Experiences? K1 working for foreign company while waiting AOS

[KristyD 4]

YOU ARE ALLOWED TO WORK ALLOWED TO WORK REMOTELY PROVIDING IT IS GOING INTO AN AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNT AND YOU ARE PAYING AUSTRALIAN TAXES.  I HAVE GOT TWO OPINIONS FROM TWO DIFFERENT LAWYERS. SO DON'T RUN SCARED, BECAUSE IT IS ALLOWED.

[geowrian 22,337]

4 hours ago, Loki_Go said:

My experience is not just my opinion. Whether or not you like it working remotely is possible and not illegal as defined by USCIS. I did it and more and more people have the opportunity to do it. Why discourage them? Why scare them by stating it's straight up visa fraud? I'll always tell people considering this that it's a risk, but so far no one has been able to give a first person account of anyone being denied from a K1 visa. Not one. Not even you.

 

It absolutely sucks that most people have to quit their jobs to do this. I understand that. This is all so hard, but if given such a wonderful opportunity, why continue giving incorrect info? Let people decide for themselves if it's worth the risk.

I was referring to your opinion towards the blog being outdated.

 

It's not about whether I like it or not. I have not even stated or implied whether I like it or not (I gladly offer advice daily here that is fully permitted but I don't think should be allowed). This question pops up quite often on this site, and there are various well thought out opinions given over the years. Your experience that you did not have any issues is good feedback, but it does not verify that it is permitted. The reason I discourage it is because I do not believe that, based on law, it is permitted. Therefore, anybody who does it is exposing themselves to a risk. This risk is primarily between the period of entry and marriage (since after marriage, any conceivable immigration motion against you could be resolved by filing AOS and having the work issue ignored).

 

It's not incorrect information. It is my interpretation of the law written, and it is backed by legal experts as well. Some attorneys will argue in support of it, and others will argue against it. I will leave will referral to the following threads for consideration. These provide a pro/con view of the issue. You will find varying opinions, including those who have consulted with lawyers and received directly opposing conclusions. I am providing references to let people decide for themselves if it is worth the risk.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/617635-working-for-uk-company-while-on-my-90-day-k-1/

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/571872-working-for-uk-company-while-waiting-for-ead/

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/573625-working-for-dutch-company-from-homein-us-while-waiting-for-working-permit/

 

 

[JFH 12,190]

5 hours ago, Loki_Go said:

Whether or not you like it working remotely is possible and not illegal as defined by USCIS. 

 

Please can you provide the USCIS source for this as it is a question that is asked here and on other forums repeatedly. No one seems to be able to provide info that it is possible. I also wondered about it during my VWP visits to my husband as I worked from home 100% of the time for my employer in the U.K. I only saw the company's offices once when I was hired and issued with a laptop and a supply of stationery. The company didn't care where we worked from - they just wanted the job done. People used to take their laptops to Spain and France and with from there in the sunshine. 

 

If working immediately upon arrival is of importance to anyone, OP included, then the spouse visa route is more suitable. No grey area whatsoever. 

[bob85 2]

18 hours ago, KristyD said:

I asked my immigration lawyer the same question as I am in the same boat and it doesn't matter so long as it's going into an Australian account and will be taxed by Australia.  I wouldnt transfer any money from Australia to the US though until your visa is approved.

Did your lawyer go over the tax situation in the US? I'm a bit confused about the Australian-US tax treaty. Do you need to file taxes in both countries and pay double taxes?

[bob85 2]

7 hours ago, Loki_Go said:

Hi, I did it. I never stopped working for my Canadian company when I moved to the US on a K1. I'm now on a conditional 2 year green card. It's entirely possible and yes, it's a grey area, but understand it is a risk. My employment never came up in my K1 interview but it certainly did in my AOS interview. The CO seemed to know I was working and Didn't ask me anything about it, but instead turned to my husband and asked. My husband and I decided long ago that if it ever came up we were going to be honest about it and so he was. The CO didn't seem to care and moved on to other questioning.

 

If you want more info about my experiences I welcome you to look through my previous posts. There's a lot of info I've given over the time, too much to try to repeat here.

 

In a nutshell: Taxes are complicated and expensive. I get paid in CAD into my Canadian bank. You may have to cash out some investments and/or particular savings accounts (like tax free ones) because non-residents cannot hold them.

 

There's a lot that goes into this, and don't expect your company to cover your butt. YOU need to look out for YOURSELF.

 

Thanks for the info Loki_Go! Yeah I did a search before posting and remember reading your post about it. The AOS interviewer not being concerned about it is very interesting.

Can I ask if you got an EAD and were 'working' with that before your AOS interview? Also did you continue the same work after your AOS was approved?

The other option I was thinking about which may be less of a grey area (not sure about this either tbh) is getting paid for a project rather than a wage within the time to get the EAD. i.e. paid in a lump sum after the EAD is granted.

geowrian - I think all the confusion and frustration stems from this not being clear in the written rules. Your link is really the opinions of some lawyers (which are of course more knowledgable to some extent) and Loki_Go's experience is the opinion of their particular CO. As such the only way to get an idea of how this works in reality is to hear the real life experiences and judgements made. I agree it's a crappy situation to be put in, and I am still deciding what I would like to do hence posting this thread.

