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- Hacker News
- If someone on H-1B in California gets (ostensibly) terminated via email with the reason being given as money, but the company does not send over final pay stubs and instead wires a lump sum, but not for the full amount (no 401k payments deposited into retirement account and I think at least one paycheck) then asks the person to sign a document agreeing they are not owed any money, what steps should that person take? It seems like the issues are 1) change of visa status needs documentation but also importantly 2) they can't get their spouses insurance without final pay stubs. The company said there were problems with ADP and has been delaying on responses.
- Unfortunately, although the person is in H-1B status, this is really an employment law question, not an immigration one, so I'm not in a position to respond.by proberts
- Hi Peter, have you noticed either increased processing times or denial rates of N400 applications? I know about several people waiting to have a citizenship interview scheduled for 12 months or even longer, this seems out of the ordinary. Thank you!by kimyanna
- This is just anecdotal but I haven't seen an increase in denial rates although processing seems to have slowed. Under the previous administration, there was a stated commitment and policy to process N-400s within 6 months. Now, depending on the local USCIS field office, we're seeing processing taking 9-12 months and even longer.by proberts
- What are the chances of getting back a green card after being out of the country for 4 years? My partner left with the intention to come back soon after, bought a house there as well just before leaving, but then couldn't come back more than a couple of weeks a year for 3 years, and then not at all for the past 4 years.
We're thinking to move back to the US at some point, so having a green card would be the royal road.
Thanks!
by iLoveOncall - It's likely that USCIS will consider her to have abandoned her green card. There are exceptions when the absence was outside the person's control (like during COVID when travel was restricted and risky). It's probably worth it for her to consult with someone about this. The formal path to find out if she's abandoned her green card is by applying for a returning resident visa at a U.S. Consulate in her home country.by proberts
- What's the climate like around TN visas nowadays? Specifically, from Canada to the US. (Thinking of Waterloo grad-types but also humanities types coming to join in non-eng roles)by Aarostotle
- Since a Canadian TN can be applied for when traveling to the U.S. from Canada, it's a very fast process and still generally easy for Canadians with engineering degrees.by proberts
- Thank you for all the great questions and comments. I will be taking a brief break.by proberts
- What are you seeing with the new $100k H1B fee? Is it being applied only to people currently outside the US? Do you have any estimates on whether it's likely to be renewed in September and/or struck down?by jefftk
- It's being applied to those outside the U.S. or those in the U.S. who are ineligible for a U.S.-based change of status or change of employer. This fee primarily has impacted employers seeking to hire people who are outside the U.S. and also limited when people can travel,by proberts
- Thanks for doing this.
- How difficult has it become to get O1 for founders compared to say 5 years ago?
-What advice would you have for founders who think they should be able to get O1 once they have a bit of seed money (say YC, 500k) and press coverage?
by dwa3592 - It's definitely more difficult but well within reach of founders (particularly founders with funding and organic press coverage) and talented professionals. That is, until very recently. It's too early to say whether this is a trend or an aberration but the past few weeks we've seen USCIS apply a different standard, one similar to the EB1A standard. If this is a trend, then I suspect that the RFE and denial rates for O-1s will skyrocket.by proberts
- Our small company offers a remote paid mentorship for students anywhere in the world - often times, international students in the US want to apply but then there’s substantial confusion on whether they can be paid without jeopardizing their status. The stipends we pay are all 1099 and it’s mostly self-directed work so we’re a bit at a loss in regards to the CPT/OPT qualifications. Many end up forgoing their stipend which sucks for students in an expensive place.
Any thoughts there?
by mikeyouse - The students should speak with their DSOs (Designated School Officials) because they must have work authorization to get paid whether they're paid by a U.S. or foreign source or paid as a 1099 contractor or W-2 employee. But I don't see why both CPT and pre-completion OPT wouldn't work.by proberts
- Maybe Peter can comment further, but my impression was that the definition of "work" is normally unrelated to whether it's paid or not, for F/J?
If those students are actually concerned about staying in status, simply saying they're volunteering might not be sufficient.
- How has AI affected your job and what tools are you using?
What's an ask you'd make to startups in the legal AI space?
Not selling something, but have heard primarily negative sentiments from other lawyers due to hallucination risk.
by jjmarr - We're not using AI much at all. We're using it a bit to search and organize documents but not much beyond that. It's almost always a little wrong when responding to immigration-related questions/providing immigration legal advice and a little wrong makes it completely unreliable except as a first step in trying to get answers.by proberts
- What's the best path from zero to a fully legal status (visa first I imagine, but eventually citizenship) in the US for someone coming over from the Western Balkans (non-EU), with a bachelors degree in EE or CS and no prior work experience? Thanks for doing this.by xqb64
- Another idea: Get a master's degree in the US. Expensive, but will give you a very good chance to get a job offer in US. PhD is even better, but will take 4-5 years.
Also: Try the green card lottery. You can Google to find info.
- The options are limited: an H-1B for employment (which involves an annual lottery), an F-1 for schooling, or a J-1 for internship/training (which requires a "host" company/employer).by proberts
- Does H1-B really carry that 100k per-case fee? I remember hearing of it, but afterwards also individual stories of people getting H1-B. I don't know them personally unfortunately; not sure whether it was sponsored by not-for-profit research institutes or for-profit companies. I can't imagine this rule being economically feasible for most, though. And if the answer is actually a yes, would the company want to make sure that here's a repayment clause in the contract, e.g. if the worker leaves within X years, he/she will have to refund the company for Y% of this visa fee? Is that even legal?
Related, iirc H1-B has a 6-year limit. Under the current policy what's the path forward if the holder is not ready to adjust their status to PR within the timeframe or not qualified to EB category? O1? But there were a wave of news stories about O1 being abused and I wouldn't be surprised if that was a prelude to major changes to the category.
Just curious. Thanks for making this thread.
by daxuak - Yes, the $100K fee exists and applies under certain circumstances, essentially if the beneficiary is outside the U.S. or ineligible for a change of status or change of employer. Most companies are simply not pursuing H-1B petitions where the $100K fee would apply but there are exceptions.
It's possible to extend H-1B status beyond the 6-year max-out period if the beneficiary is in the green card process. But if the beneficiary isn't in the green card process, then the most common option is the O-1 and while it's getting harder to get an O-1, it's still within reach of many talented professionals and founders.
by proberts - I never really understood about PERM. Suppose I am a manager on a team and one of my employees is going through the PERM process.
I'm supposed to put out a job advertisement (but the job isn't real) for my employer. If an applicant passes the interview process, I don't have to hire that person (I probably can't - I don't have budget or permission from the organization). But I do have to honestly say if they have all the required skills -- I'm not permitted to say "wouldn't be a culture fit."
Nor do I have to fire my employee. But maybe my employee won't get a green card six years down the road.
1) Do I have any details wrong here? The one time I talked to a law firm about this they more-or-less refused to state the above outright, but answered all questions in this direction. 2) Doesn't this seem disrespectful to, among others, the applicants to the fake job?
by 1qaboutecs - I think everyone would agree that the PERM process is an awful process for both applicants and for employers. The job is supposed to be treated as an open position and the recruitment is supposed to be done in good faith. So, if a qualified, willing, able, and available U.S. worker applies for a PERM job, the employer either must hire this person or terminate the PERM process and wait at least 6 months before restarting it. Now, where there are multiple openings for the position, then it's possible for an employer to hire a U.S. worker without terminating the PERM process for the foreign national employee.by proberts