The short answer is that CBP has the right to ask to see your electronic devices and you have the right to refuse but if you refuse (and you are not a U.S. green card holder or citizen), CBP likely will deny you admission and send you home.

Not a lawer, but the ACLU has a page on this:

Short FAQ:

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/what-do-when-encounter...

Dedicated article:

https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/can-border-agen...

Yeah, this worries me a lot. I have a quite tricky Type 1 diabetes, which I can manage well with an artificial pancreas software that's running in my phone. Now if they tamper my phone, or take it completely away when crossing the border, I am in quite a trouble. Especially after a big change in time zones, the health apps really do their job and help me settle in without medial risks in a few days.

This is such a risk right now, that me and my American partner decided to not travel to US at all until things change. Too bad we cannot see some of the family in there...

I'm wondering if anyone uses burner phones. I have an old phone, and a second phone number that I got from Tello for $5 a month, intending to use it for a business number, but then never did. It's currently completely detached from anything personal and I figure if I do need to go over the border I could just use that still for any communication and internet access, but personal details would be at a very bare minimum.

For what it’s worth, I recently travelled to the US from the Middle East (into Houston) and was also concerned about this.

My solution was to delete apps I didn’t want to be searched (e.g. WhatsApp) after having made a cloud backup, then enabling airplane mode.

CBP’s website [1] states:

> Prior to beginning a basic or advanced search, CBP Officers will ensure all data and network connections are disabled

And no, I wasn’t searched (thankfully!)

[1] https://www.cbp.gov/travel/cbp-search-authority/border-searc...

Leave gadgets at home. Buy burners here. Access data remotely.

Wipe and dump burners before flight home.

> My mindset has always been to never give my personal phone for an inspection

Get a burner phone! Upload your entire data to the cloud as well. Either you can store your phone in the check-in luggage or restore your data once you've arrived at your US location.

For any electronic device it is advisable to take a complete backup of the unit, store an encrypted version somewhere online, and then restore the device to factory reset. Do not log in to any account that you wouldn't feel perfectly fine giving up in an inspection.

They can already hijack any phone number, so the only vulnerability you are giving up by crossing the border is the files, call log/sms, and accounts you bring with you.

As early as the last Trump presidency I was seeing people with good opsec doing the following.

1. Backup your device to the cloud (a different cloud than the default if possible)

2. Erase your device

3. Provide your empty / near empty device for inspection.

4. Load the backup after the airport checks.

It might be wise to update this with some basic changes, like creating fake accounts that are auto signed in on your device. Blank twitter account, blank gmail account etc.

Given the very real risks involved, can't your employer waive the travel requirement for the next few years?

> I have been reading a lot of articles about detentions at US airports and phone checks.

I travel internationally all the time. I work with companies in China, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Europe and Latin America. Meaning, I know lots of people who travel internationally with great frequency. I have never heard from anyone having any such problems. Ever. Not during this administration nor others. Stop listening to idiots pushing false narratives. It's fear mongering. Not real.

Oddly enough, I have been asked more questions when travelling to Canada (Montreal) over the years than almost anywhere else. Nothing serious, thigs like "Why are you travelling to Canada?", "Where are you staying?", "How long?", "Where do you work?", "What's your website and business email?", "Who are you meeting with?", "What is their contact information?", etc. And, BTW, all of this at the standard entry passport check booth, not a side room.

Of course, it feels intrusive when it happens. I look at it as security theater. Just chill and go through the process. Being stupid about this can ruin your trip in any country. Unless you are a diplomat, you are not important enough to bother with. Picking a fight with entry officials in any country will result in bad things happening to you. Don't be that person.

To the point about security theater: Last year we travelled to Mexico on vacation. When we got to the hotel we bought a few supplies. A couple of the items were sealed the type of plastic packaging that you cannot possibly open with your bare hands or teeth. I said "I'll go to the front desk and see if they can let me use a pair of scissors". Without missing a beat, my daughter pulls out a pair of standard size Fiskars scissors from her luggage. Jaw drop moment. She went through security, full scan, and a pair of scissors made it onto the plane. So, yeah, security theater at its best. BTW, the scissors did not make it through security at the airport in Mexico when returning.

