Working for Dutch company from home(in US) while waiting for working permit

[wouter42 0]

Hi there!

I have been searching the internet for an answer to this question, but I couldn't find one that is straightforward. I was hoping someone from here would have experience with it.

My situation: at the end of December I am moving from The Netherlands to the US on a K-1 visa. My current boss offered me to stay with the company and work for him abroad till I can find a job in the US.

Also, I intent to get married as soon as I get there.

Now I would like to know if it is allowed to work from home in the US while I am waiting for the working permit to start a job in America.

Because I've read that you are not allowed to have an income while waiting for the permit.

If you are allowed to work, do I have to file taxes for both countries or just for the Netherlands?

I hope you know the answers to my questions, and thank you very much for taking your time to read this!

Take care,

Wouter Steegers

[A'n'L 735]

Hi,

I have a similar issue and have been investigating it for a while. There have been some threads on the subject here already. It appears that this is a complete grey zone and even lawyers disagree, because there is actually no ruling regarding this type of situation.

The general concensus it that it will most likely not cause an issue, but that it is "not supposed to be allowed", so people tend to advice against it.

I'm sorry that this is not very helpful.

[Boiler 45,522]

Us residents are taxes on their world wide income, and for 2016 you will be US resident.

[TBoneTX 45,303]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Working & Traveling forum. ***

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Hi there!

I have been searching the internet for an answer to this question, but I couldn't find one that is straightforward. I was hoping someone from here would have experience with it.

My situation: at the end of December I am moving from The Netherlands to the US on a K-1 visa. My current boss offered me to stay with the company and work for him abroad till I can find a job in the US.

Also, I intent to get married as soon as I get there.

Now I would like to know if it is allowed to work from home in the US while I am waiting for the working permit to start a job in America.

Because I've read that you are not allowed to have an income while waiting for the permit.

If you are allowed to work, do I have to file taxes for both countries or just for the Netherlands?

I hope you know the answers to my questions, and thank you very much for taking your time to read this!

Take care,

Wouter Steegers

I would do a little more research, because to my knowledge the purpose of the I-765 is for you to be employed in the US by a US company, but for you, you would hold Dual-Citizenship, and would be employed by a Dutch company, as a Dutch Citizen, you just happen to reside in the US. Your situation is a little bit different from the circumstances that the I-765 was designed for.

And yes, you would need to file taxes for both countries. That is one of the downfalls to Dual-Citizenship, is dual taxation, unless the US has entered into an Income Tax Treaty with the other country, (for example: We have a treaty with New Zealand that works to prevent dual-taxation of people holding Dual-Citizenship.) I know we have a treaty with the Netherlands, but I don't know the specifics behind it. You can read about it here (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-trty/nether.pdf).

Edited November 2, 2015 by Chris.M

[JohnR! 5,495]

You are allowed to work, because for all intents and purposes, you're still keeping the job you have - you're employed in NL, being paid in the NL by a NL employer. You don't need a job permit for that. You're not employed in the US, nor reporting income in the US.

Having said that, once you become a US resident you will need to declare that income in your US taxes.

Check this link, that applies in your case (once you become a US resident):

http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov/taxes.html

Good luck!

Hi there!

I have been searching the internet for an answer to this question, but I couldn't find one that is straightforward. I was hoping someone from here would have experience with it.

My situation: at the end of December I am moving from The Netherlands to the US on a K-1 visa. My current boss offered me to stay with the company and work for him abroad till I can find a job in the US.

Also, I intent to get married as soon as I get there.

Now I would like to know if it is allowed to work from home in the US while I am waiting for the working permit to start a job in America.

Because I've read that you are not allowed to have an income while waiting for the permit.

If you are allowed to work, do I have to file taxes for both countries or just for the Netherlands?

I hope you know the answers to my questions, and thank you very much for taking your time to read this!

Take care,

Wouter Steegers

[wouter42 0]

Thank you all for your replies!

They helped me a lot!

Hopefully this will also clear up the question for people in future reference.

Thanks again.

Wouter

[Boiler 45,522]

I would do a little more research, because to my knowledge the purpose of the I-765 is for you to be employed in the US by a US company, but for you, you would hold Dual-Citizenship, and would be employed by a Dutch company, as a Dutch Citizen, you just happen to reside in the US. Your situation is a little bit different from the circumstances that the I-765 was designed for.

That is not correct, you need to work authorised to work in the US.

[acgmph 42]

I discussed this with lawyers because I am in the same boat. If you move to the US at the end of December you can only work without EAD for the Dutch company until the end of December. Starting with Jan 1st you will be a US tax resident and working without an EAD being in the US (for a foreign company or not) is illegal. You cannot even volunteer. You can only binge-watch all of Netflix for the 60-90 days it takes to get the EAD...

