Self employment

[nanaaalex 49]

I've done some reasearch and found that there is a ''gray area'' when it comes to working for a foreign employer during the AOS process before you get the EAD.

However, I haven't found anything about self employement. Is that allowed or is it still considered illegal under immigration laws? What about starting an online business or a youtube channel?

[BenjaminKeating 114]

28 minutes ago, nanaaalex said:

I've done some reasearch and found that there is a ''gray area'' when it comes to working for a foreign employer during the AOS process before you get the EAD.

However, I haven't found anything about self employement. Is that allowed or is it still considered illegal under immigration laws? What about starting an online business or a youtube channel?

I wouldn't chance it. 

 

Can you really not wait 90-100 days for the EAD?

 

If you were working for a previous employer "remotely" from the US and still getting paid into a bank account from your origin country you're technically still working in the US - and if you were to then transfer that money from your origin bank to your US bank account then you could get hit with tax evasion as obviously earned money on US soil and then avoided paying tax.

[Coco8 1,042]

You can make videos and put them on youtube without advertisement or any payment. It is going to take a while to get enough viewership to get paid at all anyway.

 

[A'n'L 735]

Remote work for a foreign employer would be ok. Self-employment is not (you would be seen as both a US employer and employee).

[geowrian 22,338]

Self employment is not permitted without an EAD. Self-employment means you are acting both as the employer and an employee. The same goes for starting a business...you would still be an employee of that business.

 

Having a YouTube channel would be fine, but like noted above, you will need a subscriber base first and that takes time.

[nightingalejules 678]

Looking at your signature and timeline, I can see that you've waited an inordinately long time for your visa. That must be SOOOOO frustrating. Our CR1 process took us almost a year (and everything was totally in order - no RFEs or missing documents) and it felt like my life was on hold the whole time. 

That said, it's not worth the risk (or your time) to spend this much energy looking for loopholes. You knew going into the fiance(e) visa process that you wouldn't have work authorization when you arrived in the US. No matter how long it has taken, you undertook to follow the rules and that's what you'll have to do.

As somebody who makes a lot of promo material (videos, blog posts etc) I know they are time consuming to produce, and you always feel on the hook to produce new material with more frequency than really seems possible.

If you're interested in producing videos, why not do all the work of making them - several of them - and don't post them right away -  get a few "in the bank," so to speak. Refine your brand. And when you get your EAD, you'll have a bunch of content that you can start releasing, and be a little bit ahead.

[nanaaalex 49]

11 hours ago, BenjaminKeating said:

I wouldn't chance it. 

 

Can you really not wait 90-100 days for the EAD?

I will if I have too. I'm just a huge workaholic lol

 

10 hours ago, Coco8 said:

You can make videos and put them on youtube without advertisement or any payment. It is going to take a while to get enough viewership to get paid at all anyway.

 

 

10 hours ago, geowrian said:

Having a YouTube channel would be fine, but like noted above, you will need a subscriber base first and that takes time.

I have 9k subscribers right now on my channel. Not paid a lot because I don't upload often but I'm paid in Canadian dollars. So I guess I would have to stop those payments?

[nanaaalex 49]

5 hours ago, nightingalejules said:

Looking at your signature and timeline, I can see that you've waited an inordinately long time for your visa. That must be SOOOOO frustrating. Our CR1 process took us almost a year (and everything was totally in order - no RFEs or missing documents) and it felt like my life was on hold the whole time. 

That said, it's not worth the risk (or your time) to spend this much energy looking for loopholes. You knew going into the fiance(e) visa process that you wouldn't have work authorization when you arrived in the US. No matter how long it has taken, you undertook to follow the rules and that's what you'll have to do.

As somebody who makes a lot of promo material (videos, blog posts etc) I know they are time consuming to produce, and you always feel on the hook to produce new material with more frequency than really seems possible.

If you're interested in producing videos, why not do all the work of making them - several of them - and don't post them right away -  get a few "in the bank," so to speak. Refine your brand. And when you get your EAD, you'll have a bunch of content that you can start releasing, and be a little bit ahead.

Thank you so much for understanding, yes it definitely has been a journey!

 

Yes that was the plan! Thank you for the suggestion about waiting until I have an EAD to post them!

[nanaaalex 49]

Just to be sure, the 90-100 days to get the EAD is after you send the forms for AOS AFTER you get married, correct? It's not as soon as you enter under the k1 visa if I understand correctly.

[geowrian 22,338]

29 minutes ago, nanaaalex said:

Just to be sure, the 90-100 days to get the EAD is after you send the forms for AOS AFTER you get married, correct? It's not as soon as you enter under the k1 visa if I understand correctly.

Correct

[Coco8 1,042]

1 hour ago, nanaaalex said:

I have 9k subscribers right now on my channel. Not paid a lot because I don't upload often but I'm paid in Canadian dollars. So I guess I would have to stop those payments?

 

Maybe you can transfer the channel to your spouse. He/She can get the payments and put them as income. I am understanding you are already getting money without doing anything because of posts you had already made. 

 

There might be someway around this because it could be as if you had a business back home and you are getting income from that. I am not an accountant so maybe try looking into the IRS Q&A section. Online business are tricky because they don't have a physical place.

[geowrian 22,338]

3 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

Maybe you can transfer the channel to your spouse. He/She can get the payments and put them as income. I am understanding you are already getting money without doing anything because of posts you had already made. 

 

There might be someway around this because it could be as if you had a business back home and you are getting income from that. I am not an accountant so maybe try looking into the IRS Q&A section. Online business are tricky because they don't have a physical place.

You're allowed to earn income while in the US. That's not an issue. You're not allowed to engage in work, though.

[Coco8 1,042]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

You're allowed to earn income while in the US. That's not an issue. You're not allowed to engage in work, though.

Yes, that was what I was trying to get at. Thanks!

[nanaaalex 49]

20 hours ago, Coco8 said:

 

Maybe you can transfer the channel to your spouse. He/She can get the payments and put them as income. I am understanding you are already getting money without doing anything because of posts you had already made. 

 

There might be someway around this because it could be as if you had a business back home and you are getting income from that. I am not an accountant so maybe try looking into the IRS Q&A section. Online business are tricky because they don't have a physical place.

I will look into it, thank you!

Edited May 17, 2017 by nanaaalex