Maintaining U.S. H1B visa in Canada

[harirajmohan]

1. So much wrong info here.

2. You CANNOT work on an H-1B out of USA. Once your outside USA, you are out of status.

3. Your work location should be within a few miles or zone mentioned in your LCA.

4. If you work from home in Canada, you are breaking the rules and risk rejection or RFE and being fired.

5. Your company will find out and possibly USCIS if your mails are going to an address in Canada as your primary residence.

6. Best soln is to rent an apartment within US border and have your mails go there

1. Yes its wrong to assume that one needs to have H1 visa to work in Canada and wrong to assume that people think they can maintain status while being inside Canada. But there is nothing wrong in many other factors i list here next.
2. US rules govern within US, not outside of US.
Your status doesnt expire immediately while exiting the country. it takes 30 days as per avr rule.
3. LCA is based on work location. And yes the residence should be within commutable distance of work location. One will get RFE(Even though we dont see many but this is per rule).
4. Millions are working outside of US and get paid in US. Its legal to be part of direct hire. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-companies-can-legally-hire-foreigners-living-other-rich-mba/ (you can find IRS rules linked in that page).
5. Correct, its always to inform the company and make the moves. Cant deny.
But it doesnt mean that mails cant go out to Canada.
My H1 renewals, US payroll, 140 file - All have Canadian address. My W2, 401k statement, IRS tax return - All have Canadian address.
So nothing is wrong.
If you talk about being within normal commutable distance then yes i agree to it but it doesnt mean that one should be inside US.
6. Not required and how would renting and sending mails will get away with the rule of "being in commutable distance of work location"? Its wrong and wont be helpful in anyway.

 

[Akash1286]

1. Yes its wrong to assume that one needs to have H1 visa to work in Canada and wrong to assume that people think they can maintain status while being inside Canada. But there is nothing wrong in many other factors i list here next.
2. US rules govern within US, not outside of US.
Your status doesnt expire immediately while exiting the country. it takes 30 days as per avr rule.
3. LCA is based on work location. And yes the residence should be within commutable distance of work location. One will get RFE(Even though we dont see many but this is per rule).
4. Millions are working outside of US and get paid in US. Its legal to be part of direct hire. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/us-companies-can-legally-hire-foreigners-living-other-rich-mba/ (you can find IRS rules linked in that page).
5. Correct, its always to inform the company and make the moves. Cant deny.
But it doesnt mean that mails cant go out to Canada.
My H1 renewals, US payroll, 140 file - All have Canadian address. My W2, 401k statement, IRS tax return - All have Canadian address.
So nothing is wrong.
If you talk about being within normal commutable distance then yes i agree to it but it doesnt mean that one should be inside US.
6. Not required and how would renting and sending mails will get away with the rule of "being in commutable distance of work location"? Its wrong and wont be helpful in anyway.

6. Because the work location and home location will be same and within the LCA

2. Clock stops the moment you're outside USA and hence you can capture those days back beyond petition expiry. There is no 30 day rule wirh foreign travel and stay. 30 day rule was for domestic travel outside of LCA zone.

 

[harirajmohan]

6. Because the work location and home location will be same and within the LCA

2. Clock stops the moment you're outside USA and hence you can capture those days back beyond petition expiry. There is no 30 day rule wirh foreign travel and stay. 30 day rule was for domestic travel outside of LCA zone.

6. LCA is for wages for that locality for that job title. Company has to get the LCA only for the work location.
Home location is not governed by LCA but its governed by other rule(which is - candidate resides within commutable distance of the work location).
2.
H1 usage clock:
if you are talking about H1 days, then yes, its a plain calculation - just the number of days inside US(doesnt matter which state you resided).

H1 status retainment:
Status clock stops when you exit the continent, not while in the continent. Thats why they have automatic visa revalidation rule.
Exiting US and entering Canada/Mexico is not automatically recorded based on our plans to move permanently or temporarily. US doesnt capture data from exiting candidates whether our move is permanent or temporary. So within this continent, they always give 30 days as per rule to reuse same legal status if we reenter witihn 30 days. This rule is nothing to do with h1 as its generic for many non-immigrant visas.

Domestic: There is no 30 day rule for domestic move. No one actually controls it or governs it except one rule which gets verified only when renewing H1 at uscis.
Rule: Candidate is expected to spend most of the time at primary work location for which uscis expects a candidate to reside at commutable distance of work location.

 

[Akash1286]

6. LCA is for wages for that locality for that job title. Company has to get the LCA only for the work location.
Home location is not governed by LCA but its governed by other rule(which is - candidate resides within commutable distance of the work location).
2.
H1 usage clock:
if you are talking about H1 days, then yes, its a plain calculation - just the number of days inside US(doesnt matter which state you resided).