BTW, I have also hired Canadian engineers and we've never had problems. You just have to go through the process, hire and attorney and do it right. Which, BTW, is true anywhere in the world.

> it has been happening a lot more frequently.

Is that factual? Or has the media simply been covering it more due to their bias?

International Travelers Processed with Electronic Device Search

Fiscal Year Quarter Total Border Searches Conducted FY 24, Q1 10,937 FY24, Q2 11,273 FY24, Q3 12,090 FY24, Q4 12,658 FY25, Q1 12,092 FY25, Q2 12,260

(The U.S. 2024 fiscal year began on September 28, 2023)

To understand the scale, in FY25 Q2, there were 88 million entries.

So the assertion that 1) electronic searches are statistically meaningful and 2) they are increasing by any significance is just media-fed fear.

One ought to consider the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2000 — the police do not even need reasonable suspicion of a crime to stop and search a person, their vehicle, or electronic devices. https://www.hrw.org/report/2010/07/04/without-suspicion/stop...

You can also be arrested in the UK for the crime of insulting someone. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18102815.amp

If you want to try to take control back over this process (and your life), you probably need to file a mandamus action. This is essentially a demand that a government official execute his or her official duties. I don't handle mandamus actions but I'd be happy to refer you to some very good attorneys who do.

Not a lawyer here.

My advice would be to relax, enjoy Armenia, and assume you are not entering the U.S. in the next couple of years, for any reason. Administrative processing (I assume you actually mean 221(g) refusal) can easily take 1-2 years. The most extreme case I've heard of took 4 years.

In 2016-2020 writing to a congressmen could actually help: https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2020/11/09/a-us-visa-in-937-days... , but not anymore. Last year I've heard about some success stories with U.S. courts. Still, it took for one O-1 person about two years from the initial visa interview.

I've also never heard of anyone getting any timeline estimations.

A related small thread with Peter's response: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44006801

It’s doubtful you’ll get any answers. Lawyers are of little help due to “consular nonreviewability” and your case clearly has hit some sort of national security flag. Since this was pre Trump II, it likely was a real human review not their new approach of automated revocations for poorly designed queries (a student was recently revoked due to fishing license citations).

As I understand, AP generally means Washington and not the consulate is actually the block/decision maker now, but they wouldn’t even officially tell you that. It could be with State or they could be waiting an opinion from someone. Picture some CIA agent who got stuck with a boring desk job and has a stack of thousands of visas to research.

You still can apply for a Certificate of Citizenship but there's a cost associated with it and I really don't think it's necessary or even advisable because you are now giving the government a chance to reassess its previous approval. A U.S. passport is always considered sufficient evidence of U.S. citizenship.

What do you mean by a US born father not eligible to pass on his citizenship?

Obvious question: does your passport expire before 2029 or not?

i.e. will you need to renew it under the current, or next, admin?

Almost certainly, even if you did overstay, it's not an issue but for peace of mind, you should speak with an attorney because it sounds like you didn't overstay in a way that would have impacted your H-1B, green card, or citizenship applications. (F-1 students are admitted until D/S - duration of status - so they almost never considered overstays.)

Let's put it this way: if you have a problem, you have the same problem as the First Lady and Elon Musk, both of whom violated/overstayed their initial U.S. visas but are now citizens.

Hi, I just spent 2 months interviewing and hiring candidates for 4 open (remote) eng positions at a US startup. Answering "Yes" to 1 when you don't have a green card or US citizenship would be a way to guarantee that I would rescind your offer and make a mental note to never trust you. I don't think you should do that.

We actually hired some Canadian talent -- we just used an EOR in Canada. The EOR cost us about $600 a month per head as their cut, but it was worth it to get the excellent developers we have through that deal.

The reason why some/many firms would filter out anyone saying NO to (1) is that getting a visa sponsored requires significant work of a specialized nature and our company certainly is not equipped to do that because we don't have people who have the time and skills to deal with the insane demands of our government to obtain the necessary document (This is not a new or partisan issue btw, I remember losing a great developer in the Obama years due to the feds giving her the run-around).

Legally, the correct answers are No and Yes.

TN visa is not guaranteed anymore. I had to refile twice before getting approved, and I switched to an L1B to do so.

