Working remotely from Canada in US company as Canadian PR

[DEEPCUR]

You cannot work remotely unless your LCA supports the location. As you know Canada is not part of US, so no LCA can be filed. Here is a video that talks about this.

Don't spread panic among people and sell your YT channel. It is okay to work from anywhere in the world as long as that country's immigration and tax laws let you work there.

H1b laws are applicable only when someone is H1b status.. So LCA and location comes in to picture only when someone is physically present in US. If someone is outside US, they are not in H1b status, so none of those are applicable.

 

[asks1985]

Hello Deepcur,

When you are in Canada/ UK / Or anywhere apart from US, and work for a US company, you are obliged to pay Federal and State taxes. When you submit your timesheets, you attest to the fact that you are working in the state. Certain employers mention in their job applicaiton that this job will only be performed in US soil. So your comments may or may not be true. I have had first hand experience from USCIS officers visiting my job location and later having to pay huge fines.

It depends on whether the risk is worth the reward.

 

[asks1985]

Please do not post information without having USCIS articles to back you up. LCA is needed for any locaiton that is not part of your original H1B application. Please look up Simieo rule and read through the details. Thanks.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Hello Deepcur,

When you are in Canada/ UK / Or anywhere apart from US, and work for a US company, you are obliged to pay Federal and State taxes. When you submit your timesheets, you attest to the fact that you are working in the state. Certain employers mention in their job applicaiton that this job will only be performed in US soil. So your comments may or may not be true. I have had first hand experience from USCIS officers visiting my job location and later having to pay huge fines.

It depends on whether the risk is worth the reward.

Federal and state taxes will be automatically deducted from payroll if a person is US hire. If one appropriately files taxes in US, that is sufficient.

It is definitely a problem if you happen to be in US when uscis is doing a site visit and you are not in the petitioned work site. Because you are in H1B status when you are in US, and only when you are in US. Your HR can answer the questions on your behalf if you are out of the country and USCIS can verify your departure through your US exit records.

You can Google this topic and find similar responses from lot of US immigration attorneys in Avvo and Quora.. all if them would have said that US immigration laws apply only to someone physically present in US, not outside. Lot of people including this thread starter in this very forum have posed this question to their attorneys and everyone has given them go ahead to work this way.

 

[asks1985]

Well lawyers are payed to say what their clients want to hear. Look at what USCIS has to provide in guidance. If you cannot provide guidance from USCIS, then don't misguide people based on fallacies that you or the lawyers may have.

A Foregin worker on H1B should not carry their work outside US soil - this is the response I have.

 

[DEEPCUR]

Well lawyers are payed to say what their clients want to hear. Look at what USCIS has to provide in guidance. If you cannot provide guidance from USCIS, then don't misguide people based on fallacies that you or the lawyers may have.

A Foregin worker on H1B should not carry their work outside US soil - this is the response I have.

Your statement about the lawyers seem to be absolute baloney. Lawyers are meant to guide people with correct interpretation of laws, and don't exist to please them by saying what they want. They are not keyboard warriors like us who rely on Google or YouTube for laws. Do you think fortune 500 pay a fortune and hire them for hearing pleasing words?

 

[asks1985]

Deepcur you can say as many things as you want, and your imagination cannot govern USCIS or its operations. If you have substantiate evidence from USCIS please respond, else everything you say is only "WORDS".

 

[DEEPCUR]

Deepcur you can say as many things as you want, and your imagination cannot govern USCIS or its operations. If you have substantiate evidence from USCIS please respond, else everything you say is only "WORDS".

USCIS cannot publish laws on what one should do outside US. So it is not possible to provide any links. You are missing the point that whatever laws they are written are only for people who are in H1B status.. if you step outside US, you are no more H1. If you are adamant in believing this, nothing could be done about it.

I can give links where attorneys have said that this is okay to do, but you choose to be hell bent on the fact attorneys too are incorrect.

