I'm Peter Roberts, immigration attorney who does work for YC and startups. AMA
165 comments
·July 18, 2025rsp1984
A bit "off topic" but this is called AMA, so why not:
To which degree do you see your own profession (law practice) changing with AI? As an outsider it looks like most of the legwork, research work or basically anything a non-senior attorney would spend their time on could soon be done by LLMs. How accurate is that impression? What future do you envision for law-related professions?
techdragon
Is it legal to rehearse or practice how to interact with border guards?
I don’t need to explain why someone could be deeply anxious interacting with US border officials… it should be obvious to anyone with half a brain. And since looking anxious is a sign that you could be concealing things, thus drawing more attention from border officials… Coaching on how to handle an experience and avoid that anxious spiral and minimise the risk for such travellers… But I’m curious if this is legal. Or if it is legal, would it be construed as evidence of intent to deceive should a traveler do this and wind up being investigated in such a way that it turns up that they have undertaken such practice?
kingstoned
If you want to get a visitor visa to attend an incubator like YC, is it better to:
1) wait to be admitted into YC and get B1 visa for 3 months. Do you get some kind of invitation letter from YC that increases your chances of approval?
2) get a normal tourist visa now and specify you will go to the US for a week or two like a normal tourist and later use that to go to incubator training.
sophia01
I'm graduating from my PhD and starting a FAANG research role. I'm Australian and about to start in F-1 OPT status.
I am interested in an EB-1 or EB-2 (possibly NIW) visa, but am concerned about a long period where I can't travel (aka re-enter).
What's the practical difference between E-3 and F-1 OPT (with STEM extension) in my case? Is it easy to switch from F-1 to E-3 at the same role?
proberts
Your green card process will have two steps, the I-140 filing and then the green card application, either in the U.S. with USCIS (known as an I-485 application) or outside the U.S. with a U.S. Consulate (known as an Immigrant Visa application). During the I-140 stage, there is some risk traveling on an F-1 or an E-3 visa (with the F-1 riskier), but this risk is relatively low and can be mitigated. One way to reduce this risk to zero is to switch to O-1 status, which as a PhD grad you probably would qualify for but your employer would need to support this. At the second stage, with an I-485 filing, whether you are in E-3, F-1, or O-1 status, you should expect to be unable to travel for at least 6 months unless you have a family emergency. With an IV application, you will be able to travel on an O-1 visa but there will be some risk traveling on an E-3 or F-1 visa (again, with the F-1 riskier).
sophia01
Thank you Peter, this is super helpful!!
Does your firm do immigration law consultations or do you have any that you would recommend to ask some more questions?
hdivider
Hi Peter,
Asking for someone else: is the NIW category still backlogged? If the goal is to get a green card within the STEM-OPT extension timeline of 2 years, for someone who has very high achievements that fit either NIW or EB1A categories, which of these is likely a better option? I'm hearing some rumors that NIW can happen faster these days.
Thanks!
zacqu
Hi Mr. Roberts, Thank you for doing this.
I was adopted as a child by my uncle in my home country, where record-keeping is poor. As a result, all my official documents, including my birth certificate, list my uncle and aunt as my parents. I used this documentation when I obtained U.S. citizenship. I now want to petition for my biological parents to immigrate to the U.S. My uncle still lives in my home country and has never received any immigration benefits from me. Is it possible to petition for my biological parents under these circumstances, and how complex would the process be?
Also, could you recommend a reputable immigration attorney in Washington State or the West Coast?
proberts
This is a very interesting question but too complex to answer in writing. Please email me and I can share the names of good immigration attorneys near you.
wallyrabbitbun
Hey Peter,
I'm still waiting for my family based GC to be approved. It was applied for in March 2023.
I've tried contacting my senators to see if it can be expedited but USCIS replied to say that it's still within "normal processing times" and that there is not yet an immigrant number available as my priority date is not earlier than the final action date.
I've been keeping a close eye on the USCIS Visa Bulletin final action dates and have noticed that they don't always move forward each month. I.e. there has been no change between July and August: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-law0/v...
Is this normal? Or due to the current administration?
hibikir
You don't need peter for this one: The action date is indicating the place in the queue of the application they are currently working on. Every month they don't deal with 1 month worth of applications: Sometimes it might take 6 months to go through a single month of applications, other times it can move much faster. Either way, it all depends on what was submitted a long time ago, their maximum speed, and the number of visas allotted: It's possible for USCIS to run out of visas for a country and just process nothing more for the rest of the year.
