Woking for Canada while on H1b

[Dimhil]

Hi,
I am working on H1B in the US, I am working with a US firm on W2.
But it is more of independent contracting as I need to find my own projects and they take cut from my hourly wage.

Now as I want to move to Canada, I applied for a few jobs and got a job offer for contracting from Alberta.
They are ok with me to work remote.

I want to understand if I can work as a contractor for that Canadian firm while working for my client in the US on H1b?

 

[21Goose]

Hi,
I am working on H1B in the US, I am working with a US firm on W2.
But it is more of independent contracting as I need to find my own projects and they take cut from my hourly wage.

Now as I want to move to Canada, I applied for a few jobs and got a job offer for contracting from Alberta.
They are ok with me to work remote.

I want to understand if I can work as a contractor for that Canadian firm while working for my client in the US on H1b?

You will then be violating the terms of your US work permit and can be deported if they find out.

 

[Dimhil]

Who are they- that you refer to?
My company or is it against H1b/government?

Because my company will be fine for me to work remote.

 

[21Goose]

Who are they- that you refer to?
My company or is it against H1b/government?

Because my company will be fine for me to work remote.

US govt. You will be working illegally in the US if you do this. If you don't get caught, no issue. If you get caught, you can have your H1b cancelled and be deported and/or banned from the US etc.

 

[DEEPCUR]

This is big no. Remember you are working from US soil and are subject to US immigration laws which doesn't allow you to work for anyone other than petitioned employer.Tell me how different is this from working for another company within US without having them sponsored for H1.

And if you were planning to use this as a shortcut to meet residency obligation by working for a Canadian company abroad to keep PR alive, sorry to say that, it won't work that way

 

[harirajmohan]

Hi,
I am working on H1B in the US, I am working with a US firm on W2.
But it is more of independent contracting as I need to find my own projects and they take cut from my hourly wage.

Now as I want to move to Canada, I applied for a few jobs and got a job offer for contracting from Alberta.
They are ok with me to work remote.

I want to understand if I can work as a contractor for that Canadian firm while working for my client in the US on H1b?

If you are working in Canada then you dont need H1. You can work as thats how all offshore jobs are. They neither hold h1 nor violate any rules.

To maintain H1 then you should be entering the US every 30 days to maintain status (or you need to seek entry every time you enter, provided you have valid visa and I797 and can prove that you have job in US even while you enter the US occasionally). I dont understand why you need H1 to work in Canada.

I assume that you are asking if you can continue your US project while taking assignments in Canada. I dont see any issue.

Examples: All offshore works like that.
Another example: Cognizant transfers H1 rejected candidates to Toronto to work on the same assignment. In this case the candidate doesnt even hold any authorization because this job in Canada is not the US job anymore.

 

[harirajmohan]

You will then be violating the terms of your US work permit and can be deported if they find out.

This is big no. Remember you are working from US soil and are subject to US immigration laws which doesn't allow you to work for anyone other than petitioned employer.Tell me how different is this from working for another company within US without having them sponsored for H1.

I think that he is trying to work like any other offshore jobs are.
Even offshore guys do travel occasionally on H1 and rest of the time they do work on the same project from outside US and come to US for short visits on same H1. Seeing no issue.

Maybe op got confused if one requires H1 to continue the assignment from Canada.

 

[DEEPCUR]

This is big no. Remember you are working from US soil and are subject to US immigration laws which doesn't allow you to work for anyone other than petitioned employer.Tell me how different is this from working for another company within US without having them sponsored for H1.

And if you were planning to use this as a shortcut to meet residency obligation by working for a Canadian company abroad to keep PR alive, sorry to say that, it won't work that way

Apologies, I misread your post. Ignore this.. If you are planning to do this from Canada, I don't see any issues as long as you keep both employers informed about your plans.

 

[21Goose]

I think that he is trying to work like any other offshore jobs are.
Even offshore guys do travel occasionally on H1 and rest of the time they do work on the same project from outside US and come to US for short visits on same H1. Seeing no issue.

Maybe op got confused if one requires H1 to continue the assignment from Canada.

Possible - I took his question to mean that he wants to live in the US on his H1 and work for the Canadian employer; that isn't allowed under the terms of the H1.

If he is doing it the other way around - moving to Canada, and working two jobs, then he may run into issues since the H1 is tied to a location, and if he isn't there and they do an inspection, he can lose his H1.

 

[Dimhil]

Thanks, Guys for replying... I think 21Goose got it right, I was talking about staying in the US and I get that it is illegal and won't be pursuing that opportunity.

But what makes it interesting is that I can work for a US employer while being in Canada.
So I can move to Canada and get this new job and keep working for US employer remotely.

But what will happen to my h1b? DO I even need H1b if I am working from Canada?
Will they run my Canada or US payroll?
And also any idea if my GC processing will be impacted? I have currently my I140 approved.

 

[indpnv]

Thanks, Guys for replying... I think 21Goose got it right, I was talking about staying in the US and I get that it is illegal and won't be pursuing that opportunity.

But what makes it interesting is that I can work for a US employer while being in Canada.
So I can move to Canada and get this new job and keep working for US employer remotely.

But what will happen to my h1b? DO I even need H1b if I am working from Canada?
Will they run my Canada or US payroll?
And also any idea if my GC processing will be impacted? I have currently my I140 approved.

Technically, you won't need a H1B if you are working outside the US even it's for an US employer. But for the payroll stuff, they will have to contract your pay to a company at your country of residence for tax purposes.
Pretty much similar to working at those offshore IT companies in India.
Assuming that you have a PR, You can give up your H1B and go to Canada and work for the US company, if they agree.
There are some Canadian companies who take care of the payroll.

Read this:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/trumps-immigration-policy-has-foreign-tech-talent-looking-north-of-the-border/2019/01/10/c199bf4a-03bb-11e9-958c-0a601226ff6b_story.html?utm_term=.c36ba7079e66