Working remotely from Canada in US company as Canadian PR

[canuck78]

Yeah, that was like 10 months ago. I ended up not selling my place as now, I might just move back to US in 3-4 years. Who knows.

Just wanted to clarify for others reading this forum that you need to rent your own place and can't give a friend's address.

 

[frazman007]

Just wanted to clarify for others reading this forum that you need to rent your own place and can't give a friend's address.

That's good to know. Actually, I didn't know that. Surprisingly, my immigration lawyer also didn't mention this. I purely didnt sell my apartment because of different reason. Can you please cite your source. I am helping a lot of people who are planning to move to Canada and try out a similar arrangement. It would be good to have this reference.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Just a reminder hat giving a friends address while actually being a resident of Canada is fraud.

What you give there as address is not a big deal as US employer systems won't let you give anything other than US address. How one files taxes every year matters i.e. number of days spent in US and Canada.. If one stays honest and correct there, that is sufficient.

 

[DEEPCUR]

No issues.I just answer honestly.I live in Canada.. work in US. and that is legal.
On my H1B itself is marked "Canadian Permanent Resident" as I updated my H1B in toronto..There is nothing illegal in this.

That's great to know.. is it physically mentioned in your visa sticker or you just mentioned it while filing out the DS160 form? Were there any questions around this topic during your visa interview?

 

[frazman007]

That's great to know.. is it physically mentioned in your visa sticker or you just mentioned it while filing out the DS160 form? Were there any questions around this topic during your visa interview?

Yeah, its printed on my H1B.
I think, if you apply for visa on third country, you need to give a reason why you are in that country in first place. I vaguely recall that there is a question in DS160 about this as well (permanent residences/ citizenships etc). Just take your CoPR or PR card with you as a proof.
Naah no questions.

When I was planning to make this arrangement work (living in Canada and working in US on H1b), one of my core goals was to not worry.. In the sense, am I breaking in laws or is there any "grayzone" in this.
I consulted my company's own immigration lawyer and consulted with few others as well. Everyone said the same thing, there is nothing wrong there. So, you don't have to worry at all facing the CBP folks.
There is always a risk whenever you leave the US and are coming back on H1B. But living in Canada and working in US wont increase or decrease that risk. Which is to say, if you are not allowed to enter US, the Canadian permanent residency won't be the reason for that.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Yeah, its printed on my H1B.
I think, if you apply for visa on third country, you need to give a reason why you are in that country in first place. I vaguely recall that there is a question in DS160 about this as well (permanent residences/ citizenships etc). Just take your CoPR or PR card with you as a proof.
Naah no questions.

When I was planning to make this arrangement work (living in Canada and working in US on H1b), one of my core goals was to not worry.. In the sense, am I breaking in laws or is there any "grayzone" in this.
I consulted my company's own immigration lawyer and consulted with few others as well. Everyone said the same thing, there is nothing wrong there. So, you don't have to worry at all facing the CBP folks.
There is always a risk whenever you leave the US and are coming back on H1B. But living in Canada and working in US wont increase or decrease that risk. Which is to say, if you are not allowed to enter US, the Canadian permanent residency won't be the reason for that.

That's awesome. I have always had a feeling that this arrangement should be okay immigration wise.

Also, did your HR say anything on tax obligation with residing country for the employer? Like someone had extension denied in my company, and they didn't let that person work from India with US pay roll because of local tax obligations. They wanted to him to wait on loss of pay while waiting from India.

 

[canuck78]

That's awesome. I have always had a feeling that this arrangement should be okay immigration wise.

Also, did your HR say anything on tax obligation with residing country for the employer? Like someone had extension denied in my company, and they didn't let that person work from India with US pay roll because of local tax obligations. They wanted to him to wait on loss of pay while waiting from India.

The issue becomes the tax obligation. You are essentially saying you are a resident of the US while actually physically being a resident in Canada. The greyzone that your lawyer is talking about is having a property in your name to say you are a US resident.

