Hello. I don't have any questions but just wanted to share that I found Peter through one of these threads 9 years ago and his work and advice has been incredibly helpful in ensuring my continued ability to live and work in America through a variety of situations. I highly recommend using his services and listening to his sage advice.
Me and my cofounder are non-US residents and live in Germany. If we get into YC, what would a typical / recommended way to proceed be?
We haven’t established a company in Germany yet, we want to be strategic and make what’s best to succeed.
From what I know we can do the batch with our current tourist visa, so I’d like to know more about the post batch options. Being US based or Germany based is an option for us.
Thanks in advance
It's AMA, so here's something under the category of "anything" . . .
How has AI affected your work as a lawyer, if at all? Do you expect it to change your work or how you bill?
I run a coffee meetup in Buffalo, NY. Around graduation season we get a lot of international students who come and are looking for jobs but are worried about visa issues. What are the resources about what their actual situation is, and how I can help connect them to smaller companies who might not know how to sponsor students?
Historically, startups have hired foreign "employees" as contractors to simplify paperwork.
How are "false freelancer" laws, e.g. in Spain, affecting the market? Do you generally advise American early-stage startups startups to hire foreigners as contractors, or to immediately use a PEO?
I'm not sure if this is appropriate for this thread, but: I'm a Singaporean, and we have access to the H-1B1 visa.
If asked whether I need a visa in a US job application, would it be fine to say "no"?
How should I explain my situation, given that most people might assume that hiring non-US candidates would require participation in the H-1B lottery?
One idea to replace the H1-B lottery that I've seen on HN is to sort the applications by salary and let in the top XX highest paid.
Do you have any thoughts on that? Is this one of those "why don't they just..." type of ideas that people with first hand knowledge know is majorly flawed?
What are considered best practices for a German/EU citizen to start a startup in the US? What would be the process to found a company and to move to the US to work for your own company be like? Or would it be better to found it Germany and move it to the US at a later point (after PMF for example)?
Hi! Thanks for doing this. How long do you think I should keep my visa-related documents? I used to have an L-1 visa with a bunch of lengthy petitions, but now I have a green card and the visa has expired.
Hi Peter, I’m an employee at big tech in an L1 VISA in the US. I’d like to know what happens if I get laid-off. Will I have a chance of finding another job. How much time will I have before leaving the country?
I’ve heard I can get a green card via significant US investment. How much does that requires? Can I stay in the US while the process is ongoing?
Hi Peter, I finished my masters degree and I'm from Germany and might like to work in the US. Which Visa would be beat in thia case and any tips to work with US companies to make it happen? Much appreciated
Hi I wonder how valuable patents are for EB/O visas? I have worked 10+ in a global tech company, through which I am named on about 20 US patents. I don't have external visibility except for through those patents. How are patents judged when it comes to these visas? Are they enough to prove what needs to be proven?
If the upcoming change in administration gave you 1 or 2 chances to tweak the policy or process, what would you recommend?
Conversely, what are the main pain points now that are likely to be intractable?
(If policy is outside the scope of AMA, sorry and please ignore...)
Thanks!
Hello Peter, I married an american woman and me and my wife are not leaving in the states. We are in the process ofp registering the kids since we are preparing a plan B. We didn't got married in my country, but in Thailand. I was told that in order to get a spouse Visa, I need to start the process in Thailand. Is this true? Do i need to apply for everything in Thailand just because this is where we got married? Thank you
Good morning Peter! I don't mean to get political, but do you anticipate any changes in the H1b process based on whoever wins the upcoming election? I've heard there were significant difference between the past two admins and that could play out again.
Hello Peter and thanks for the AMA!
I was accepted into a postdoc program and have an H1-B that was approved by the USCIS with no issues, but it was put in administrative processing by the embassy.
It's been in administrative processing for almost a year with zero follow up communication, and the council of my employer doesn't know or is unwilling how to get an update on this process. Is there anything that can be done to move it along?
P.S. : I’m an EU Citizen
What's the general schema of getting someone a work visa in the US?
My understand is big tech usually tries to see if you're eligible for an O-1, and then they take their chances for H1-B, and then there's also a pathway for bringing in workers that have already worked from you from abroad (for one year).
