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

183 points proberts | 2 comments | 17 Oct 24 16:01 UTC | HN request time: 0s | 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.

1. philip1209 ◴[17 Oct 24 19:00 UTC] No.41872707[source]▶
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?

replies(1): >>41874674 #
2. proberts ◴[17 Oct 24 23:00 UTC] No.41874674[source]▶
We don't get involved in that. We get involved when a company has identified a foreign national whom it would like to employ in the U.S., whether the foreign national is inside the U.S. or outside, and try to develop an immigration solution. But if the foreign national is outside, we let U.S. employers know that the foreign national can be employed by the U.S. company without a U.S. work visa whether as an employee or contractor if the foreign national works while outside the U.S. By necessity, this is what many employers do because there's no U.S. work visa option available.