8 wrote:
| Because there are still a lot more opportunities to be found
| than anywhere else in the world, maybe with the exception of
| China. And who (from a western perspective) wants to live in
| China?
| gumby wrote:
| You're reading an AMA in the us with a US immigration attorney
| of course the questions are about us immigration.
|
| If you were in Germany or Australia or even Japan you'd find
| the web sites and newspapers full of articles about foreigners
| anting to move to _those_ countries.
| outworlder wrote:
| > What advantages are there for someone to get a visa, and move
| to the United States aside from advantages to the company?
|
| More interesting work, as not everything is 'shipped' overseas.
| Better networking. Plus just my last year's bonus is the
| equivalent of several years of compensation at my previous
| country. Unless you find one of those unicorns with
| compensation that's independent of location, your pay will be
| far lower, even after accounting for cost of living.
| justplay wrote:
| If my visa was rejected the first time,( I was planning to visit
| the US on a tourist visa) do I have a chance of getting my visa
| approved? Or will the process be more difficult for me now?
| proberts wrote:
| Yes to both: it will be more difficult but it's possible; we
| have lots of clients who get their visitor's visa after the
| second or third try.
| crowcroft wrote:
| I'm from New Zealand and have been spending my late 20s going
| around the UK and Canada on 2 year working holiday visas. My work
| experience is in marketing in senior IC/mid level management
| roles.
|
| The impression I get from most countries visa options is that
| they're happy for people like me to come in for a few years,
| work, pay tax, and leave. I'm surprised that even on a temporary
| basis this kind of activity seems impossible in the US (unless
| you are quite specifically a student). I'm also aware that the US
| system is very complex, so are you aware of any visas that I
| should be looking at in the US which I just might not be able to
| find?
| proberts wrote:
| You are right, it's harder in the U.S. and there's no
| open/general work authorization visa. But there are ways to do
| your own thing in the U.S. through the J-1, E-2, or O-1 visa.
| crowcroft wrote:
| Thank you for the reply, really appreciate it!
| pjnz wrote:
| It's a longshot, but don't forget to apply for the DV lottery.
| Due to the unusual structure of the program NZ citizens have a
| higher chance of winning. Short of marriage it's by far the
| best visa, since it's a green card (permanent residence), not a
| work visa.
| Aperocky wrote:
| > come in for a few years, work, pay tax, and leave.
|
| This option would also tie OP to pay tax forever and
| wherever.
| srgseg wrote:
| Hi Peter, at what age does it start to become more difficult to
| get a work visa, and does it depend on the type of visa it is?
| proberts wrote:
| Good afternoon. I will be stepping out now and returning this
| evening or tomorrow morning so please continue to send me your
| questions and comments and I will make sure to answer every one.
| Thank you! This has been great so far.
| hoerzu wrote:
| Thanks
| TZubiri wrote:
| Hi, thanks for the AMA.
|
| I'm a non-resident non-citizen, I remotely manage and am a
| majority owner of a Florida LLC, who sells to US businesses, and
| has an offshore workforce.
|
| The advice I was given is that I can work remotely from outside
| the states, but when I travel for business purposes with a B1
| visa, I can meet providers and clients to discuss contracts, but
| I can't perform onsite work NOR ONSITE WORK! So I have to depend
| on my employees to work from outside the US, if I were to turn on
| my laptop in my hotel to login to our systems and write code, I
| would be violating my B1 Visa.
|
| Is this correct?
| TZubiri wrote:
| Hey, I worded this as specific to my situation. Would you like
| me to word this as a general question
| joshuaissac wrote:
| > I can't perform onsite work NOR ONSITE WORK
|
| Do you mean off-site work within the US?
| pcl wrote:
| A friend is an ESTA holder. At a point of entry, an immigration
| officer verbally told her that she needs to leave the US within 1
| month, even though her ESTA status allowed for a 3-month stay.
| (She had a return ticket 2 months from the date of entry.)
|
| The immigration officer did not write any date (at all) on the
| stamp in her passport. The ESTA website lists her required
| departure as 2 months out.
|
| Are there any other records where the immigration officer might
| have recorded his 1-month assertion?
| kyawzazaw wrote:
| Have you seen a expedited request success for affirmative asylum
| case on behalf of a company?
| abaymado wrote:
| Hi Peter, Thanks for taking question. I am currently seeking
| Asylum in the US, came here when I was 13 in 2011, I have yet to
| receive a court date. What are some option for me in terms of
| acquiring green card, if I was to withdraw my asylum and to apply
| to YC?