Wondering if there's other types of Visa that are applicable, and where they slot in in the general algorithm of a US-based employer that wants to get a Visa for one of their workers.
I also recently learned about the EB1 Visa, though that one is not tied to an employer. I'm wondering how it compares to the O1 in ease of access / modalities.
My U.S. citizen father applied for a green card for me as his over-18-year-old child, and the process was moving forward. However, during the sponsorship documents submission phase, I got married and updated the marital status question accordingly. After that, the process was stopped. What happens now, and what can be done?
How do ycombinator signs deal with startup that were accepted but the founder is in another country ? Do they ask to visit us or there are other options.
I'm a non-American Software Engineer, living outside the US. Me and my girlfriend (who's an American citizen) are seriously considering marrying and moving together next year.
Any advice or anything you recommend reading? Also, how long it typically would take until I was able to legally have a job in the US, once I move?
I have a tourist visa and traveled to the States countless times. If I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally?
Thank you for your time.
I'm an Australian citizen running a bootstrapped startup (and would prefer to stay bootstrapped, but would raise if there was no other way of immigrating). What is the best way to immigrate to the US? I have a computer science degree from an Australian university.
This is not immigration per se, but how often do you actually see issue with contract requalification?
For context: hiring remotely you don't want to set up a corporate presence in every country, that would be mind-boggingly complex & expensive — so instead you hire people as contractors or use an employer of record (EOR) like Deel to hire people and then you contract Deel.
The one risk with hiring contractors that will basically only work for you (though for sure, the contract should not make this a condition) is that in some jurisdiction is allegedly pretty easy to take these contracts to court and requalify them as employment contracts, putting you on the hook for back taxes and possibly fines.
I'm just wondering how much that stuff happens in practice, and how much of an issue it is when it happens.
Euros should stay in Europe.
Move to SF if you want the tendies.
Any hope for Indian immigrants on H1-B to get a green card? There are over 1 million immigrants affected by this.
What are some of the challenges involved with international hiring in a remote environment? I work at a fully remote startup with ~200 employees. We hire from a couple dozen countries but I know there are fairly significant barriers whenever we add a new one. What are some of those challenges? Are they getting more streamlined?
In the USA is there any concept of prior art when considering trademark applications, like there is with patents? If "YCombinator hosting" had been commonly used by businesses, and YC decided to trademark that phrase, would the prior usage be taken into account (and void the trademark application)?
Hi, I'm European, working in Europe My wife has a J1 visa To apply for a J2 visa, I need be present and stay in USA for all the duration of the application? no way to come back to Europe in the meantime? How long would the processing take?
My wife's I-485 was denied because of an overlooked J1 residency requirement. She has to spend 9 more months in her home country for the residency, and we're looking into waivers. We would prefer not to leave because my current employment requires me to be in the US. Her no objection waiver was denied and now we're trying an exceptional hardship waiver. What are alternatives? Is this a good route to take?
Do you have a list of common red flags that engineers should avoid when considering working at a startup?
Hi Peter,
Few months ago I've applied for F2A visa for my spouse from Russia. Official sources state processing times in California at 4 years plus. I am 2 years away from obtaining a citizenship in US by which I then can do K1.
Would you advice to convert F2A to K1 visa in the future? How do I do that? Is there a way to speed up the process at all?
Remote workers are clearly a gray area in immigration law. On the one hand if the worker lives abroad and imports products and related support services to the US, that's clearly not a migrant worker.
On the other hand, if a remote worker is a virtual receptionist for a US business, or if the worker controls machinery remotely that operates in the states, they clearly compete with local labour, and bring cybersecurity issues.
As an attorney with power to interpret and shape case law, do you think there is any grounds to require visas for some types of private remote work, given the current laws? Or would this be a matter that needs to go through congress.
Hi Peter, thanks for all the AMAs you've done in the past.
From the perspective of a recent Green Card recipient not yet living in USA, is it possible/advisable to convert to a Commuter Green Card, work remotely (and paid as US-based employee with US contract, US mailing address, and US benefits), and commute to the US to work in person for a week or two every few months?
