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

Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by Roritharr on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:20PM (#14703711)

Hi, currently (and for the forseeable future) I'm a 29 year old CTO at a VC backed Startup with 40 employees in Germany, I've had this position now for nearly two years, before (and on paper now in parallel to) that I've been managing director of a web-development agency for 3 years. I've had several software dev positions before that while working on starting my own companies, a process which made me drop out of university rather early, so I've never finished my degree. I have a wife and child (of 8 months now).

What are my chances of getting a US Visa based solely on work experience without a university degree?

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by LusoTycoon on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:42PM (#14703933)

Also curious, for the average european developer how easy could it be to move to the US?

Also without a degree

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by vikascoder on Thursday July 06, 2017 @01:01AM (#14708242)

As easy or hard as any skilled tech immigrant from anywhere else. We are all in the same boat and I am not aware of any special agreements between Europe and US in terms of easy transfer of skilled migrants (as Canadians have under NAFTA). So you a) study in the US and get in line for H1B b) work for a multinational in Europe and get transferred to US on L1 visa c) If you are a well published researcher, O1 will be good but it is very difficult to obtain.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by qqg3 on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @05:07PM (#14706109)

You'll most likely need a job offer from a US company (they sponsor you essentially) or you marry in...

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by proberts on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:22PM (#14703733)

Very high.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by Roritharr on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:25PM (#14703765)

Thanks, what Visa Type should i look into most likely when the time comes?

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by tucaz on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:00PM (#14704101)

I was in the same boat as you (no education, prior experience) and got an H1B.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by proberts on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:25PM (#14703778)

Probably the O-1 or E-2.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by proberts on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @12:26PM (#14703779)

Or L-1.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by ameen on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:01PM (#14704107)

Wouldn't this entail that the parent company have a branch in the U.S. also wouldn't he be limited to working at the company (for a maximum of 5+2 years)?

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by proberts on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:06PM (#14704170)

Yes, the foreign company would need to have operations in the US to qualify for an L-1 and you would be allowed to work in the US in L-1 status for 5 or 7 years depending on your level within the organization.

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by jonny_eh on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @09:29PM (#14707534)

Here can apply for a green card while on the L-1 to stay longer, right?

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Re:I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for... by proberts on Thursday July 06, 2017 @06:25AM (#14709299)

Correct.

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