E2 getting money not from your sponsored company

[Ian H. 207]

The OP is responsible for knowing what he can and can't do to maintain his visa. I simply made him aware that I don't know how this visa works precisely so that he wouldn't take my opinion as fact.

You seem to be confused as to what constitutes income from employment vs. income for which one doesn't have to work. Using that logic would mean that he would risk losing his visa for something as simple as opening a savings account which you receive interest unearned income from.

USCIS and the IRS are two huge and seperate government institutions and you cannot use one definition to define the other. It's up to the USCIS to decide what they consider employment, but simply receiving money from a company doesn't make you an employee or independent contractor.

Like I said before there is a difference between running the blog for the company and running your own personal blog and placing ads on it. I could advertise on my car, that doesn't make me an employee or an independent contractor for that company.

The definition is defined based on what the actual relationship is between the person and the company.

OP: If you are unsure about the income you may receive, consult a lawyer regarding this.

And you are going to get this guy in trouble because of that.

[gelernu 0]

The OP is responsible for knowing what he can and can't do to maintain his visa. I simply made him aware that I don't know how this visa works precisely so that he wouldn't take my opinion as fact.

You seem to be confused as to what constitutes income from employment vs. income for which one doesn't have to work. Using that logic would mean that he would risk losing his visa for something as simple as opening a savings account which you receive interest unearned income from.

USCIS and the IRS are two huge and seperate government institutions and you cannot use one definition to define the other. It's up to the USCIS to decide what they consider employment, but simply receiving money from a company doesn't make you an employee or independent contractor.

Like I said before there is a difference between running the blog for the company and running your own personal blog and placing ads on it. I could advertise on my car, that doesn't make me an employee or an independent contractor for that company.

The definition is defined based on what the actual relationship is between the person and the company.

OP: If you are unsure about the income you may receive, consult a lawyer regarding this.

thank you this helps a lot

[Dakine10 5,452]

The OP is responsible for knowing what he can and can't do to maintain his visa. I simply made him aware that I don't know how this visa works precisely so that he wouldn't take my opinion as fact.

You seem to be confused as to what constitutes income from employment vs. income for which one doesn't have to work. Using that logic would mean that he would risk losing his visa for something as simple as opening a savings account which you receive interest unearned income from.

USCIS and the IRS are two huge and seperate government institutions and you cannot use one definition to define the other. It's up to the USCIS to decide what they consider employment, but simply receiving money from a company doesn't make you an employee or independent contractor.

Like I said before there is a difference between running the blog for the company and running your own personal blog and placing ads on it. I could advertise on my car, that doesn't make me an employee or an independent contractor for that company.

The definition is defined based on what the actual relationship is between the person and the company.

OP: If you are unsure about the income you may receive, consult a lawyer regarding this.

You can earn passive income. What the OP intends to do does not fall under that category. I am not confused about it.

[Dakine10 5,452]

In doubt I will not get those money.

Anyway the E2 visa is a very limited Visa

I agree you should consult an attorney if you insist on going ahead with this. You will get the same answer you got here for free, but it's a small price to pay for preventing a huge mistake.

[gelernu 0]

So in case someone gets money from running a personal blog what is the risk?

[Boiler 45,501]

The OP is responsible for knowing what he can and can't do to maintain his visa. I simply made him aware that I don't know how this visa works precisely so that he wouldn't take my opinion as fact.

You seem to be confused as to what constitutes income from employment vs. income for which one doesn't have to work. Using that logic would mean that he would risk losing his visa for something as simple as opening a savings account which you receive interest unearned income from.

USCIS and the IRS are two huge and seperate government institutions and you cannot use one definition to define the other. It's up to the USCIS to decide what they consider employment, but simply receiving money from a company doesn't make you an employee or independent contractor.

Like I said before there is a difference between running the blog for the company and running your own personal blog and placing ads on it. I could advertise on my car, that doesn't make me an employee or an independent contractor for that company.

The definition is defined based on what the actual relationship is between the person and the company.

OP: If you are unsure about the income you may receive, consult a lawyer regarding this.

Income would be taxable in the US.

If he maintains the site when he is not in the US then not an issue, but that does not seem to be what he wants to do or is doing.