The task is to find another type of work visa, which would require departure at some point but this could be to countries other than Ukraine. For most Ukrainians, the visa options are going to limited to the regular H-1B, the cap-exempt H-1B, and the O-1.

There's no question that it's tougher now to get into the U.S., whether from Canada or another country via pre-clearance or via a land crossing, and there can be significant differences among airports and land crossings. Canadians are unique because they are visa exempt and CBP feels particularly emboldened to reassess their admissibility every time they enter. The keys are to avoid bad pre-clearance offices and land crossings and even more importantly to carry the right paperwork, which varies depending on the specific status being sought. There is also a huge difference between seeking entry as a visitor versus seeking entry as a worker with a visa, with the former much more challenging now.

Im a Canadian and go to the US for work fairly regularly. Something I didn’t realize is that the laws are different in preclearance areas. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/P-19.32/FullText.ht...

For example, you are allowed to withdraw your application to enter the US and leave the preclearance area. Additionally you are bound by different laws for search and siezure.

At this point I am only going to the US through preclearance areas because you are still on Canadian soil and bound by Canadian laws. That doesn’t necessarily mean that USBP won’t break those laws, but the Canadian courts get to decide if laws were broken instead of the US courts.

One thing I have not found a straight answer on yet is if USBP can compel you to unlock your electronic devices in a preclearance area. My current strategy is if I am asked to do that in preclearance I will withdraw my application to enter because Im not letting anyone access to my phone.

Well yeah, it's because canadian "founders" have a ripe reputation of working in the U.S. while on visitor visas...

"Founders" seems like an arbitrary term devised

I have lots of examples:

* By law, the US can only issue 140,000 employment-based green cards per year, and no more than 7% to one country. This means people from India or China can face a 100+ year backlog, even after they have proved they qualify for a green card. There's no cap on marriage-based green cards.

* Processing times for many green cards (i.e. for people who have already qualified, but just need the physical green card), are 12-24 months.

* USCIS still expects many applications to be sent by mail. Some applications (like O-1s, EB-1s) require hundreds of pages of evidence, and it all needs to be printed out on 8.5x11" paper, for USCIS to scan it in on B+W scanners. This means that there is no error checking (e.g. on fee amounts), and if you have made a mistake, you might not know about it for weeks. Also, it means your petition cannot include working hyperlinks, webpages, or videos - the USCIS officer judges the petition by scrolling through a 400+ page PDF.

* The 'standard' post-graduate work visa is the H-1B. It's entirely lottery-based, not merit-based, and typically there are 400,000+ people competing for 85,000 visas. Many qualified people are forced to leave the US each year because they didn't get selected in the lottery.

The standard for employment-based permanent residency (green card) is extraordinarily high. As in, would likely place you in the top 1-5% of the most successful people in the country. That, or you have to invest $800k and create 10 jobs.

No other country in the world requires foreigners to be significantly more qualified than its own population. You can move to France with a regular paying job no problem or just a few thousand euros in savings. Impossible in the US. You have to be extraordinary (they literally call their criteria, "extraordinary abilities") or you have to make top 5% money (so if you work in tech, that would be at least $500k-1M/year in many cases).

The only other way is to get married. This means there is a massive discrepancy between the qualifications of self made immigrants, versus those simply lucky enough to fall in love. It's pretty unfair, but that's how it works. But that's also the reason so many immigrants are so successful in the US, the bar is so high, that it creates a massive motivation to succeed to become eligible for the criteria.

For me, I have about 15 30-minute calls each day with existing and potential clients during which we discuss their chances of getting temporary work visas or green cards and issues around international travel. The rest of the time, I'm reviewing applications and responding to emails from staff and clients. It sounds pretty mundane but despite the stresses of the job and the challenges associated with the new administration, I still really enjoy what I do because I have a wonderful team and I get to interact with really smart people doing super interesting things and help them realize their dream of living and working in the U.S.

The short answer is Yes, this individual can still get a U.S. visa. But I'd still recommend that this person speak with an attorney before applying for a visa or traveling to the U.S.

