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

183 points proberts | 3 comments | 17 Oct 24 16:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.766s | source

I'll be here for the few hours and then again at around 1 pm PST for another few hours. As usual, there are countless possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with. Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and comments and I'll try to do the same in my answers. Thanks!

Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.

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gr4vityWall ◴[17 Oct 24 17:12 UTC] No.41871529[source]▶
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.

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1. KK7NIL ◴[17 Oct 24 17:36 UTC] No.41871767[source]▶
> I go there with the intent of getting married, do I need a special visa or not, considering I can already enter legally?

Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud!

I've been through this process myself and I can tell you that it's quite the lengthy process and there's financial requirements and many checks along the way. For me it was about 18 months from start of K1 application to issuance (delayed due to COVID) and then about 6 month wait on employment authorization (and greencard about 6 months later).

These times could be much longer if you're not from a western country or mess up the paperwork along the way (easy to do, there's quite a lot of stuff both partners need to file).

Just letting you know so you can start the process early. There's several forums online for people going through such a process with a lot of resources, I'd suggest looking there for other's experiences.

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2. returningfory2 ◴[17 Oct 24 19:18 UTC] No.41872854[source]▶
> Yes, you absolutely need a visa (specifically the K1). Entering the US with the intent to get married without it is immigration fraud!

While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully. And it's hardly surprising, especially under a pro-immigrant administration like Biden's. I doubt strictly enforcing previous non-immigrant intent in family-based green card applications is anyone's priority.

I'm not advocating people do it. I just think there's a strange dynamic in immigration conversations online where a lot of people talk as if theory and reality are exactly the same. They're not. The reality is that people are constantly engaging in various immigration violations that are overlooked/undeclared/ignored/etc.

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3. KK7NIL ◴[17 Oct 24 19:46 UTC] No.41873084[source]▶
> While this is theoretically true, the reality is that thousands (tens of thousands?) of people do it every year successfully.

You are correct, but if you do it on a tourist visa, you can expect to wait well over a year for employment authorization, which is very difficult on a relationship.

Not to mention you always risk getting rejected (particularly if you posted your intention online) and then being essentially banned from entering the US.

For two grown adults with careers, it makes no sense to risk it, just take one of many legal routes (K-1, work visa, getting married outside of the US and then applying for a greencard, etc).