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

206 points proberts | 1 comments | 16 May 25 15:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.219s | 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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neom ◴[16 May 25 15:30 UTC] No.44006665[source]▶
There has been a bunch of chatter in Canadian founders whatsapp groups about people getting detained for long periods of time coming into the states either at SFO or pre-clear in Canada. Are you advising Canadians travel with any additional documentation these days?
replies(5): >>44006947 #>>44007317 #>>44008176 #>>44009067 #>>44010765 #
jerryseff ◴[16 May 25 19:38 UTC] No.44009067[source]▶
Well yeah, it's because canadian "founders" have a ripe reputation of working in the U.S. while on visitor visas...
replies(1): >>44009353 #
1. __turbobrew__ ◴[16 May 25 20:08 UTC] No.44009353[source]▶
If you are a Canadian citizen you don’t need a visa — due to the visa waiver program — for business purposes as long as your stay is less than 90 days.

You cannot be employed in the US under these conditions, but as a founder you are most likely doing things which are permitted:

* negotiating contracts * business meetings * board meetings * conferences * purchasing property in the US