That depends on a number of factors, such as your activities/purpose when you are in the U.S. (whether these activities constitute "employment" and if so whether they are in line with your H-1B position and job duties), your compensation when you are in the U.S. (are you getting paid and if so, how much and by whom), etc. The question here really is whether H-1B work authorization is required or whether ESTA business travel is fine.

There's a procedure for fixing such a data error and you should be fine since you are a naturalized U.S. citizen: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-pa...

At least one person has been subject to secondary screening and ultimately denied entry on the accusation that they had two phones.

> I thought I was just going to be given my passport and sent on my way, or maybe asked a couple of questions, but they made some pretty outlandish accusations. They said, ‘We know you have two mobile phones. We’ve been tracking your calls. We know you’ve been selling drugs’.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/11/australian-w...

Broadly, an E-3 visa holder can pursue a green card and we sponsor a lot but there are potential issues, most notably, when seeking to renew an E-3 visa while in the green card process. Alternatives to the PERM (labor market test) based green process are the national interest waiver and extraordinary ability paths, which are not tied to a specific job/employer but require a high level of achievement.

Unfortunately, the correct answer is No because until you have the TN, you are not legally entitled to work in the U.S. Of course, this means that you will be excluded automatically for consideration of certain jobs.

Not a lawyer but have been working in the US on a TN status for multiple employers and I would answer yes and discuss further with the recruiter or hiring manager.

TN status is conceivably something you could get without help from the employer (though even the smallest startup hired one to help me set up a package). What you need is basically proof that a company wants to hire you (offer letter), evidence that the company exists, and proof that you fall in one of the TN occupations.

Also not a lawyer, but wanted to second what jsbg said.

I've been through this process many times, and I would always say yes and then mention with the recruiter (even if I had to explain that the process was basically "asking politely for permission at the border").

The underlying question that employers really care about is "will you be legally allowed to accept a job offer without unexpected expenses or delays". Even if you file through USCIS (and not petition at the point of entry), you can (should) have an answer in 14 days and ~2k in fees, which is 1) a drop in the bucket for any hiring budget, and 2) not impactful to a hiring timeline.

Unless there was a finding of fraud or misrepresentation, the previous denial shouldn't impact your F-1 visa application; the requirements/standards are different. That being said, because so much is at stake for you, I would recommend that you get an attorney involved. It should just involve one or two consultations so the cost shouldn't be much.

The issue is whether a misrepresentation was material and whether it was done with the intent to mislead. I don't know the data because we're still early in this administration but a concern has been that the administration will increase efforts to reopen and revoke naturalization, which happened during his last administration.

If a male obtains a passport which states that his sex is female, or vice versa, then that is erroneous, isn't it?

Unfortunately, if you get laid off while in L-1B status before you are able to file an I-485 application, which is the last step in the green card process, you would need get no benefit from the PERM/green card process and would need to take an action within 60 days of the end of your employment to be able to remain in the U.S., by filing some type of application with USCIS. PERM processing is still really slow, over a year, but I'm seeing some indications that this might improve.

See the ACLU guidance referenced in a previous comment. There's no right to counsel during routine admission. The right only arises when arrested or being investigated for a crime.

From my limited perspective, No although I have clients who have decided not to open operations in the U.S. and/or transfer employees to the U.S. because of the political situation.

Because you have cofounders, an H-1B might work. The other option is the O-1. You should schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney to determine the best path.

Yes, you and your current employer need to file an I-485J if proceeding based on the approved EB3 petition but whether you will have an issue because of the change in positions will need to be analyzed (although you probably are fine). Does your employer have an immigration attorney because this is something that he or she should analyze?

If USCIS is paying attention, it will treat her departure as abandonment of her H-4 extension application. So it's important that she check her I-94 admission record to see when her current H-4 status expires and make sure that she departs before it expires or that she files a new I-539 before it expires.

I'm probably the last person to provide advice about technology but AI is helping immigration attorneys significantly, primarily in the drafting of arguments. That being said, there's still a critical role to be played by immigration attorneys to determine the best strategy, to provide advice on travel and other issues, and ultimately to review and edit anything that is "drafted" by AI.