Edited October 8, 2014 by Boiler

[gelernu 0]

Income would be taxable in the US.

If he maintains the site when he is not in the US then not an issue, but that does not seem to be what he wants to do or is doing.

the site can be anywhere....I just want to know if I can get this 8-9 k a year or not? And in case I get his money and I find out it's not legal, what could happen?

[Boiler 45,501]

Where the site is does not matter, if you do no work on it when you are in the US then all is good.

You are only authorised to work for your Employer when you are in the US. You can receive income from non US sources, but that is a tax issue.

[gelernu 0]

Where the site is does not matter, if you do no work on it when you are in the US then all is good.

You are only authorised to work for your Employer when you are in the US. You can receive income from non US sources, but that is a tax issue.

if I receive income from US sources then what could happen?

Sorry for repeating but i just want to know what I could risk here. Would it be "just" a tax issue or more?

[Boiler 45,501]

As long as you are not working to earn it when in the US then USCIS do not care. IRS only want their take.

[Dakine10 5,452]

Adsense payments from google are listed in box 7 of the 1099. The category is compensation for services performed by a non employee. It will cause problems for you.

Unauthorized employment would be a violation of your status. It can bar you from adjusting status in the future via employment sponsorhip and it can make it difficult for you to gain non-immigrant entry in the future.

[Ian H. 207]

I'm not sure how reliable the following website is, but I did a small google search and there seem to be a lot of differing opinions on whether this income is considered self employment and subject to SE tax or unearned passive income.

Some claim that it depends on whether this is your only source of income, or whether you run a business. Most people seem to agree that it is self employment and subject to the SE tax. Therefore, if it is considered employment for the IRS, it most likely is also for USCIS, but you would have to know the USCIS regulations to know for sure.

We can't just assume that it's the same just because. The reason I say so, here's an example: As I mentioned before the IRS and USCIS are two separate government entities with their own rules and definitions. For the IRS you can be considered unmarried for tax purposes when claiming head of household status even though you are considered married for immigration purposes.

I'm not getting into details about how that works, but I just wanted to point out that just because the IRS sees this as employment, doesn't mean that USCIS will.

So for OP: Your best bet is to find out with an immigration attorney who specializes in E2 visas. It's much better to do that and know for sure than to lose a good source of income on speculation alone. That is the problem with gray areas of the law that some people see it as black and white and others not so much, that's why they are gray.

http://www.maxi-pedia.com/adsense+income+google+tax

Edited October 8, 2014 by Ian H.

[Dakine10 5,452]

I'm not sure how reliable the following website is, but I did a small google search and there seem to be a lot of differing opinions on whether this income is considered self employment and subject to SE tax or unearned passive income.

Some claim that it depends on whether this is your only source of income, or whether you run a business. Most people seem to agree that it is self employment and subject to the SE tax. Therefore, if it is considered employment for the IRS, it most likely is also for USCIS, but you would have to know the USCIS regulations to know for sure.

We can't just assume that it's the same just because. The reason I say so, here's an example: As I mentioned before the IRS and USCIS are two separate government entities with their own rules and definitions. For the IRS you can be considered unmarried for tax purposes when claiming head of household status even though you are considered married for immigration purposes.

I'm not getting into details about how that works, but I just wanted to point out that just because the IRS sees this as employment, doesn't mean that USCIS will.

So for OP: Your best bet is to find out with an immigration attorney who specializes in E2 visas. It's much better to do that and know for sure than to lose a good source of income on speculation alone. That is the problem with gray areas of the law that some people see it as black and white and others not so much, that's why they are gray.

http://www.maxi-pedia.com/adsense+income+google+tax

There needn't be. It's reported on form 1099 - box 7 so it's subject to self employment tax. If it wasn't it would be in reported in box 3, per IRS regulations. One of the definitions USCIS uses for employment is renumeration for labor or services provided. Google makes it clear in their terms of service that they are paying you for services provided.

What's confusing people is that you don't always get a form 1099 for amounts earned less than $600. That doesn't mean it's not reportable SE income, just that they are not required to provide a 1099.

[iishlegend 1]

play safe by routing your income overseas. converting back to US would be PITA though.

[Dakine10 5,452]

play safe by routing your income overseas. converting back to US would be PITA though.