I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Work visas, green cards, and costs

  • H‑1B is a nonimmigrant work visa; EB‑3 is an employment‑based green card category, so not directly comparable.
  • Typical H‑1B total cost (legal + gov fees) cited as roughly $5k–$10k, depending on firm size and premium processing.
  • New $100k H‑1B fee applies in many cases where the worker is abroad or can’t change status in the U.S.; most employers now avoid such filings. Some expect litigation may overturn this; others just note its current practical chilling effect.
  • H‑1B beyond 6 years is possible if green card steps are underway; otherwise people often pivot to O‑1.

Options for students, juniors, and founders

  • For early‑career people from abroad: main routes discussed are H‑1B (lottery), F‑1 (study, then OPT), J‑1 (training), E‑2 (for some nationalities, including Serbia), and L‑1 via multinational transfer.
  • U.S. master’s/PhD is framed as a strong though costly path to employment and later sponsorship.
  • For founders: E‑2, L‑1, O‑1, and country‑specific visas (E‑3, TN, H‑1B1) are common; O‑1 for founders is still viable but seen as getting noticeably tougher, sometimes converging toward EB‑1A standards.

Trends in adjudications and processing

  • Reported increases in RFEs/denials for EB‑1A/EB‑1B/NIW and O‑1; EB‑1A especially hard for non‑academic, non‑research profiles.
  • Marriage‑based green cards are described as comparatively “quick and easy,” often around 6 months.
  • N‑400 naturalization processing has lengthened from prior 6‑month targets to ~9–12 months or more, varying by field office.
  • Some employment‑based (EB‑3) categories recently advanced quickly; expectation is eventual slowdown or retrogression.

PERM and labor‑market tension

  • PERM is widely criticized as burdensome and artificial for both employers and applicants.
  • Officially, employers must recruit in good faith and either hire qualified U.S. workers or terminate the PERM and wait ~6 months.
  • Multiple commenters argue real‑world practice often undermines this spirit (e.g., obscure ads, ritualized rejections), and debate whether that constitutes legal “abuse.”
  • Others stress legal standards focus on totality of evidence, not just technical box‑ticking; several examples of enforcement actions against tech companies are cited.
  • Layoffs now frequently pause or derail PERM, especially in big tech; some see company layoffs, not regulation, as the main obstacle.

Students, OPT, and work authorization

  • F‑1 students must have explicit work authorization (CPT/OPT) to be paid, regardless of contractor vs employee classification or whether the payer is U.S. or foreign.
  • Unpaid “volunteering” in roles that are normally paid can still count as unauthorized employment.
  • STEM OPT + self‑employment is described as legally tricky; one commenter suggests significant travel risk because denial of re‑entry has little recourse.
  • J‑1 postdocs can spend >30 days abroad, but this triggers SEVIS alerts that require sponsor action; universities may treat extended absences as administratively complex.

Travel, advance parole, and green card maintenance

  • Advance parole travel is still generally workable but viewed as more stressful; attorneys recommend pre‑trip counseling to prepare for CBP questioning.
  • Risk of being denied entry on AP has “increased” but remains low absent other issues (e.g., criminal history).
  • Long absences can lead to green card abandonment; there are limited exceptions (e.g., uncontrollable events like COVID travel restrictions). Returning resident visas and reentry permits are discussed as tools.
  • Holders of consular‑issued immigrant visas who delay moving 6–9 months post‑entry are told that’s typically fine, but getting a reentry permit is advised if stays outside the U.S. may be extended.

Changing jobs after an employment‑based green card

  • No formal rule requires staying with the sponsoring employer for six months after receiving a green card.
  • What matters legally is intent: both sides must have intended ongoing employment at the time of approval.
  • In practice, changing jobs soon after approval is described as rarely causing naturalization issues, especially given current job‑portability rules, though brief legal consultation is recommended.

Other visa categories and niche issues

  • TN for Canadians/Mexicans is still considered relatively easy when the role matches listed occupations and the degree is clearly related; prior TN history neither strongly helps nor hurts.
  • L‑1 “individual” petitions are described as consistently tough; blanket L‑1s at consulates tend to be easier. Policy now more tightly ties where one can apply to citizenship or residence country.
  • L‑2S spouses are work‑authorized incident to status and typically don’t need an EAD; consular appointment timing governs how fast they can start.
  • E‑1/E‑2 traders and investors: nationality of ownership, not place of incorporation, is key. Detailed case‑by‑case analysis is stressed.
  • ITAR‑regulated industries do hire foreign nationals; roles may be restricted but employment is not impossible.

Remote work, compliance, and risk perception

  • Some see a pullback from cross‑border remote hiring, often attributed to misclassification and compliance fears, but others only share anecdotal impressions.
  • One view is that third‑party platforms may exaggerate legal risk to sell “employer of record” services; another stresses this is outside pure immigration law.

Ethics, enforcement, and politics

  • There is a long sub‑thread on whether startups and large tech firms routinely “game” immigration rules, and how outside counsel should respond.
  • Some participants push for much stricter consequences for visa and PERM abuse (including linking corporate layoffs to sponsorship bans), while others say this is unrealistic or harmful to legitimate immigration.
  • Several comments express anxiety about political shifts, border detentions, and denaturalization; legal responses emphasize that outlier cases receive outsized media coverage and that lawful status plus clean records generally keep risk low.