So its all normal, it's been happening for decades, and there's been no significant action in the legislature to speed things up. As things are right now, there are specific queues where the delay might as well mean 'forever', because it's going to take many decades for the current processing speed to reach July 2025.
wallyrabbitbun
So just SOL here, and nothing that can be done but wait? :(
nixgeek
Bringing siblings to U.S. as a citizen is currently about a 15-17 year backlog for most countries (fourth preference), so yeah, there’s often some or a lot of waiting in these processes.
klipt
If your spouse is a green card holder and they become a citizen, then you're no longer subject to quota/queue
tk90
Hi Peter! Thank you for doing this. Are you seeing any issues/concerns with Green Card holders traveling internationally and returning to the US in the past few months?
proberts
Only that even with green card holders, we have seen instances where CBP is asking to see electronic devices and reviewing their social media accounts. But we haven't had a green card holding client detained or denied admission.
tnthrowaway
Hi Peter!
There's a lot of confusion and uncertainty around a June policy update regarding TN visa (some related links in https://www.reddit.com/r/tnvisa/comments/1lerikw/nonengineer...). At least one big tech (my personal anecdote that I don't feel comfortable sharing) temporarily paused new TN applications for software engineers with a CS degree, citing this change.
This seems to have always been a fuzzy area on paper, and some people in this category apparently still got their TN in the past month after this change. Is this a material change in your mind? If so, how are employers responding to it?
proberts
Recently I heard of an instance where CBP denied a TN application by an applicant with a CS degree for a software engineering position. While this is of course concerning, this has always been a potential issue - I've seen this happen several times over the years - and there are ways to mitigate the risk (by, for example, highlighting the applicant's engineering courses or getting a letter from the school or an expert in the field). We have continued to pursue TNs for software engineers with CS degrees and have not had any issue yet.
lazzurs
What sort of people get O-1 visas? I assume it is people with multiple degrees and have decades of experience in a specific field?
I am good at what I do, have done public speaking at major conferences on what I do but no degree and so assume that i've no chance of ever getting into the USA. Currently a UK citizen living in Ireland.
proberts
The O-1 is a high standard but it's less about overall achievement or standing (like the EB1A green card category) and more about meeting specific criteria, which many talented professionals and founders do. I would recommend reviewing the O-1 criteria (they're listed on USCIS's website, www.uscis.gov) and then having an immigration attorney evaluate your background. People are often surprised that they meet the O-1 criteria or with a bit of work will qualify.
morpheuskafka
It's open to things like sport and entertainment, so definitely not everyone has many (or any) degrees. Assuming your field is somewhat science based I don't know how realistic it would be with no degree, but you can search some blogs about it, people have covered what they did to rack up publications and stuff to check all the boxes (if their work/field wouldn't have otherwise needed them).
If you are starting your own business, the treaty investor visa could also be a good route. It doesn't require as much investment as the investor green card; it is a nonimmigrant visa similar to the O-1.
TheJoeMan
My dance instructor, who has won an international championship, is here on an O-1B. However, his 3 year initial eligibility is coming due, and the processing times for the 1-year extension is looking like it's going to take longer than 1-year! According to Wikipedia, Justin Beiber is here on an O visa, I wonder how his gets processed.
gregsadetsky
You can request premium processing for the O-1s, which is roughly $3k and guarantees a response within 15 business days. [0]
[0] https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/how-do-i-request-premi...
fooker
There's a list of qualifying criteria on the USCIS website. You have to satisfy at least three out of the eight or so.
The issue is it's a bit subjective, a lawyer writes down how you qualify and some random government employee has to believe what the lawyer wrote.
If you receive a RFE or rejection, all your dealings with USCIS will face extra scrutiny in future. So it's a bit of a gamble.
mertleee
It's beyond a joke. Recently spent some time at an accelerator and the partners of the VC firm were very open about purchasing "fake" research or presenting investments as if they were from more than one "investor".
I still fail to understand how Dwarkesh Patel managed to "self-sponsor" an O-1 with a... tech podcast...
asadm
i did o1 twice and then eb1. it’s not a joke if you set expectations too high in your mind.
all visas are just about fulfilling the legal criteria. if you do that, you get the visa. same is true for extraordinary alien ones.
hertzthrowaway
Hi Peter, thank you for doing this on a regular basis!
In the event of a company-sponsored EB1A with an approved I140 but with an I485 pending for less than 180 days, is it possible for the company to rescind the approval? Or does the approval belong to me even though it is company-sponsored?
If the approval can be rescinded, could I lose my priority date and my I485 as well?
taesu
Hi Peter, thanks for doing this. Wife and I are both Canadians. Wife is on a H1B and I'm on TN - separate employers. My 9089 is being reviewed, while she is on labor market test. What is the best path forward to getting GC for the both of us while working? Should we keep going forward with this setup and whoever can file for I-485, add the spouse to beneficiary?
I'll be here for the rest of the day. As usual, there are countless immigration-related topics to discuss 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 comments and I'll try to do the same in my answers.
Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.