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

300 points proberts | 1 comments | 14 Mar 25 14:39 UTC | HN request time: 0.29s | source

I'll be here for the next 6 hours. As usual, there are countless possible topics and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with but as much as possible I'd like to focus on the recent changes and potential changes in U.S. immigration law, policy, and practice. Please remember that I am limited in providing 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 responses. Thank you!
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rectangleguru ◴[14 Mar 25 17:55 UTC] No.43365228[source]▶
Hi Peter, thanks for doing this over the years, when going through my own immigration journey reading through your past AMAs was a huge help.

For reference, I'm a Canadian who just moved to the US on a TN Visa and I've got a few questions:

- What would you say the percentage likelihood range is that the TN Visa is no longer an option for Software Engineers in 3 years time.

- With the news of USMCA talks reopening, is it advisable to switch to an H-1B visa?

- How long would it take for the government to eliminate the TN Visa, considering the complexity of the process?

- If the TN Visa is discontinued, is it safe to assume those already on it will be allowed to work in the US until their Visa expires?

replies(2): >>43366080 #>>43384955 #
1. proberts ◴[14 Mar 25 19:08 UTC] No.43366080[source]▶
I would never have thought that the TN would be at risk but if relations between the U.S. and Canada continue down the path that we're on, then I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. I'm not sure how long it would take for the U.S. to get out of the free trade agreement but if the U.S. were so motivated, it effectively could kill the TN very quickly, even if just by policy and practice. So yes, if you can, it probably makes sense to start looking at options to get off the TN, such as the H-1B (but subject to the annual lottery), the O-1, and the E-2.