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

245 points proberts | 1 comments | 17 Oct 24 16:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.213s | 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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ValentineC ◴[17 Oct 24 17:57 UTC] No.41871958[source]▶
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?

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hervature ◴[17 Oct 24 18:48 UTC] No.41872572[source]▶
This is my (not Peter's) advice for Canadians/Mexicans for TN, Australians for E-3, and seems to apply for Singaporeans/Chileans for H-1B1: If it is an automated system, just put no. That may be an automatic filter. There will be time to talk to a human and say "all we need is X/Y/Z" where X/Y/Z is something the hiring manager can do without involving a lawyer. If a human is asking you, then just say "Yes. I need a visa but I can walk you through the process. No lawyer needed."
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elliotto ◴[18 Oct 24 08:34 UTC] No.41877420[source]▶
Hi, I'm Australian and have applied a few times for us based tech roles and ticked 'require sponsorship'. I never really got far with my research - are you saying that the e3 is an automated process and I can get away with ticking 'do not need sponsorship'?

Thank you!

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1. roganartu ◴[19 Oct 24 01:30 UTC] No.41884940[source]▶
I’m Australian and have been living in the US for the last 7 years, working for the same employer the whole time. I was originally on an E3 which was renewed twice, before transferring to a H1b and finally a greencard.

The E3 is not “automated” in the sense that some interactions with CBP are. You have to attend an interview at a consulate outside the US (my first was in Sydney, renewals were all in London) and while it’s not really stressful or has a high rejection rate it’s not something I’d personally risk without a lawyer having prepared the paperwork.

As for how I communicated this when applying for jobs, I always selected that I needed sponsorship and then the first sentence in my cover letter explained that I’m eligible for an E3. I interviewed with probably 100 companies back then and only one of them that I got to a first phone screen with cared about the visa thing and it was because they wanted to fill the headcount asap. Once companies get to a certain size they are either ok with sponsorship for all roles or not ok for any, and it’s just something that gets handed off to legal after a hiring decision is made. I wouldn’t worry about the companies that automatically cull your application based on needing sponsorship.