H1 status retainment:
Status clock stops when you exit the continent, not while in the continent. Thats why they have automatic visa revalidation rule.
Exiting US and entering Canada/Mexico is not automatically recorded based on our plans to move permanently or temporarily. US doesnt capture data from exiting candidates whether our move is permanent or temporary. So within this continent, they always give 30 days as per rule to reuse same legal status if we reenter witihn 30 days. This rule is nothing to do with h1 as its generic for many non-immigrant visas.

Domestic: There is no 30 day rule for domestic move. No one actually controls it or governs it except one rule which gets verified only when renewing H1 at uscis.
Rule: Candidate is expected to spend most of the time at primary work location for which uscis expects a candidate to reside at commutable distance of work location.

Dude you have no idea what you're talking about please stop typing someone might get in trouble reading your post and following your directions.

There is absolutely a 30 day rule for domestic travel and every time you move locations you need to file an amendment if you work from that location. You want to live in Canada and work remotely good for you but for others :

Your employer can track you through your ip address and be certain you work outside USA. Apart from site visits, USCIS also needs to know where you are working from and working on H1B outside USA is NOT permitted as you are out of status. So if you want to be safe than sorry, spend a few hundred dollars per month to rent a house at the border and put that as your work location. Yes home location can be Canada (equivalent to an Indian national that lived in Delhi prior to moving to USA but wants his petition mailed to Indian - permanent address), but you are not allowed to work from any address not mentioned in the LCA and certainly not outside USA.

 

[harirajmohan]

1. Dude you have no idea what you're talking about please stop typing someone might get in trouble reading your post and following your directions.

2. There is absolutely a 30 day rule for domestic travel and every time you move locations you need to file an amendment if you work from that location. You want to live in Canada and work remotely good for you but for others :

3. Your employer can track you through your ip address and be certain you work outside USA. Apart from site visits, USCIS also needs to know where you are working from and working on H1B outside USA is NOT permitted as you are out of status. So if you want to be safe than sorry, spend a few hundred dollars per month to rent a house at the border and put that as your work location. Yes home location can be Canada (equivalent to an Indian national that lived in Delhi prior to moving to USA but wants his petition mailed to Indian - permanent address), but you are not allowed to work from any address not mentioned in the LCA and certainly not outside USA.

Points of discussion: Work location and residence location.
You are mixing up temporary work location outside of work location which is not in LCA. And you assume that the Canadian residence is temporary location and confusing with it. I mentioned about 30 day status rule, not about domestic work location rule. You cant generically tell that my post get others in trouble rather than telling specifically which point.

I already mentioned that residence to be within commutable distance. So why are you now bringing up tracking IP and stuff as if i suggested on hiding from employer on employee's residence location(domestic/canada) - you should read my post again to find if i mentioned. Dont get confused between working from residence is same as work location. You are the one now bringing up new rules that one should not be connecting from home because you assumed that its an unapproved work location. Residence is not work location but it doesnt mean that one should not connect from home.

And your another rule on renting a place fixes rules. Renting in border location doesnt fix anything. Or else everyone will rent in border and work in cheaper country. You are the one suggesting that would get others into trouble. Please know the rules.

 

[tusharn]

Hi everyone,



I’m in the following situation:

I have Canadian PR and currently I work in NY for a tech company (full time employee). After Covid, my role has become fully remote, so basically I’m paying exorbitant NY/NJ rents only to work from home. Also, since I’m an Indian, I’m not sure when/if I’ll get my EB2 GC with PD 2017 (I-140 approved).

So, I’m thinking if it’s possible to move to Canada and continue working from home from there to fulfill my PR requirement? Is it allowed or is there any rule to be physically present in the US for some minimum number of days in a year to be able to keep extending my H1B?

Or would you recommend commuting to work daily if I get my US address changed to Buffalo, NY or something?

 

[royalmbc]

Interesting information guys. Thank @harirajmohan for your insight. Has there been any changes to any of the points you mentioned?

My situation is similar, I will be moving to Canada on pr and will be working for us employer on h1b. I am thinking to commute to USA once every two weeks. What are your suggestions and what should be the address on my lca in this case? Can I give address of a co-working space at the border for LCA even though I might travel there only once every two weeks?

 

[FletcherHubbard]

Hello,

I have a query regarding working from home in Canada for a US employer. I have gotten great details about this situation on relevant threads. However, I am wondering If I work from home (or remotely, if I may say so) I have a couple of questions that I did not get clear answers to.
1. How can we justify working remotely from Canada for a US employer when the employer location is far from the US-Canada Border (say Florida)
2. Is it necessary to travel to the employer location to maintain the H1B? If yes, what is the frequency of travel required. Or, is it okay to travel to a city/town in the US that is closer to the border. If the second option is possible, what would you tell the Custom Border Police on the reason to visit.
3. Currently, my employer is in Florida and I am currently working remotely from Seattle. In this case, what would the labor wage requirement in my upcoming H1B renewal assuming I relocate to Canada before applying for renewal.
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Expert opinions are much appreciated and thank you all in anticipation to resolving answers.

You should ask this question in a US immigration forum. This is a Canada immigration forum and you may not find the answer here. Good Luck!