[A'n'L 735]

It's a grey area in the sense that there is no law prohibiting it, but some people tend to think it's not OK. Those people misinterpret the regulations regarding US employment. The only thing that is illegal/against US law is for a US employer to hire an alien without a valid US work permit. Working remotely for a foreign company while on US soil is currently not under any regulations whatsoever.

[bob85 2]

3 minutes ago, A'n'L said:

It's a grey area in the sense that there is no law prohibiting it, but some people tend to think it's not OK. Those people misinterpret the regulations regarding US employment. The only thing that is illegal/against US law is for a US employer to hire an alien without a valid US work permit. Working remotely for a foreign company while on US soil is currently not under any regulations whatsoever.

This is my understanding of the current law as well.

[Loki_Go 126]

2 hours ago, JFH said:

Please can you provide the USCIS source for this as it is a question that is asked here and on other forums repeatedly. No one seems to be able to provide info that it is possible. I also wondered about it during my VWP visits to my husband as I worked from home 100% of the time for my employer in the U.K. I only saw the company's offices once when I was hired and issued with a laptop and a supply of stationery. The company didn't care where we worked from - they just wanted the job done. People used to take their laptops to Spain and France and with from there in the sunshine. 

 

If working immediately upon arrival is of importance to anyone, OP included, then the spouse visa route is more suitable. No grey area whatsoever. 

I already posted the link. Working from home for your country of origin isn't specifically mentioned and that's why it's still a grey area, but if you use the info given that they're using to define legal work you could make the argument that it's ok, or at the very least not illegal.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume7-PartB-Chapter6.html

 

I don't know what to say about your situation though. All I know is the research I did and the conversations I've had with a couple lawyers and my personal experiences going through the K1 process.

 

You need to have guts to do this without a doubt. It's scary and feels risky. You have to read a little between the lines. But as I keep saying, NO ONE can provide any first person accounts of anyone getting denied for working remotely. No one. However, there are a few people like me who can confirm it can be done.

 

[Loki_Go 126]

1 hour ago, bob85 said:

Did your lawyer go over the tax situation in the US? I'm a bit confused about the Australian-US tax treaty. Do you need to file taxes in both countries and pay double taxes?

No, no lawyer. I hired an accountant familiar with dual taxes, which isn't hard to find in a border city like Windsor Ontario which is where I'm from. And yes, I filed my taxes i both Canada and the US, it was expensive and a pain but worth it overall. It still is. When I did my Canadian taxes I filled out an extra form that makes me exempt from paying double taxes on my US return.

 

[Loki_Go 126]

1 hour ago, bob85 said:

Can I ask if you got an EAD and were 'working' with that before your AOS interview? Also did you continue the same work after your AOS was approved?

 

I'm not sure what you're asking, but I've been employed by the same company doing the same work for almost 6 years and every day since I've moved to the US. My EAD combo card came in the mail only 3 days before my green card did. I do not need any US work authorization to work for a company in Canada.

 

[Loki_Go 126]

1 hour ago, A'n'L said:

It's a grey area in the sense that there is no law prohibiting it, but some people tend to think it's not OK. Those people misinterpret the regulations regarding US employment. The only thing that is illegal/against US law is for a US employer to hire an alien without a valid US work permit. Working remotely for a foreign company while on US soil is currently not under any regulations whatsoever.

 

1 hour ago, bob85 said:

This is my understanding of the current law as well.

And this is exactly correct.

 

[JFH 12,190]

38 minutes ago, Loki_Go said:

I already posted the link. Working from home for your country of origin isn't specifically mentioned and that's why it's still a grey area, but if you use the info given that they're using to define legal work you could make the argument that it's ok, or at the very least not illegal.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume7-PartB-Chapter6.html

 

I don't know what to say about your situation though. All I know is the research I did and the conversations I've had with a couple lawyers and my personal experiences going through the K1 process.

 

You need to have guts to do this without a doubt. It's scary and feels risky. You have to read a little between the lines. But as I keep saying, NO ONE can provide any first person accounts of anyone getting denied for working remotely. No one. However, there are a few people like me who can confirm it can be done.

 

Thank you. So the only source we have to demonstrate that it is permitted is a page that doesn't state that it is not permitted.

 

My situation is if no importance now as I have immigrated already with a spouse visa and started working 2 weeks after I arrived. That was one of the main reasons we did the spouse visa route - I wanted to work right away with no grey area.

 

The income that the OP proposes to earn will need to be reported to the IRS as earned income overseas as it will amount to more than $3000 in a year, he will be in the USA for more than 90 days on the year and the income is sourced through employment. 

[Loki_Go 126]

I know your situation is over and done with, I was only trying to say I wouldn't advise either way for anyone else reading this in the same spot.

 

[Ana&Matt 213]

Hello!
I find this topic extremely useful! Thanks for sharing!

In my case, just to make it a little more complicated. I work for a US company, they offered me the option of work from home during my EAD.
It is a huge multinational, the Spanish headquarters are the ones paying me in my spanish bank account... 

 

But due the size and importance of the company, I wonder if this can be a problem.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!!

[tony3841 2]

To those who did work remotely while on K-1, what did you report as employment history when you filed for your AOS in your I-485? Did you say you were working?

Also how did you file your taxes? dual status?

Edited February 12, 2018 by tony3841