| QnJ1ck2NCg wrote:
| Can I keep my green card if I am not working and traveling abroad
| (tourism), for the majority of a year?
| hoerzu wrote:
| Dear Peter, really appreciate your AMAs.
|
| I'm from Europe and recently lost my ESTA due to the TSA
| searching my phone and making me admit I smoked a joint in
| California (not legal on a state level).
|
| I'm over 50% owner of a C-Corp in Wyoming with a 200k investment
| and I have another full employment job that would sponsor me.
|
| What visa should I approach? H1B lottery didn't work for the
| second time.
| willsmith72 wrote:
| They can search your phone? Do they need cause?
| billofprivilege wrote:
| In the US the Bill of Rights and most other things only apply
| to citizens (and maybe lawful residents).
|
| CBP agents have broader authority to conduct searches of non-
| citizens and their belongings at ports of entry without a
| warrant, including devices like laptops and phones, to
| determine admissibility to the United States. Searches of
| citizens generally require a higher standard of suspicion or
| a warrant.
|
| In the past, someone has taken a flight between Canada and
| Mexico while under suspicion of the US authorities, and the
| plane was forced to land and the person forcefully detained,
| just because they entered US airspace.
|
| Just losing your ESTA over weed (federally a schedule 1
| narcotic) is a fairly small punishment considering the CBP
| enforces federal law.
| cmpxchg8b wrote:
| That is 100% not true. The Bill of Rights absolutely
| applies to non-citizens.
| dmurray wrote:
| Yes. Yes, they need cause, but not in the Fourth Amendment
| definition. The cause is you've requested to enter the US or
| you've been found hanging round the vicinity of an airport,
| land border or navigable waterway.
| santiagobasulto wrote:
| Have you felt there are a lot less requests for founders to fully
| immigrate into the US? Maybe given the increased simplicity in
| working remotely, the services and new mindset have genuinely
| reduce the importance of location (although it's still important,
| just reduced).
|
| I personally don't feel the need/desire to immigrate into the US
| anymore. I used to be all over it. But since I sold my startup
| and relocated to Europe and I live an amazing life while working
| on my second startup. I wouldn't live in the US even if I was
| invited (nothing personal, EU is just too good).
|
| Anyways, is it all still the same or you feel a change in
| people's interest.
| Gcam wrote:
| What is your view on the E-2 visa for startup founders and
| likelihood of success (with an investment of ~50-100k for
| software business)?
| momofuku wrote:
| Thank you for doing this! Is it hypothetically possible to switch
| jobs after your employer has filed for your H1-B (but before
| receiving approval from USCIS)? I've heard differing opinions
| online. I'm currently on the F1. I can potentially work for a
| very early startup that I'm excited by.
|
| Thank you for doing this!
| nsher3 wrote:
| I'm currently on F-1 graduating early by a semester. I want to
| move to OPT work for a couple of months before going to grad
| school. Do i reapply for F-1? Do i get my OPT reset ? How does
| that work?
| blacknurse wrote:
| Case: I'm currently in US on L2 (dependent on my wife's L1B).
| Wife's H1b got picked this time and she wish to postpone
| accepting the H1B because if she gets on to H1b right away,
| spouse( I in this case) will become ineligible to work ( on H4)
| until she has approved I-140 which is going to take 1+ years.
|
| Question: How long can she safely keep the H1b lottery acceptance
| active without losing it ?
| junar wrote:
| I don't have a specific answer here, but my understanding is
| that the usual idea is to choose "consular processing" for the
| H-1B visa. Perhaps your wife should talk with her company's
| immigration team about this.
| icejes8 wrote:
| Online sources seem a little contradictory for this, so you came
| at the perfect time. Appreciate you doing this, Peter!
|
| I'm a student working full time on the F-1 visa OPT, and am
| considering starting a startup next year. I'd be in my STEM OPT
| and thus somewhat self-employed. Would that be possible? Are
| there any dangers/considerations there?
|
| Thanks, Jesse
| ushakov wrote:
| If I have a EU permanent residency, but no citizenship yet, will
| I lose my residency if I decide to move to the US?
| cynicalpeace wrote:
| How are you using AI to make your job go faster/smoother/better?
| If at all?
|
| If you're not using AI, how do you think it will impact how you
| service your clients?
| parmigiano wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thanks for taking time for questions. I'm currently on an L1B
| visa at my current employer. Is there any path for me starting my
| own startup? As I've understood it you can't have any side income
| etc on the L1 visa and it's hard/impossible to swap employers?