[A'n'L 735]

I discussed this with lawyers because I am in the same boat. If you move to the US at the end of December you can only work without EAD for the Dutch company until the end of December. Starting with Jan 1st you will be a US tax resident and working without an EAD being in the US (for a foreign company or not) is illegal. You cannot even volunteer. You can only binge-watch all of Netflix for the 60-90 days it takes to get the EAD...

Thank you for the interesting insight/input. So, according to your lawyer, if you move to the US at the end of a year (anytime after July 1st), can you work without EAD until Jan 1st next year (foreign employer and contract)?

[Boiler 45,522]

Wonder if it is in writing........

[SanneQ 2]

I had a similar question (see here) and I called USCIS yesterday to ask if I could work for my former Dutch employer from home (that is, the United States) while waiting for my EAD. I repeated very explicitly that I'd be employed by a Dutch company and taxed by the Netherlands to make sure the representative fully understood the situation.

The representative told me that I could not work without an EAD, even for a Dutch company, because I entered the country on a k1-status.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I strongly believe you were given incorrect information; in fact, I know you were given a non-answer. Did you get an explanation as to how you would be breaking the law by continuing to work for your employer in NL, while physically present in the US?

As a non-resident, you are not allowed to accept work in the US, but the USCIS doesn't have jurisdiction over your employment overseas. Working from home while you wait for your K-1, in this case, doesn't mean you are employed in the US; because you aren't. While physically in the US, you are performing work for your employer abroad. There isn't a contract in the US or any work-employee tie bound by US law.

Consider that we live in a world where many, if not most, can't afford to disconnect while on vacation. Presumably, a tourist entering the US on a tourist visa would also be breaking the law by working, and yet, everyone travels with laptops and smartphones. Going one step further, what if you had arrived here while on maternity leave? That would still fit the concept of working - because you would legally be employed.

I had a similar question (see here) and I called USCIS yesterday to ask if I could work for my former Dutch employer from home (that is, the United States) while waiting for my EAD. I repeated very explicitly that I'd be employed by a Dutch company and taxed by the Netherlands to make sure the representative fully understood the situation.

The representative told me that I could not work without an EAD, even for a Dutch company, because I entered the country on a k1-status.

[wouter42 0]

Are there any known court cases of people that worked for a foreign employer while waiting for a EAD and got caught?

If so, did any of them win the case?

[acgmph 42]

This is the argument that lawyers made pretty clear for me, and as I said in previous posts related to this topic: it is an intertwined legal issue with immigration on one side, and taxes on the other. To summarize I will say this: because you become a US tax resident as soon as you land (on IR1 or K1) you have to declare to the IRS all your income for the year (e.g. if you move to the US any part of the year, you have to file US tax return for that year). For part of the income for the year (the part that is realized outside of the USA) you will file 2555 or 2555EZ (Foreign Earned Income Exclusion - if you qualify under the bonafide resident test OR physical presence test), and for the part you realize while in the US you will be taxed by the US government (it doesn't matter who employed you, where you were paid, in what currency, and even if you worked from home.) Now, because you don't have an EAD, but you had income while you are US tax resident (irrespective of where the money came from, in which bank account, and even if you work from home), you would be in violation of the immigration act.

To answer OP's question: you can only do this until Dec 31 because moving from a tax treaty country (The Netherlands has a tax treaty with the US) in the last 90 days of the year, you are still a Dutch tax resident until Dec 31st and can satisfy both requirements for 2555 and 2555EZ (physical presence test OR bonafide resident test). Come Jan 1st, you will be a US tax resident.

As you probably know, US tax laws are very strict, meaning that even if you move out of the country, you still have to file tax returns and pay US taxes (LPR or USC). So it should come as no surprise that you cannot work from home for a foreign company while on US soil while maintaining your foreign employment contract and getting paid in a foreign bank account in a foreign currency - remember: the US has tax treaties with many countries, and those countries will report to the IRS all your income and bank account information, with or without your approval.

To the poster that said that coming on holiday and working means you need to pay taxes: incorrect, because you are a bonafide tax resident of another country when you're on holiday and working from here. Same with B1 visa. Tourist visas do not count for tax purposes - because you cannot legally work with one of those while in the US.

Now... getting caught is another thing - do what you will on your own risk. I have given you the legal perspective discussed with lawyers from Fragomen.

I am waiting for my EAD and binge watching Netflix. Not ideal, but not too bad...