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

201 points proberts | 2 comments | 16 May 25 15:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.407s | 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.

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galonk ◴[16 May 25 15:31 UTC] No.44006678[source]▶
Maybe a dumb question, but... I'm a Canadian who would qualify for a TN visa if I worked in the States, but don't currently have a visa or green card. On the online submission form for job openings, it always asks "Are you legally entitled to work in the US?". Am I meant to answer yes or no to that?
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nrmitchi ◴[16 May 25 16:38 UTC] No.44007411[source]▶
Also not a lawyer, but wanted to second what jsbg said.

I've been through this process many times, and I would always say yes and then mention with the recruiter (even if I had to explain that the process was basically "asking politely for permission at the border").

The underlying question that employers really care about is "will you be legally allowed to accept a job offer without unexpected expenses or delays". Even if you file through USCIS (and not petition at the point of entry), you can (should) have an answer in 14 days and ~2k in fees, which is 1) a drop in the bucket for any hiring budget, and 2) not impactful to a hiring timeline.

replies(1): >>44008762 #
1. SoftTalker ◴[16 May 25 18:59 UTC] No.44008762[source]▶
Employers are subject to substantial penalties if they hire someone who is not legally permitted to work. I think they are woried about more than unexpected delays, though I admit I'm way out of my sphere of knowledge on this subject.
replies(1): >>44009584 #
2. nrmitchi ◴[16 May 25 20:36 UTC] No.44009584[source]▶
To be clear, I meant "unexpected delays (to work legally)". As in, waiting a year to submit, and hope for, an H1B to be issued, vs waiting 2 weeks for a TN to be approved.

No portion of my initial comment should have been interpreted to mean that employers do not do their own due diligence after actually hiring someone.