(Or does this stretch the definition of commuting outside of scope?)
How does EB-2 NIW essentially work? Is it tied to a specific employer or can it be used to justify H1b renewal/transfer beyond the 6 year limit at a different workplace with the different role ?
I'll be stepping out for about an hour now and then returning for another few hours. Thank you so far for the great questions and comments!
I'm a Canadian looking for remote work in America. Is there any downside risk to the employer if I work a W2 remote job from Canada? As long as I pay taxes, is there any risk to the employee?
A small word of warning: I'm speaking with brutal honesty, extreme language is used (unfortunately I have to, it's the truth). Throwaway for obvious reasons. I tweaked the parameters a bit, it's representative of my case but not my actual case.
I'm going for a CR-1 visa. I married the love of my life a month ago. We knew each other for a year when we married. I thought it'd be fine but I gave it some more thought and I'm a bit worried.
My worries:
* I had suicidal ideation and did visits to a psychiatry center once per week for a month until I was fine enough according to them. I have never physically hurted myself. I never planned it. My issue was that I felt a strong urge to plan it, and I didn't want to cave in which I didn't thanks to the psychiatry center. In retrospect, I realized I was in a really toxic relationship, once that was gone there was no suicidal ideation left.
* I do have an autism diagnosis that I got a few months ago at the age of 36.
* My employment history is checkered. My last employment was almost 2 years and then the tech layoffs hit, so outside of my control (second round of layoffs too).
Good things:
* My education is top notch with high marks, I even published a paper
* No criminal record
* 50000$ in the bank
* Coming from Sweden
* My wife has a stable job for 4 years, no criminal record, university educated, etc. (I don't think there are any issues there)
Will the suicidal ideation episode, autism diagnosis and checkered employment history be an issue for the CR-1 visa when I get my medical?
Is there a possible track for H1B holders (solo/team) to be able to start one? What I have usually been briefed is that you need a US citizen as a majority stake holder. Thanks.
Once I get the O1 visa, what paths are available to aim for a green card?
If the company with which I applied for O1 goes bankrupt what happens to my visa status?
How common is it that people come to SF and work illegally on their startup and then raise money?
Hey Peter, I have two questions: 1. How bad is the H1B situation now? I've read there are companies that flood the system with duplicate requests, which decrease the probability for the others. 2. Is it possible to get a visa and work permit for a partner without being married to them?
Hi Peter, thank you for doing this. I'm a YC Founder, Ex-FAANG who applied for an O1 visa but got a "kitchen sink" RFE (i.e disputing all of my claimed* O1 qualifications). Is withdrawing and re-applying my O1 petition a good idea? Are there any known downsides to doing this? Thanks again!
Disputed qualifications include:
1. YC funding is not an "internationally recognized award"
2. YC membership is not "an association that requires outstanding achievement from its members"
3. Beneficiary's role (CTO) doesn't prove their critical role to the organisation.
4. Previous high renumeration is not evidence of high salary in the field as a whole. Nor is equity in YC company.
I’m an Australian PhD student graduating into the US job market. I’m considering an EB-2 NIW. How does that work with the E-3 visa? What’s a good resource or law firm with experience in this kind of arrangement to refer to?
Could a married couple each get their own individual E2 visas and then sponsor each other on the dependent visa and then both have open work authorization?
Peter - I am currently living in US and I am on H1b.I have plans to start a company with my partner who currently has a green card.
Assuming i hold a minority stake, and have an employment contract Can i transfer my h1b? Can the company also sponsor my green card in the future?
If you seek evidence like judging others' work or association membership for your O1/EB1, contact me at halloumee(at)proton(dot)me.
Hi Peter, nice to meet you. I am currently on STEM OPT with expiration being July 2026. What is the best backup path if I don't get the H-1B lottery in the next two years, O-1A or EB-2 or other? Priority date is 1.5 years for EB-2 so would it be advisable to have the company I work for to sponsor this? Thank you!
I'm a software developer with leading experience in a successful healthcare startup. Do you have any advice on which platforms to use, I applied for a couple of jobs but wasn't successful so far
Say if a worker on H1B expires all 3 attempts to obtain an H1B and is forced to return to his home country. If the company he/she is working for has a partner company in the home country, can the US company continue to apply for the H1B to bring him back? Are there better options to exercise than this?