I also read the crux of Simeo case which you quoted.. in that case that person moved to another location within US (not outside US) just filed LCA and did not file an amendment. The memo imtended to clarify that one needs to file amendment if their office location changes within US.

Why don't you come up with a link to disprove what I say?

I'll also give one more example on how people do this. In Indian consulting companies, lot of people get their H1 selected, approved, get stamped by October or November but wait in India for assignment with a client for a year or two before traveling. When they do that they are not physically present in their petitioned location in US during the petition period, but in some offshore location like Chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad.

They never run in to any issues with entry or extensions. This clearly means that it is okay to do because USCIS approves their extension despite they spending their time in India during petition period.

 

[desmat]

USCIS cannot publish laws on what one should do outside US. So it is not possible to provide any links. You are missing the point that whatever laws they are written are only for people who are in H1B status.. if you step outside US, you are no more H1. If you are adamant in believing this, nothing could be done about it.

I can give links where attorneys have said that this is okay to do, but you choose to be hell bent on the fact attorneys too are incorrect.

I also read the crux of Simeo case which you quoted.. in that case that person moved to another location within US (not outside US) just filed LCA and did not file an amendment. The memo imtended to clarify that one needs to file amendment if their office location changes within US.

Why don't you come up with a link to disprove what I say?

I'll also give one more example on how people do this. In Indian consulting companies, lot of people get their H1 selected, approved, get stamped by October or November but wait in India for assignment with a client for a year or two before traveling. When they do that they are not physically present in their petitioned location in US during the petition period, but in some offshore location like Chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad.

They never run in to any issues with entry or extensions. This clearly means that it is okay to do because USCIS approves their extension despite they spending their time in India during petition period.

thanks for great comments DEEPCUR..
Two questions:
1. Can I still work from Canada for a US company if my H1B 6 years has completed without starting green card process. I understand h1b is not applicable for me as I am in Canada.. But then how would US company employ me without h1b extending for their records?

2. If I go with green card process with US company, then can we have both US green card goiing on and Canada PR parallely without any issues?

 

[asks1985]

USCIS cannot publish laws on what one should do outside US. So it is not possible to provide any links. You are missing the point that whatever laws they are written are only for people who are in H1B status.. if you step outside US, you are no more H1. If you are adamant in believing this, nothing could be done about it.

I can give links where attorneys have said that this is okay to do, but you choose to be hell bent on the fact attorneys too are incorrect.

I also read the crux of Simeo case which you quoted.. in that case that person moved to another location within US (not outside US) just filed LCA and did not file an amendment. The memo imtended to clarify that one needs to file amendment if their office location changes within US.

Why don't you come up with a link to disprove what I say?

I'll also give one more example on how people do this. In Indian consulting companies, lot of people get their H1 selected, approved, get stamped by October or November but wait in India for assignment with a client for a year or two before traveling. When they do that they are not physically present in their petitioned location in US during the petition period, but in some offshore location like Chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad.

They never run in to any issues with entry or extensions. This clearly means that it is okay to do because USCIS approves their extension despite they spending their time in India during petition period.

your example on H1 people staying in India before deployment does not meet this use case as they are not paid in US dollars when they are in India. They do not pay Social Security or Medicare when they are out there. I have already provided you evidence to my facts - Simeo case on USCIS website. I have supported my case through the USCIS article. Lawyers and any other consultants can only read and interpret the law and they do it in many different ways as that is their job. They look for loopholes and everything under the kitchen sink to find some small glitches, which may or may not stand the test of time. It is up to individuals to read USCIS articles and not Avvo/ Quora or anything else and determine if what they do is permissible.

 

[DEEPCUR]

your example on H1 people staying in India before deployment does not meet this use case as they are not paid in US dollars when they are in India. They do not pay Social Security or Medicare when they are out there. I have already provided you evidence to my facts - Simeo case on USCIS website. I have supported my case through the USCIS article. Lawyers and any other consultants can only read and interpret the law and they do it in many different ways as that is their job. They look for loopholes and everything under the kitchen sink to find some small glitches, which may or may not stand the test of time. It is up to individuals to read USCIS articles and not Avvo/ Quora or anything else and determine if what they do is permissible.