Without knowing all the facts, the delay probably is simply the result in the backlog in that green card category. Is your spouse eligible to become a U.S. citizen because this could speed up the process for you. Again without knowing all the facts, regarding travel, you are fine to travel; just carry your passport, advance parole, and marriage certificate (in your back pocket).

Not yet. The main changes that we're seeing are with CBP at the ports of entry. CBP is being much more aggressive in questioning those seeking admission, including searching electronic devices and even detaining applicants. But nearly all our filings are still getting approved.

There's a lot more flexibility in the TN context than in the H-1B context so generally it's not an issue to get an inline promotion as long as the core job duties remain the same as or similar to the job duties in the initial application.

IANAL but I had TN status. AFAIK there is no issue as long as your profession didn't change.

Probably the O-1 for you as well but also look at the E-2 investor visa.

Being a founder is often a path to an O-1 visa so if your partner opens her startup and it does "well," then the O-1 might be an option for her if you lose your job. There's also an E-2 investor visa, which is another potential option for founders.

Regarding a tax accountant, email me and I can refer you a few good ones. Regarding the TN, the employer could file a petition with USCIS and then you could present the approval notice to the moving company but this process takes longer and is a lot more expenses (and also riskier from an outcome standpoint, depending on the position and your education) than the other path, applying at a port of entry. There's no longer advance approval at ports of entry so going this route means that you will need to get the TN and commence employment, even if just for a very limited period of time, before relocating to the U.S. with your stuff and then returning to Canada to actually move your stuff.

Doesn't matter since the EB1A requires a separate assessment that is not tied to the underlying status. But between the two, because of the inability to travel on an O-1 visa while in the last stage of the green card process, the H-1B is slightly better.

Big tech is risk averse and avoids pursuing O-1s unless there's no other option and the candidate/employee is highly valued. But I haven't seen any change yet in the adjudication of O-1 petitions. Nearly all our O-1 petitions still get approved and when we receive a Request for Additional Evidence (or RFE), the issues raised are the same issues that were raised before January 2025.

O1 is an inferior visa, so they are right that you should be trying for H1B before going for an O1. I'm assuming that you are on OPT or some other visa category. There is likely no advantage to getting an O1 in your current situation.

For the H-1B, it's really just getting selected in the lottery, the actual substantive requirements aren't difficult; the J-1 is easy but with limited exceptions it's not supposed to be used for regular employment.

USCIS rarely issues I-140 EADs based on compelling circumstances unless there are government/national interests at stake or significant humanitarian issues.

Your comment is about coming for work or study, yet you linked to a story of someone who clearly abused/misused a tourist visa and got caught. It was an egregious enough offense that the Canadian immigration officials wouldn't even let her enter Canada under the same pretense, which is what eventually led to her arrest.

I'm not sure what advice you are looking for but at a minimum make sure that your degree is considered a STEM degree for STEM OPT purposes.

I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re going on about. Help me understand how this pertains to immigration.

I don't think this has really expanded the organizations that qualify legally for cap exempt status (we essentially argued this before) but rather signifies a greater openness/flexibility on the part of USCIS to approve organizations as cap exempt organizations. Query, however, whether this openness/flexibility will continue.

No issues whatsoever with respect to H-1B sponsorship but potential issues with respect to green card applications, particularly PERM-based applications because of the ability pay requirement and because of issues related to ownership/equity held by the employee.

Yes, there could be a way to get an H-1B through your own company; the rules around this have relaxed recently.

For the most part, O-1 filings for the founders or employees of startups are no more difficult than the O-1 filings for employees of established/large companies; the main issue is "distinguished reputation" (a component of one of the O-1 criteria), which can be harder for startups to show.

An E-2 would require some investment ($100k+) but Dutch citizens or Dutch-owned VCs but if this investment exists, then an E-2 could be a very good option. The other option would be the O-1 and as a founder of company that has had a good round of seed funding, you might qualify.

How does a dutchman mingle around with local investors... and what series?

Yes, there is a good chance that the applicant would have an issue getting a non-dual intent visa, such as a B, F, or J visa.

Yes, there is a way to keep a green card while living outside the U.S. although at some point, if the green card holder truly has no intent of returning to the U.S., he or she will lose the green card. The protection is known as a reentry permit and the form used to apply for it is Form I-131. It's an easy application.