| e63f67dd-065b wrote:
| I've seen a few variants of this question, but not answered in a
| helpful way:
|
| What is, in your experience, the minimum that gets you a decent
| shot at a NIW/O1? You previously mentioned that published papers
| are helpful but not mandatory, but for PhD students/graduates, if
| publications are not the determining factor, what is?
|
| Looking through the Dhanasar's three prongs, it does seem like
| papers are the easiest and most consistent way of fulfilling the
| second prong (that "The Person is Well Positioned to Advance the
| Proposed Endeavor").
|
| The third prong is the most mysterious to me (that "On balance,
| it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job
| offer and thus the permanent labor certification requirements"),
| how do people typically meet the requirements for this prong?
| sparrow98 wrote:
| It's regarding my recent I-485 filing and my spouse's green card
| eligibility. Due to unforeseen family circumstances, my spouse
| and I are considering divorcing, but I want to ensure that my
| spouse's green card application is not jeopardized in the
| process. As the primary applicant, I am committed to supporting
| my spouse through the green card process before finalizing our
| divorce. To navigate this complex situation effectively, I would
| greatly appreciate your expert guidance on the following
| questions:
|
| 1. What are the potential risks to my spouse's green card
| eligibility if we proceed with the divorce after the application
| is approved?
|
| 2. What are the potential risks to my spouse's green card
| eligibility if we initialize the divorce before the application
| is approved?
|
| 3. What steps can I take to demonstrate the bona fide nature of
| our marriage and minimize any suspicions from USCIS regarding the
| timing of our divorce?
|
| 4. In the worst-case scenario, could my own green card
| application be jeopardized by this situation, and if so, what
| precautions can I take to protect my own immigration status?
| transitivebs wrote:
| What're your thoughts on using the "GPT" prefix for open source
| projects? If they're successful, will OpenAI go after them, and
| can they actually enforce this trademark?
| timenova wrote:
| My co-founder and I are working on a cloud startup (we have a
| registered LLP in India), and after launch, we want to register
| in the US through Stripe Atlas/Clerky. It seems easy enough (as
| non-residents) to open a company bank account in the US too.
|
| In the future, we plan to apply for the EB-1 (based on your
| suggestions in previous threads to others) to live in the US.
|
| Is it okay to register and operate a US company from India for
| now, when we plan to apply for an EB-1 in the future? Or could it
| be detrimental for future visa applications or any other reasons?
| debuggerpk wrote:
| this is a good question
| litchi wrote:
| Hi Peter, Thank you for doing this AMA.
|
| What is the timeline for an Indian born British citizen to get
| the green card on L1B visa? Is the British citizenship favourable
| for getting permanent residency in USA in this case and
| eventually citizenship?
| Tortuga2018 wrote:
| Hello, I am a retired US citizen living in Argentina. I've been
| told by the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in Buenos
| Aires that my Argentine wife, who happenes to be disabled, will
| be eligible to receive survivor benefits after I die, but will
| have to spend an entire month in the US every 6 months to
| qualify. She has never lived in the US and doesn't plan to, so
| she won't qualify for the 5 year residency exemption. Also in
| order for her to collect spousal benefits she also has to go to
| the US every 6 months in order to be eligible. Are there any
| exceptions to these US travel rules? What type of visa is best
| for her situation? The Federal Benefits Unit representative
| mentioned a K visa that doesn't have an expiration date, but I am
| unable to locate any K visa for her specific circumstances. Thank
| you very much for volunteering you valuable time. YCombinator is
| a great source for learning. Kind regards
| thrwy345 wrote:
| Hi Peter,
|
| Thanks for taking questions.
|
| My cofounder and I have incorporated our startup in US. I am a US
| citizen and my cofounder is not a US citizen, neither lives in
| US. He had a valid green card but he gave that away and moved to
| the home country. My cofounder has majority share and also needs
| to draw a salary soon whereas I can wait for some time.
|
| We are unsure of how my cofounder can be compensated without
| living in US and having an active work visa. We do not want to
| create a subsidiary company in his home country. We also do not
| think he can be on 1099 as he is part of the executive team and
| we are told that CxOs cannot be a contractor. As of right now my
| cofounder does not plan to return back to the US, else we could
| find a way to sponsor a visa for him.
|
| Any thoughts on this would be highly appreciated.
| alfonsosn2 wrote:
| Have you considered using an Employment of Record solution
| (EOR)?
|
| Utilizing an EOR can streamline the process of compensating an
| international cofounder, ensuring legal compliance and reducing
| the administrative burden on your startup. This approach lets
| you focus more on growing your business while maintaining
| global operational flexibility.
|
| Just make sure that the EOR is compliant with the country of
| resident of your cofounder.
