Working in the U.S. when waiting for EAD?

[unknownuser 13]

1) So my question is simple. Can I work while I wait to get married and then wait for my EAD?

I know we need a work permit. A soldier told me that I may be able to do day labor, not sure what this means.

2) Also, would gardening be allowed? Or helping other people in return for money?

3) Am I allowed to work for a company located in my home country while I wait? Since I am in IT, I can do everything remotely.

4) Can I keep earning money from AdSense? I guess this would be a yes.

It is harsh that you have to save up a lot of money and then live off people for a few months.

[JDWright 30]

You are not legally allowed to work in the US prior to receiving the EAD/Green Card; to my knowledge this extends to all work that involves you signing a contract. However you can do small jobs like baby sit or any small thing like that and be paid. As far as I know you can work for your native country remotely just fine. Adsense is fine as well.

[MacUK 983]

You are not legally allowed to work in the US prior to receiving the EAD/Green Card; to my knowledge this extends to all work that involves you signing a contract. However you can do small jobs like baby sit or any small thing like that and be paid. As far as I know you can work for your native country remotely just fine. Adsense is fine as well.

Do you have proof of that?

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

No, you cannot work without EAD. Day Labor is working illegally, cash under the table. No paid work at all, not even gardening or babysiting.

[JFH 12,189]

The US considers "work" to be more than having a job. Even doing some cleaning for a neighbour to help them out is work. Even if you are not being paid but given something else in return (food, use of their pool, etc). I have found the US definition of "work" is broader than the European one. What we could consider "helping" would be considered "work" in the United States (such as babysitting or gardening).

Working remotely is also a grey area. As you are on US soil, and that is your place of residence, I believe it is considered "working in the US". I believe it's only possible if you are not resident there. For example a company in France sends employees to New York for a conference and the employees log on remotely from their hotel rooms to send reports and read emails or you are on holiday and you use your iPhone to answer some work emails or make some calls.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

You are not legally allowed to work in the US prior to receiving the EAD/Green Card; to my knowledge this extends to all work that involves you signing a contract. However you can do small jobs like baby sit or any small thing like that and be paid. As far as I know you can work for your native country remotely just fine. Adsense is fine as well.

No you can't technically, but Workjng remotely with your home country's bank account is a grey area

Edited February 25, 2016 by Transborderwife

[baron555 934]

1) So my question is simple. Can I work while I wait to get married and then wait for my EAD?

No

I know we need a work permit. A soldier told me that I may be able to do day labor, not sure what this means.

You can do volunteer work.....work for free with no pay.

2) Also, would gardening be allowed? Or helping other people in return for money?

Nope

3) Am I allowed to work for a company located in my home country while I wait? Since I am in IT, I can do everything remotely.

Nope

4) Can I keep earning money from AdSense? I guess this would be a yes.

Nope, no money income at all.

It is harsh that you have to save up a lot of money and then live off people for a few months.

It's the rules. Get married first instead, file for the CR-1 visa which gives you working priviledges upon arrival. There is always another option.

[epmarshall 0]

So if the OP pauses his online earnings and IT work for a few months until he gets EAD/Green Card and then resumes after that, then it's perfectly legal? I don't mean to sound like a broken record, just trying to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Would he have to show proof that he hadn't worked during that period?

Does the same hold true for visits to the US during the K1 waiting process? Would his income need to be paused during visits as well? JFH mentioned something about holiday being okay. And I'm not sure how they think they can regulate this for people who don't plan on immigrating to the US. Does that mean bloggers who make an income worldwide and travel the world all the time are violating laws right and left?

Edited February 25, 2016 by epmarshall

[Boiler 45,399]

Do you have proof of that?

I am also interested.

[JFH 12,189]

Does the same hold true for visits to the US during the K1 waiting process? Would his income need to be paused during visits as well? JFH mentioned something about holiday being okay. And I'm not sure how they think they can regulate this for people who don't plan on immigrating to the US. Does that mean bloggers who make an income worldwide and travel the world all the time are violating laws right and left?

How someone explained it to me was this. Imagine a teacher on a trip to Disney world with her family. In the evenings she sits in her hotel room and grades some tests she has brought with her from the school she teaches at in her home country. And makes notes for lesson planning for the next school session. And sends some emails or researches things online to use for the lessons in the next school session. Is she working? Yes. Does the work require US presence? No. Is she doing something that a US citizen could be doing? No. Is she resident in the US? No.

Now, a K-1 applicant doing someone's gardening is something else. That is something that a USC could do and also requires the worker to be in the USA at the time (the garden cannot be moved!). When I visit my husband I check my work emails, I send a few emails, maybe even make a call or two to the office. What I don't do, is log on remotely and spend a whole day doing things I would do here and fulfilling my contractual duties. I am on leave when I visit. Anything I do is in my own time and I do it just to make sure I don't have too many emails waiting for me when I get back (no different from stopping by the office on a day off or weekend to check on some paperwork).

[epmarshall 0]

Thanks for explaining, JFH. Your example makes sense.

But I still don't get how it applies to bloggers or someone with an online shop. They are working, their work doesn't require US presence. However, a person can start a blog from anywhere in the world , so a US citizen could technically do the job (unless the law accounts for the fact that a specific person created that blog that wouldn't otherwise be there, so in that sense they aren't taking work from anyone else they are just creating personal opportunity). I suppose those bloggers aren't US residents, but they could end up staying for months in the US just as a tourist, so that could potentially be seen as residing.

Also, think of a blog that uses affiliate links throughout its posts. Say this blog has been running 3 or 4 years. There's no telling how many links are embedded in old posts and there is usually no way to pause an affiliate link. It would have to be removed, which would take forever to do. It's pretty unreasonable to imagine that governments would expect this of someone. So someone in this position wouldn't even be able to legally visit their spouse during the K1 processing unless they just closed the blog down or went through the hassle of neutering the blog and removing all the links as I mentioned above?

I feel like governments are behind regarding what's possible with Internet income. Unless I am missing something and there's a trade agreement I'm not aware of somewhere.

[Holdingon 16]

1) So my question is simple. Can I work while I wait to get married and then wait for my EAD?

I know we need a work permit. A soldier told me that I may be able to do day labor, not sure what this means.

2) Also, would gardening be allowed? Or helping other people in return for money?

3) Am I allowed to work for a company located in my home country while I wait? Since I am in IT, I can do everything remotely.

4) Can I keep earning money from AdSense? I guess this would be a yes.

It is harsh that you have to save up a lot of money and then live off people for a few months.

1. Simple answer, NO you can not work.

2. No you can not work for money.

The laws and rules are easy to find and written everywhere. Good luck.

[TBoneTX 45,088]

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

[Lemonslice 4,804]

You can certainly have income... I owned real estate before moving to the USA, I kept collecting the rent money. If I had another type of business in Canada, there's nothing forcing me to stop my activities.

You are not allowed to accept employment in the USA, but income isn't necessarily employment.

Edited February 25, 2016 by Boston~Montreal

[Tom & Erin 0]

Working remotely is also a grey area. As you are on US soil, and that is your place of residence, I believe it is considered "working in the US". I believe it's only possible if you are not resident there. For example a company in France sends employees to New York for a conference and the employees log on remotely from their hotel rooms to send reports and read emails or you are on holiday and you use your iPhone to answer some work emails or make some calls.

Question about this. My fiance is currently doing some developing/programming with a friend of his in Belgium, with the hope that they'll be able to sell the project in the future. Obviously nothing may come of this, but once he moves to the US is he still allowed to work on it in the meantime if he's not getting paid for it?