For European founders, the O-1, E-2, and E-1 are the most common options, each with its own requirements. What you propose while on an M-1 or F-1 visa really isn't appropriate.

Really not at risk at all.

> Are they at risk of losing their citizenship and being deported with the current administration's standing on immigration?

No, they are not. I know this kind of thing is being circulated in social and traditional media. It is pure fear mongering and completely disconnected from reality. Stop listening to idiots trying to create FUD.

It's impossible for me to say without reviewing the filing and the decision but the final merits analysis is incredibly subjective and discretionary so generally speaking, appealing on this issue is not a good idea. Again, generally speaking, understanding and fixing the deficiencies in the initial filing/evidence and refiling is the better approach.

A work visa/status won't help. He has to deal with the overstay issue first, which he should be able to fix since presumably his overstay happened because he was unable to travel/depart before his status expired.

Yes, what you propose is very doable.

Not much more, unfortunately. You could file a mandamus action which might help but also might just be a waste of $5k to $10k. Another option is for her to get some type of work visa and then for you to sponsor her when she's here on that work visa.

That's correct, it could take at least 10 years through sibling sponsorship. The E-2 visa isn't available to everyone, it depends on the individual's country of citizenship, but if it was available to him, then an investment of $100k could be enough. But definitely consult with an immigration attorney because there are a number of requirements for the E-2 visa.

That is still an acceptable basis for admission as a business visitor but you need to be prepared to provide detail about your meetings and provide documentation regarding your intended activities, ability to support yourself while here, and ties to your home country.

If there is a travel ban, then the specifics of the ban will matter (countries impacted, whether LPRs and citizens are exempt, etc.) but absent a travel ban, I still think it's fine to travel. Just be prepared to have your devices searched and your political views questioned.

What travel ban are you referring to?

Related answer: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44006725

She has not filed a green card application so she probably won't have an issue renewing her TN but if CBP or USCIS connects her to you, questions might be raised about her intent which could undermine her ability to renew her TN. So, yes, an H-4 EAD would be safer (unless the current administration kills this benefit).

No real insights other than that the slow-down that was feared hasn't materialized.

Most consulates are willing to schedule expedited appointments for YC founders but still if you are an applicant for an accelerator and don't have a B-1 visa and are not from a visa waiver/ESTA country, then at a minimum, you should book a visa application appointment now.

There are backlogs in this category so the process is slow but once the sponsoring green card spouse becomes a U.S. citizen, the process is fast.

Yes, I think that Nexus is great.

1) you don’t need any immigration permission to found a company, you can do that remotely via a lawyer or in person on a visa waiver.

2) if you aren’t working in the US, you don’t need to do any US tax paperwork to hire yourself. You need to register your foreign company under Spanish law and follow their procedures.

It's possible to renew an F-1 visa while on STEM OPT but there's some risk because a consular officer could conclude that you do not have the intent to return home to Serbia after the end of your STEM OPT. That being said, F-1 students renew their visas while on STEM OPT all the time; it's just not risk-free so you would want to be well prepared for your interview.

The concern is that USCIS is cancelling students F-1 status without the student being made aware of this because of some issue (prior arrests or convictions, political statements, etc.) but before you travel internationally, as an F-1 student, you will need to get a new I-20 endorsed for travel and when the school goes through the process of issuing a new I-20, it should see whether there is an issue and if there is no issue, you should be fine to travel.

No, they still should travel. But they should consult with their company's immigration lawyer regarding the documents they should carry when they travel.

I think the same. I think the major changes are with the NIW, which is now much more difficult to get.

I don't have a list, unfortunately (and further I wouldn't be able to disclose names because of client confidentiality requirements).

That's the E-2 (the E-1 is the treaty trader visa and not based in investment) and most consulates require an investment of at least $100k regardless of the actual cost to get the company up and running.

You must be a W-2 employee while in H-1B status.

We're starting to test the use AI to help us prepare initial drafts of documents.

Add thousands of immigration judges and CBP officers to improve the asylum process and improve the conditions of those going through the process, particularly children, do away with H-1B quotas, and do away with green card quotas and change to a point-based green card system.