| thrwy345 wrote:
| Thanks for the suggestion, I will look into this.
|
| Based on your response I am assuming EOR is compliant with US
| laws, allows compensating individuals that do not reside and
| do not have legal status in US and people employed through
| this can be considered an employee of the company. Is that
| correct?
| alfonsosn2 wrote:
| Yes, an EOR can help you set up compliance with a US Laws,
| especially when it comes to reporting and tax obligations
| related to foreign operations. An EOR is particularly
| useful for compensating individuals who do not reside in
| the U.S. or do not have a U.S. work visa.
|
| Individuals employed through an EOR can indeed be
| considered employees of your company in a functional and
| operational sense. However, legally, they are employees of
| the EOR. This means the EOR is responsible for their
| employment rights, payroll, taxes, and adherence to local
| labor laws. Your company directs their day-to-day
| activities and integrates them into your team as you would
| with any employee.
|
| Coincidentally, the reason I know this is because I
| currently work at a company that recently launched an EOR:
| https://www.justworks.com/blog/what-is-an-employer-of-
| record...
| Tortuga2018 wrote:
| Hello, I am a retired US citizen living in Argentina. I've been
| told by the Federal Benefits Unit at the US Embassy in Buenos
| Aires that my Argentine wife will be eligible to receive survivor
| benefits after I die, but will have to spend an entire month in
| the US every 6 months to qualify. She has never lived in the US
| and doesn't plan to, so she won't qualify for the 5 year
| residency exemption. Also in order for her to collect spousal
| benefits she also has to go to the US every 6 months in order to
| be eligible. Are there any exceptions to these 30 day US travel
| rules? What type of visa is best for her situation? The Federal
| Benefits Unit representative mentioned a K visa that doesn't have
| an expiration date, but I am unable to locate any K visa for her
| specific circumstances. Thank you very much for volunteering you
| valuable time. YCombinator is a great source for learning. Kind
| regards
| dre3mer wrote:
| I have some questions regarding changing of status from F2 to E3
| (AUS).
|
| Assuming I hold an F2 visa with which I have entered the US, what
| are the mechanics to transition a E3 visa? Does form I-129 need
| to be filed since I am within the US, or can I just leave the US,
| get the E3 in a different country and re-enter the US using the
| newly-issued E3 without having to deal with I-129? Any advise on
| any general problems or technicalities that might be relevant to
| this change of status?
|
| And one last question, what happens to the F2 assuming the change
| of status is successful, is it possible to switch back to the F2
| after being on the E3?
| draft30 wrote:
| How difficult is it to hire an international student on OPT? It
| seems like the process is straightforward, but a to my knowledge
| all I will need is to file for an EAD and submit an offer letter
| showing job is related to the field of study
| agucova wrote:
| Which pathways exist for a Chilean citizen who didn't complete
| their bachelor's degree on CS, but nonetheless wants to take a US
| job for a 501(c)(3) in a technical capacity? I worked several
| years as a software engineer, but this role is not as an
| engineer, but rather as a charity founder (existing 501(c)(3)'s
| could sponsor me, some CAP-exempt).
|
| I imagine H-1B and the special H-1B1 aren't really options here.
| bazillion wrote:
| Is an O-1 or EB-1 visa viable as a grandmaster in chess? There
| are, for instance, only about 100 grandmasters in the United
| States right now. We're looking at bringing over a Chess
| grandmaster to our company, but don't know the most efficient
| route (haven't talked to an immigration lawyer). If time to visa
| is a factor, is there an easier route?
| junar wrote:
| I assume they wouldn't be coming to the US to play chess...
|
| > To qualify for an O-1 visa, you must demonstrate
| extraordinary ability by sustained national or international
| acclaim, or a record of extraordinary achievement in the motion
| picture and television industry, and must be coming temporarily
| to the United States to continue work in the area of
| extraordinary ability.
|
| https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...
|
| > You must meet at least 3 of the 10 criteria* below, or
| provide evidence of a one-time achievement (i.e., Pulitzer,
| Oscar, Olympic Medal) as well as evidence showing that you will
| be continuing to work in the area of your expertise. No offer
| of employment or labor certification is required.
|
| https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/permanent...
| luciferous wrote:
| Hi Peter, thank you for this!
|
| I understand that when a company terminates an H1-B worker, the
| company must offer to pay for the return flight. But what happens
| if the termination occurred while the employee was overseas and
| the employee wasn't able to return to the US. Could the employee
| seek a reimbursement from the company for the costs related to
| terminating apartment lease early, relocating their residence or
| storage costs?
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