Just meta: You dropped the "immigration lawyer" part. Does this mean the scope of questions is different?
Thanks for doing this regularly!
Do you have any recommendations on how long one should wait before starting a startup after receiving permanent residence (EB2) in the US?
I've heard rumors that quitting the job that was used to justify the permanent residence too soon can jeopardize either the green card or future naturalization applications. Is this true?
Hello, being a founder (recently got H1B)of an early stage startup is there any consequences of not paying yourself the prevailing wage, especially since you also own the company so won't report it to anyone.
If a Russian citizen seeks to travel to the U.S. these days to create jobs / invest in his own company, what visa type should one pursue to maximize chances of getting approved?
With the shrink in hiring for engineering roles how do you think that will effect h1bs ?
If you have the option to consider both, which visa would be the more seamless (and faster) path to green card?
L1A or O1?
(Coming from South Africa, running SaaS company with holding co in DE)
Is it possible, as a Canadian with an engineering degree, to work 3 days in-office from the USA and 2 days remotely from Canada? Ideally, it'd be nice to have a US salary and live mostly in Canada.
If I fill out a W-7 as a non-American to get an ITIN - Is that then enough to open a credit card with say Navy Federal prior to even getting an address in the USA? I'd like to have all my ducks in a row prior to even arriving if possible.
Grandfather fought in Vietnam.
How much of a fuss is it for a start-up fresh out of YC to hire someone on an E-3 visa (the one for Australians) ? i.e., time & cost of the process including legal advice & applying for licences if any
Are there promising AI startups that can help with immigration?
Why aren’t there tech startup immigration sanctuary cities? We have local authorities not working with the feds for referring criminals to ICE. Could you have the same for software engineers?
Good morning,
I am a dual US / Canada citizen and currently living & working in the US.
I am looking into moving to Canada, and was wondering what kind of issues I could run into if I wanted to continue working for the US company while living in Canada.
I am working for a small sized start-up, and I am pretty certain they have no experience in this kind of thing, so I wanted some more info before breaking the ice.
Thank you
Can you recommend any good books or journals about US immigration law?
What are the best options for a student (F1 visa) who wants to found a startup in the US?
How common is it for companies to skip over a minimally qualified US worker during the PERM labor market test process?
If a minimally qualified US worker is found, are they under a requirement to hire the worker or can they just reapply for PERM later and conduct another labor market test?
What is a difference between acceptance rate among teams vs solo founders in YC?
What has been -- in your personal experience as well as in the experience of some of your lawyer colleagues -- some of the 'hardest' cases wrt employment authorization for US-based startups and YC? And why?
Also, how are you anticipating the immigration landscape to change especially if President Donald Trump returns to the White House in January 2025? I'm asking this in the context of the 2017-2021 Trump administration's massive clampdown on Specialty Occupation visas through executive orders. [0]
[0] https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/tr...
Can an Iranian citizen register a Delaware corporation and operate in the US?
What are your predictions on how H1B visa holders will be impacted if Trump wins the election?
Do you foresee any improvements in PERM processing times as well as the whole process?
How are you thinking about the potential effects of a second Trump administration on immigration and how it might affect tech companies?
I think you missed to mention your area of expertise in AMA description
Why did you decide to work with this rather than with people who might need your skills more, or do you do that too?
I have a Greencard and would become eligible to apply for citizenship this month. I wonder what the opinions are here on the pros and cons of that. Generally, regarding most practical aspects of daily life, being permanent resident seems pretty much equivalent to that of an US citizen.
Pros:
- can vote
- can get security clearance, potentially more income
- even long periods abroad do not bear the risk of loosing privilege
- can do jury duty
Cons:
- need to do jury duty
- need to declare income to IRS regardless of residency
- potentially be taxed by IRS
Any other cons I'm not aware of? I heard that getting rid of the US citizenship (e.g. for tax reasons) will make it hard to get a visa ever again.
