Answer colleague calls while on a visit to the USA?

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

No idea what initials you mean

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-214/section-214.1

WT = Visa Waiver, Tourist

WB = Visa Waiver, Business

4 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

It is clearly not “working” in the US.

Yup, you are correct: https://fam.state.gov/fam/09fam/09fam040202.html "It can be difficult to distinguish between appropriate B-1 business activities, and activities that constitute skilled or unskilled labor in the United States that are not appropriate on B status. The clearest legal definition comes from the decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals in Matter of Hira, affirmed by the Attorney General. Hira involved a tailor measuring customers in the United States for suits to be manufactured and shipped from outside the United States. The decision stated that this was an appropriate B-1 activity because the principal place of business and the actual place of accrual of profits, if any, was in the foreign country. Most of the following examples of proper B-1 relate to the Hira ruling, in that they relate to activities that are incidental to work that will principally be performed outside of the United States."

Edited October 10, 2021 by HRQX

[HRQX 4,145]

7 hours ago, Reema1 said:

She is coming from the UK to visit me for a couple of weeks.

When does she plan to travel to the US? Is she vaccinated for COVID-19? If so, with which vaccine?

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

2 hours ago, HRQX said:

WT = Visa Waiver, Tourist

WB = Visa Waiver, Business

Not necessarily either / or going by that list, as it also just lists B1 and B2 separately and we know for a fact you can be admitted on both. It’s totally moot what specific sub classification you’re admitted on when  it comes to answering a phone call or two anyway.  All OP’s friend has to do to confirm is to ask CBP on the way in anyway. 

[HRQX 4,145]

11 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

and we know for a fact you can be admitted on both.

Yup, just like this one for a VWP traveler:

Edited October 10, 2021 by HRQX

[millefleur 5,047]

4 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

There’s nothing gray about it btw. It is clearly not “working” in the US. 

Agree, this doesn't seem gray area at all to me. The "working" on a tourist visa usually means a.) doing work and getting paid in the US for said work here and b.) doing a job that takes away from an American's ability to do said job.

 

If she's just answering calls for her job in the UK as a backup person, I don't see that this scenario fits either of those concerns.

Edited October 10, 2021 by millefleur

[Reema1 1]

Thank you all for your responses. It seems like she should be fine then. Nevertheless, I asked her to call CBP to just have a peace of mind

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

8 hours ago, Reema1 said:

Nevertheless, I asked her to call CBP to just have a peace of mind

They don't always provide accurate information .  

[Joe Kano 327]

38 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

They don't always provide accurate information .  

Exactly

[Joe Kano 327]

11 hours ago, millefleur said:

Agree, this doesn't seem gray area at all to me. The "working" on a tourist visa usually means a.) doing work and getting paid in the US for said work here and b.) doing a job that takes away from an American's ability to do said job.

 

If she's just answering calls for her job in the UK as a backup person, I don't see that this scenario fits either of those concerns.

And this could be applied to anyone coming to the USA on a K1 and being employed by a non US company and getting paid in their home country.

[millefleur 5,047]

1 hour ago, Joe Kano said:

And this could be applied to anyone coming to the USA on a K1 and being employed by a non US company and getting paid in their home country.

No, it's actually a totally different story with a K-1 and then filing to adjust status. Waiting for adjustment of status to permanent residency and working during that period is not the same as a temporary non-immigrant visitor on a tourist/business visa answering a periodic call or email.

 

Anyway, it's off topic. If you want to discuss working on a K-1, there are other threads for that.

Edited October 10, 2021 by millefleur

[Reema1 1]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

They don't always provide accurate information .  

lol seriously? 

[Crazy Cat 42,033]

2 minutes ago, Reema1 said:

lol seriously? 

Absolutely.  We see quite a bit of misinformation from USCIS phone staff, CBP phone staff, and.......attorneys (most often). We have some really knowledgeable members here, several of whom, have commented in this thread. 

[Reema1 1]

1 minute ago, Crazy Cat said:

Absolutely.  We see quite a bit of misinformation from USCIS phone staff, CBP phone staff, and.......attorneys (most often). We have some really knowledgeable members here, several of whom, have commented in this thread. 

That is kinda scary tbh. 

[millefleur 5,047]

6 minutes ago, Reema1 said:

That is kinda scary tbh. 

To be fair, it's not really CBP's job to interpret the law. They just enforce what their told from higher ups and maintain the border. Same with USCIS phone staff, they're just there to do a low level job, not get into the minutiae of immigration law. Usually in these kinds of cases, talking to an immigration lawyer makes more sense but we've seen immigration lawyers make a lot of mistakes, too, like @Crazy Cat said.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

3 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

They don't always provide accurate information .  

She can just mention on the way in if/when the CBP officer asks purpose of travel. That will give her peace of mind, it’s so totally overthinking this to actually call ahead of time imo. So totally overthinking that I’m beginning to wonder if there isn’t something else at play here.