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

197 points proberts | 3 comments | 16 May 25 15:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.545s | source

I'll be here for the next 5-6 hours. As usual, there are countless topics given the rapidly changing immigration landscape and I'll be guided by whatever you're concerned with. Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases because I won't have access to all the facts. Please stick to a factual discussion in your questions and I'll try to do the same in my answers.

Edit: I am taking a break now and will return later this afternoon/evening to respond to any comments and answer any questions. Thank you everyone for a great and engaged AMA so far.

1. iply ◴[16 May 25 17:29 UTC] No.44007931[source]▶
How hard is it to get approval for an o1 visa with no bachelors degree?
replies(2): >>44008276 #>>44008463 #
2. lukaszkorecki ◴[16 May 25 18:08 UTC] No.44008276[source]▶
It's doable but you need a lot, and I mean a lot of documentation proving that you are indeed an alien with extraordinary ability. Any press mentions of you and your company, articles, proof that you're working with known companies in the US and more evidence like that will increase your chance.

In fact I worked with Peter on obtaining an O1 while not having a degree, I was a CTO of a startup, moving from the UK.

3. proberts ◴[16 May 25 18:28 UTC] No.44008463[source]▶
Education is irrelevant. A PhD in and of itself doesn't help but it usually means that the individual has published, engaged in original research/work, etc. but someone can have published, engaged in original research/work, etc. without a PhD or any degree. So it's about what the individual has done, not his or her education. That being said, there's no question that USCIS's view of an O-1 petition is colored by the applicant's education and there's sort of a presumption that someone with a PhD qualifies for an O-1.