Employers should have to prove they were not able to find a U.S. citizen who can do the job before they're allowed to hire someone that needs a work permit. Employers purposefully seek out non-U.S. citizens as they know they're happy to work for a lot less, especially if gets them into the U.S. This whole system encourages economic migrants, puts U.S. citizens out of work. As far as In am concerned you're actively working against your fellow Americans helping foreigners abuse and exploit our immigration laws.
I don't have a question, but wanted to let you know that your site, www.robertsimmigration.com has a self-signed certificate and therefore others cannot create a secure connection to it.
> openssl s_client -connect www.robertsimmigration.com:443 2>/dev/null
> ---
> SSL handshake has read 1859 bytes and written 427 bytes
> Verification error: self-signed certificate
> ---
Cheers
[dead]
Sorry, there's a dropped phrase in my title. It should read "I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney, who does work for YC and startups. AMA." Thanks.
[dead]
Many Russian citizens who have moved out of Russia are currently being denied B1/B2 visas, regardless of their prior history or any proof of ties to their current country of residence. The rejection rate is around 60%, and I am among those affected under 214(b), despite having held five B1/B2 visas before, with no visa overstays or other issues.
I don't plan to move to the US, but my startup operates in the US market, and it would be beneficial if I could meet customers and investors in person.
I plan to apply again next spring (a year after the denial), and if I’m unsuccessful, I’m considering applying for an O1 visa to be able to visit the US, although I have no intention of staying long-term. Do you think this is a good idea? I’m concerned that after the O1 visa expires, my only option to return might be to apply for another work visa or O1 visa.
Hi Peter. I know a little about H1B1 visas and the process of getting one, having worked with many colleagues who are in the US on one, but I don’t fully understand the pros/cons of the H1B1 program from the perspective of the average American.
As one presidential candidate will likely direct his ire at the program if he wins, can you explain why such a program is compelling or vital for our tech industry? My H1B1 colleagues seem happy to be in the US (and have indicated such) but nonetheless appear exploited. My naive economic analysis is that the visa program depresses wages to the benefit of corporations, but I’m sure the situation is far more nuanced.
(I’d like something to offer my conservative friends/family who increasingly think all immigration should be verboten.)
[dead]
[dead]
[flagged]
Hi Peter, thanks for doing this.
One question I have is regarding skilled immigration from India and China specifically. Currently, people have to wait decades through no fault of their own. Big Tech companies, Chamber of Commerce, and many Republicans also support this.
However, a Democratic Senator, Dick Durbin has disingenuously blocked meaningful progress and reforms over and over and over again. He blocked the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019 which had passed House with 365 votes and was sponsored by current Vice President Kamala Harris. He added on a poison pill that would not have gotten support knowing fully well that the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act would have passed.
Similarly, Rep. Zoe Lofgren wrote to Speaker Pelosi expressing great dismay that her legislation (different bill, 2 years ago) which would have provided reforms was pulled from the floor and that it was important to force a vote.
It is certainly known that Republicans have blocked immigration reform (Grassley on CHIPs, etc) but Democrats have had multiple opportunities to remove the per-country visa cap and repeatedly refuse to do so in varying dishonest manners.
Why is Democratic leadership so against skilled immigrants coming from India and China? The closest we have come so far was under a Republican administration. Many populist Republicans support these reforms so it is perplexing to me that a party so committed to removing barriers that enforce systemic discrimination continue to let things play out as they are.
https://rollcall.com/2022/12/15/democrat-pushes-to-reverse-d...
Hey Peter!
Stop helping people come to the US. We don't need the outside help.
We have tens of thousands of unemployed tech workers in this country who need work.
Cisco has been in a stead state of layoffs for years, recently laying off 4,000.
Amazon and Meta are laying off.
How are YC startups addressing the myriad of legal and copyright concerns around the AI models that seem to underpin so many of their business models?
Serious question...
If it's true people are crossing our borders, claiming asylum, and being let go with work permits, why should anyone do wait to do it the legal way and wait or get denied?
What is the advantage to doing it the normal way?
I'm signing off now. I see that there are a number of unanswered questions. I will get to them tomorrow and over the weekend. Thank you everyone. Great questions and comments. I learned a lot.