We have seen that some companies refuse to do this sort of relationship where people work remotely most of the time and the require that the employee create their own consulting firm in Canada and then they employ them that way.

 

[frazman007]

That's awesome. I have always had a feeling that this arrangement should be okay immigration wise.

Also, did your HR say anything on tax obligation with residing country for the employer? Like someone had extension denied in my company, and they didn't let that person work from India with US pay roll because of local tax obligations. They wanted to him to wait on loss of pay while waiting from India.

So, Canada and US has a tax treaty. So, if you pay taxes in US, you don't have to pay those taxes again in Canada. You do have to file taxes in both countries but not double pay it.
My company has businesses in both US and Canada, so things are ok.
But this topic did come up. To keep things simple, that's why I am maintaining an address in US as well.
It seems like somewhere in the system, the person might have listed India's address (either in HR system or renewal petition).

 

[frazman007]

The issue becomes the tax obligation. You are essentially saying you are a resident of the US while actually physically being a resident in Canada. The greyzone that your lawyer is talking about is having a property in your name to say you are a US resident.

We have seen that some companies refuse to do this sort of relationship where people work remotely most of the time and the require that the employee create their own consulting firm in Canada and then they employ them that way.

I don't think that is correct. Literally, thousands of people drive to US from Canada daily and come back. Detroit/ Windsor, Seattle/Vancouver etc are all popular regions where thousands of people cross the border daily.

As a PR, you don't have any obligation to work in Canada. If you don't work in Canada you don't have to pay income taxes in Canada. You have to file the taxes but you don't owe anything to Canadian govt.
Heck, if anything, you can probably count the days you were out of US and add those days to extend your H1B petition.

 

[DEEPCUR]

The issue becomes the tax obligation. You are essentially saying you are a resident of the US while actually physically being a resident in Canada. The greyzone that your lawyer is talking about is having a property in your name to say you are a US resident.

We have seen that some companies refuse to do this sort of relationship where people work remotely most of the time and the require that the employee create their own consulting firm in Canada and then they employ them that way.

What you say is partly true. You don't become a resident just by updating your address there.. your residency is determined by the place where you spend most time i.e. 180+ days. if you spend that in US, you are US resident.. otherwise Canadian resident. as I mentioned before, if you file your taxes judiciously, there is no problem with this type of arrangement.

 

[DEEPCUR]

So, Canada and US has a tax treaty. So, if you pay taxes in US, you don't have to pay those taxes again in Canada. You do have to file taxes in both countries but not double pay it.
My company has businesses in both US and Canada, so things are ok.
But this topic did come up. To keep things simple, that's why I am maintaining an address in US as well.
It seems like somewhere in the system, the person might have listed India's address (either in HR system or renewal petition).

He didn't list his address anywhere.

He was a normal US resident working on H1b.. when his extension got denied, he wanted to continue working from India getting paid in USD until a fresh extension petition is refiled and get approved. But HR refused that arrangement citing local employer tax obligations and wanted him to go on loss of pay. They froze his payroll and only then he left to India.

FWIW, the company also huge offshore presence in India.. but they don't have policy to transfer between US and India.. if he wants to join Indian location, he should resign and then join Indian branch for a different job req. So it doesn't matter if the company operates in that region or not.

 

[frazman007]

He didn't list his address anywhere.

He was a normal US resident working on H1b.. when his extension got denied, he wanted to continue working from India getting paid in USD until a fresh extension petition is refiled and get approved. But HR refused that arrangement citing local employer tax obligations and wanted him to go on loss of pay. They froze his payroll and only then he left to India.

FWIW, the company also huge offshore presence in India.. but they don't have policy to transfer between US and India.. if he wants to join Indian location, he should resign and then join Indian branch for a different job req. So it doesn't matter if the company operates in that region or not.

I guess, when the time comes for an extension, then make sure that you are in US until the petition is approved (which should be ok under premium processing).
But I am bit confused. He was on H1B working from India? Did USCIS denied his extension citing tax issues in India or was it HR? It seems like HR suggested that? Why was his H1B extension denied then?
I mean if your H1B is denied.. Then your relationship with your employer is altered. That's a different issue.
The question is would your future H1B extension be denied if you are currently working out of US on H1B.

