Working remotely in US for Canadian company on H4

[prabhjot2812]

Hi

I am a permanent resident of Canada, working for a Canadian company. I need to move to US for family reasons. Is it legal to enter to US on H4 visa and continue working for Canadian company without getting any work visa in US ?

 

[walter_white]

Hi

I am a permanent resident of Canada, working for a Canadian company. I need to move to US for family reasons. Is it legal to enter to US on H4 visa and continue working for Canadian company without getting any work visa in US ?

You cannot work while on US soil if you don't have US work authorization.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Nope.. you cannot do that on H4. However, if you have H4 EAD, then it should be fine to do this.

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi

I am a permanent resident of Canada, working for a Canadian company. I need to move to US for family reasons. Is it legal to enter to US on H4 visa and continue working for Canadian company without getting any work visa in US ?

One should not be working on US job within US without authorization(doesnt matter what visa one holds).
US cant/dont control your services outside US which doesnt affect US labor force. They cant even control offshore where thousands get laid off inland.
US can only issue guidance on whether they can work or not(which is nothing but uscis talks about is "working within US"(for which they dont need to specify exclusively as "within/outside US jobs" as they dont issue any guidance for outside country because its irrelevant from their responsibility/perspective). So most of the people assume that its applicable for all jobs (include non-US jobs).

 

[prabhjot2812]

Nope.. you cannot do that on H4. However, if you have H4 EAD, then it should be fine to do this.

Yes I can get H4 EAD.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Yes I can get H4 EAD.

Can work only after you get EAD. not before that. Also, need to file taxes for the income that was earned while working using H4 EAD.

 

[greencard14]

The OP should be able to work in the US on H4, right? The company is not related to US. It is Canadian and assuming they pay in CAD deposited into Canadian account. I'm not sure why OP needs to get H4 EAD in that case?

 

[walter_white]

The OP should be able to work in the US on H4, right? The company is not related to US. It is Canadian and assuming they pay in CAD deposited into Canadian account. I'm not sure why OP needs to get H4 EAD in that case?

I believe the law is that you cannot have active income while on US soil without a valid work authorization, even if your company and bank account is elsewhere.

 

[greencard14]

H4 EAD or any work authorization in the US is to be able to legally work in the US for US employer who fills out a W-9. None of this applies to OP. Legally and Immigration wise this should be fine, not sure about taxes part though. If they will have to file in both countries or not.

Any links to the contrary would be highly helpful for any folks in the similar situation.

 

[lampbreaker]

H4 EAD or any work authorization in the US is to be able to legally work in the US for US employer who fills out a W-9. None of this applies to OP. Legally and Immigration wise this should be fine, not sure about taxes part though. If they will have to file in both countries or not.

Any links to the contrary would be highly helpful for any folks in the similar situation.

You are clearly misinformed. W9 has nothing to do with this. Once you are on US soil you cannot work without authorization. Work has nothing even to do with getting paid. The only unpaid work that is allowed for aliens without authorization is when all the others working in that position are also unpaid.

 

[greencard14]

You are clearly misinformed. W9 has nothing to do with this. Once you are on US soil you cannot work without authorization. Work has nothing even to do with getting paid. The only unpaid work that is allowed for aliens without authorization is when all the others working in that position are also unpaid.

Why are you missing the point that in this case the work is not for a company that is based in the US or anyway related to the US. It is not the question of being paid or volunteer work.

 

[lampbreaker]

Why are you missing the point that in this case the work is not for a company that is based in the US or anyway related to the US. It is not the question of being paid or volunteer work.

Yes, even then according to US immigration law, the work is illegal.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Why are you missing the point that in this case the work is not for a company that is based in the US or anyway related to the US. It is not the question of being paid or volunteer work.

As long as you are in US soil, you are subject to US immigration laws. H4 holder cannot work as per law, period, The law plainly says you cannot work and it doesn't say you cannot work only for US entity. Refer this link that talks on this topic with a legal reference:

https://www.peerallylaw.com/can-an-h4-visa-holder-take-employment-abroad-remote-work-while-inside-the-united-states/