Time for another AMA. Previous threads we've done: https://news.ycombinator.com/submitted?id=proberts.
I'll be here for the next 5 hours. As usual, there are countless possible immigration-related topics and I'll try to respond to whatever questions you ask but as much as possible I'd like to focus on issues related to the pandemic and the corresponding travel and visa bans and suspensions, office closures, etc. Please remember that I can't provide legal advice on specific cases for obvious liability reasons 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!
I work for a large tech company that has recently announced internally that they will be putting all PERM filings on pause indefinitely. The reasons cited are:
— The 10-day in-house job posting is of dubious quality now because there is no one at the office to to see it (it's closed and empty because of Covid), and they believe the Department of Labor may notice this and refuse applications.
— Because of the current administration's outlook on immigration, they're worried that more filings will be audited/rejected, which could lead to more oversight on future filings for the company, making things more difficult.
They said a number of times that pausing all PERMs is a proactive measure — there have been no issues so far, but they want to make sure there never are any.
The basic premises seem to make sense, but it puts all of us running through the process in a difficult position. They wouldn't give any timeline for how long such a pause would last, but reading between the lines with office closures, it seems that it would last at least all of 2020, and probably well into 2021.
My question: Is what my company doing reasonable, or is it more of a situation where they're adopting a very conservative stance to reduce their own risk down to zero, even at the cost of putting all its employees into immigration limbo?
Thanks!
Interesting to see you think that way.
My wife recently got her PERM application denied. The reasoning was that the in-house job posting did not include the salary for the position. We think it was a clerical mistake on part of the company attorney and we are trying to move on by looking at other options.
However, last year her colleague obtained PERM with the same job posting template. It gave us the impression that indeed the PERM filings are being scrutinized and denied with greater frequency.
I asked my company if there was any electronic alternative for the NOF and they insisted there wasn't. Do you have any sources I could use to prove this to them? I tried searching something myself but I couldn't find anything concrete.
So my question really is, is there a way in which I can bring a caregiver from India to Canada? I know one option is to hire a caregiver from Vancouver itself but it's really going to be difficult, because of the language barriers and the understandings. They are an important part of my life and I cannot function without someone who I can completely trust to live-in with.
Another option would be to take the caregiver along with me on a visitor or tourist visa, but in that scenario, they are not allowed to work in Canada.
I am really looking for solutions here and I don't want to give up on this amazing opportunity of migrating to one of the most amazing countries in the world with high standard and quality of life.
Q1) What is (/are) the easiest path(s) to start a company in the US and/or seek funding there for Europeans? How costly is it?
Q2) If there's already a company registered in Germany for example, how costly (approximately) is the process to "register a subsidiary" in the US (required for YC), and how would the visas work? (Would spouses be allowed and be able to get a working permit?)
Disclaimer: I work at Stripe.
Also Nevada? That's new to me!
Thank you so much for doing this!
Im a German citizen living in Mexico. Since I have been to Iran I no longer qualify for ESTA and had to apply for a visa at the embassy here in Mexico City to visit the USA. My visa has been in processing for 2y now and I have not received any response other than "still in processing, we will be in touch". What do you recommend? Is there anything I can do to accelerate this? Or withdraw the application and apply from Germany?
Thanks a lot!!
It's a frustrating process because there is literally no information available when the application enters this state, although my suspicion is that this is because nothing is being done.
Anyway it might have been longer but eventually the company's legal team collected statements from all the people this had happened to and they were submitted to one of the US Senators in the state where the company is based. My visa was issued shortly afterwards.
Not sure what message you can take from this except perhaps that the whole system is crazy (arguably even corrupt?)
(To head off the first question: No I don't have any criminal record, and there is no reason anyone has come up with as to why the ESTA was revoked.)
"Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, travelers in the following categories must obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United States as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):
Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country). Nationals of VWP countries who are also nationals of Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria."
You have to travel on a B1/B2 visa if you were in Iran/Iraq/Syria after 2011. I was affected by this but in the end it's more of a admin headache than anything else. The B1/B2 visa are pretty easy and are valid for 10 years.
Thanks for doing this, Peter!
Thanks again!