After chatting with a lot of immigration lawyers.
1) No. Canadian Residency does not increases or decreases risk of your approval.
2) You are not on H1B outside US.
3) You can leave US while your extension is being filed (this is different from if you are changing company). If you are changing a company and leave US, then that petition is considered abandoned if the applicant travel out of US (so dont travel out of US while changing job, no issues if you are filing for an extension).
3) Be cautious with taxes. Hire a competent account and let them deal with this.

 

[DEEPCUR]

I guess, when the time comes for an extension, then make sure that you are in US until the petition is approved (which should be ok under premium processing).
But I am bit confused. He was on H1B working from India? Did USCIS denied his extension citing tax issues in India or was it HR? It seems like HR suggested that? Why was his H1B extension denied then?
I mean if your H1B is denied.. Then your relationship with your employer is altered. That's a different issue.
The question is would your future H1B extension be denied if you are currently working out of US on H1B.

After chatting with a lot of immigration lawyers.
1) No. Canadian Residency does not increases or decreases risk of your approval.
2) You are not on H1B outside US.
3) You can leave US while your extension is being filed (this is different from if you are changing company). If you are changing a company and leave US, then that petition is considered abandoned if the applicant travel out of US (so dont travel out of US while changing job, no issues if you are filing for an extension).
3) Be cautious with taxes. Hire a competent account and let them deal with this.

He was working on H1b and living in US. His extension got denied for specialty occupation. The company planned to file another fresh extension petition for him for which he needed to wait for couple of months. He wanted to continue working from India while waiting and get paid in USD. HR refused to honor that arrangement of working from India and getting paid in USD while waiting citing local tax obligations. They asked him to go on loss of pay until new petition gets filed and approved. Hope it's clear!

 

[frazman007]

He was working on H1b and living in US. His extension got denied for specialty occupation. The company planned to file another fresh extension petition for him for which he needed to wait for couple of months. He wanted to continue working from India while waiting and get paid in USD. HR refused to honor that arrangement of working from India and getting paid in USD while waiting citing local tax obligations. They asked him to go on loss of pay until new petition gets filed and approved. Hope it's clear!

Yeah that makes sense. If H1B is denied then the primary relationship with your employer is terminated. You have to establish a new relationship. That can be joining India office, working as a contractor etc.
You have to be taken off US payroll. Its not only taxes but companies have budgets and headcounts allocated to different locations. Then offcourse, there are laws on whether the data can be accessed across the border (for eg: if you are working in healthcare, then you can't access data out of US because of laws. So things are not that straightforward ).


I thought his petition got denied because he was an H1b worker working from India and then USCIS was like the company owe some taxes in India.
Anyways, my point is whether you are crossing the border, going to the embassy for an interview, filing an extension, the Canadian residency wont increase or decrease your chances.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Yeah that makes sense. If H1B is denied then the primary relationship with your employer is terminated. You have to establish a new relationship. That can be joining India office, working as a contractor etc.
You have to be taken off US payroll. Its not only taxes but companies have budgets and headcounts allocated to different locations. Then offcourse, there are laws on whether the data can be accessed across the border (for eg: if you are working in healthcare, then you can't access data out of US because of laws. So things are not that straightforward ).


I thought his petition got denied because he was an H1b worker working from India and then USCIS was like the company owe some taxes in India.
Anyways, my point is whether you are crossing the border, going to the embassy for an interview, filing an extension, the Canadian residency wont increase or decrease your chances.

Well, the H1b relationship matters only if you are physically present in US. There is no need to end the payroll if he moves outside US. Outside US, it's immigration laws have no effect. So it's fine for him to work from India getting paid in USD.

Even if we consider your case, your H1b is tied to your US location, but they are letting you work from Canada because there is no implication of H1B outside US, like you are not in H1B status when you are not in US.