Education is irrelevant. A PhD in and of itself doesn't help but it usually means that the individual has published, engaged in original research/work, etc. but someone can have published, engaged in original research/work, etc. without a PhD or any degree. So it's about what the individual has done, not his or her education. That being said, there's no question that USCIS's view of an O-1 petition is colored by the applicant's education and there's sort of a presumption that someone with a PhD qualifies for an O-1.

It's doable but you need a lot, and I mean a lot of documentation proving that you are indeed an alien with extraordinary ability. Any press mentions of you and your company, articles, proof that you're working with known companies in the US and more evidence like that will increase your chance.

In fact I worked with Peter on obtaining an O1 while not having a degree, I was a CTO of a startup, moving from the UK.

Perhaps a different way to look at this is: what are possible future consequences of forging birth documents?

My guess is that these consequences are likely to be extremely disruptive to you

Yes, you probably will be pulled into secondary again but you should be able to get this cleared up in connection with future travel by filing a "complaint" with DHSTRIP. But you should only submit a complaint if and when it happens again; you shouldn't submit one preemptively now.

It doesn't matter unless it matters, which it doesn't appear to; the issue in an I-94 history is when a timely departure isn't recorded, not an arrival. There's also no effective way to fix this error.

There is an argument that it is harder to renew an E-2 visa when there are no employees and limited revenues than to get a new E-2 visa when there are no employees and limited revenues because a new E-2 is forward looking/potential. But I'd have to dig in deeper to the facts to make a firmer assessment. Regarding majority control, that's not correct; it's enough if your ownership is just 50%.

I'm sure that there is abuse but from my limited perspective, I see employers using the H-1B program because they can't find qualified U.S. workers or because a foreign national is the best candidate. In essence, your question is whether the H-1B program protects the wages of U.S. workers and my feeling is that in practice, it neither protects nor undermines these wages.

It's really impossible to predict; whenever I've tried, I've been wrong. This is in part because the movement is based largely on demand, which changes all the time and is unpredictable.

The main thing you learn in law school is not the substantive law but how to analyze facts and issues and to understand the law and its application to specific facts.

The details matter (the type of green card application, the green card category, the position held then, the new position, etc.) so it's impossible for me to comment. You should schedule a consultation with an immigration attorney.

What was quoted below is really just codifying what existed in practice, that is, founders/owners of companies getting sponsored by their own companies. To answer your question, a job offer/employment is still a requirement and I haven't seen any major changes yet in the adjudication of O-1 petitions.

I'm pretty sure the job offer requirement is still in effect, and will remain in effect, since the O is an employment-based visa. What made you think it had changed?

This really depends on the reason for the 221(g) and the applicant's country of citizenship or birth. Unfortunately, for those from certain countries, such as Iran and Russia, it has not been uncommon for such applications to go into a black hole and take 1-2 years. For those not from such countries, the process is relatively quick, from a couple of week to a couple of months.

I am not sure if it helpful to you, but I did RC remotely and my experience was great

Why go to the USA then? The world is big. Go somewhere you don’t feel unsafe about.

Expedites are available for all USCIS filings and while it's worth it to request it here, your reason isn't like to meet the expedite requirements, which are listed on the USCIS website.

There are medical, religious, and other types of waivers.

These are trying times and I think the proof will be in the pudding, whether courts at the appellate level, including the Supreme Court, push back against totalitarianism and uphold the law. That's an open question. And then of course, the executive branch has to abide by the decisions of the courts, which also is an open question.

We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44006758.

Can you explain what fraud was used to obtain the warrant?

Which entry point was that at, and did you enter by air or land?

In particular if it was entering the southern border by land, I heard CBP behavior is much more aggressive.

Bill for what exactly

> and then sent me the bill

wow, what a horrible way to add insult to injury

Yes. I still think that those with student or work visas or green cards should travel internationally. It's just a question of being smart and carrying the right documents. The right documents will vary depending on the status so I can't give a list but I'd recommend having a brief consultation with an attorney. Many like myself won't charge for a 15-minute consultation, which is all that this should take.

What nationality and what is your current status?

Thanks for the referral!

I'm not sure I understand what you are asking. Do you mean the average per startup or the total number? All I can say is that startups usually can sponsor H-1Bs without issue.