Simeo case is only applicable in US. You are extrapolating it to outside US which is not correct. That person moved from one location in US to another location in US and did not file amendment. He did not move to outside country. It is not applicable to this scenario. In what we are discussing, the beneficiary's work site in US remains the same whenever they enter to work in US on H1b.

I'll provide my case as example. I worked from India for four months due to personal family emergency. I continued to be US employee for my company and got paid in USD and contributed all those taxes that you are talking about during those four months. After that trip, I had an extension that got approved. USCIS has access to my entry and exit records. What is your reasoning behind that approval?

 

[DEEPCUR]

thanks for great comments DEEPCUR..
Two questions:
1. Can I still work from Canada for a US company if my H1B 6 years has completed without starting green card process. I understand h1b is not applicable for me as I am in Canada.. But then how would US company employ me without h1b extending for their records?

2. If I go with green card process with US company, then can we have both US green card goiing on and Canada PR parallely without any issues?

1. There shouldn't be any problems with that, but if your employer is a US based company, they won't let you do that..

2. Yes can have both

 

[asks1985]

Simeo case is only applicable in US. You are extrapolating it to outside US which is not correct. That person moved from one location in US to another location in US and did not file amendment. He did not move to outside country. It is not applicable to this scenario. In what we are discussing, the beneficiary's work site in US remains the same whenever they enter to work in US on H1b.

I'll provide my case as example. I worked from India for four months due to personal family emergency. I continued to be US employee for my company and got paid in USD and contributed all those taxes that you are talking about during those four months. After that trip, I had an extension that got approved. USCIS has access to my entry and exit records. What is your reasoning behind that approval?

I am not sure on your case. My company has clearly told me - that a H1B worker cannot carry "US work" outside US soil. I can go to Australia (with valid docs) and work on a Canadian client - no problem with that , but cannot carry US work till I become a citizen. Regarding your case - I do not know how you escaped this, might have been a miss from your employer. Companies are bound to keep work within US boundaries for tax benefits which they claim as part of their filing. When they hire a foreign national or transfer work abroad they cannot claim those exemptions. There are multiple factors. I do not want to extend this conversation any longer, I respect your opinion and politely choose to disagree. All the best on your journey.

 

[canuck78]

your example on H1 people staying in India before deployment does not meet this use case as they are not paid in US dollars when they are in India. They do not pay Social Security or Medicare when they are out there. I have already provided you evidence to my facts - Simeo case on USCIS website. I have supported my case through the USCIS article. Lawyers and any other consultants can only read and interpret the law and they do it in many different ways as that is their job. They look for loopholes and everything under the kitchen sink to find some small glitches, which may or may not stand the test of time. It is up to individuals to read USCIS articles and not Avvo/ Quora or anything else and determine if what they do is permissible.

Would imagine you and your company had your address listed as a US address.

 

[CICApplicant]

Simeo case is only applicable in US. You are extrapolating it to outside US which is not correct. That person moved from one location in US to another location in US and did not file amendment. He did not move to outside country. It is not applicable to this scenario. In what we are discussing, the beneficiary's work site in US remains the same whenever they enter to work in US on H1b.

I'll provide my case as example. I worked from India for four months due to personal family emergency. I continued to be US employee for my company and got paid in USD and contributed all those taxes that you are talking about during those four months. After that trip, I had an extension that got approved. USCIS has access to my entry and exit records. What is your reasoning behind that approval?

When you say..
USCIS has access to my entry and exit records. What is your reasoning behind that approval?

Yes they had records on Entry/Exit, But not on your Paystubs. A close friend & colleague... Our company told him not to work remotely & take Unpaid leave as he got 221G in his visa extension and had to stay more than a month ( Although Existing visa was still valid).