4 ms·

Every country that limits immigration (most) makes limits on working in the country without proper status. The United States immigration statutes and regulation

Every country that limits immigration (most) makes limits on working in the country without proper status. The United States immigration statutes and regulations most certainly do NOT say that a foreign person without proper visa status may form an LLC and then work here. That may not be the easiest part of immigration law to enforce, but the newspaper headline says "legally," and that is just flat wrong.

dalke 13y ago
Yes, I understand and agree with the first sentence. The fuzziness is in what those limits are. The first person mentioned, Carla Chavarria, is not a legal resident of the US, but she "obtained a two-year reprieve from deportation under the Obama administration's deferred action program." She does not have proper visa status. We are agreed on that. Foreigners can own a US LLC, independent of their visa status. Therefore, she is allowed to own a US LLC. Owners of an LLC can draw money from the LLC. Therefore she can draw money from her LLC. Are we agreed upon that? What then is the illegal part about the way that she makes money from the work that she does? "most certainly do NOT say that a foreign person without proper visa status may form an LLC and then work here" Since a foreign person without proper visa status may form an LLC, the key part is the "and then work here." I agree with you that her LLC is not a reason to let her stay in the country. She gets to stay in the country because she has a two-year reprieve. In that case, starting an LLC is a way to make it possible for her to get money, based on her work as owner of the company. So if "work" is broadly defined to include work done by non-employees (eg, owners), then she's legally making money from her work, no? If not, then what law is being violated?
- einhverfr 13y ago
  Indeed. I actually suspect that if she was deported, she could probably move just to the other side of the border, and use NAFTA Professional Services visas to come to client's sites in the US, and continue making money, this time without paying income taxes.
  - evadne 13y ago
    The L visa for multinational managers or intracompany transferees is possibly more suitable assuming that she has already hired a few people and would have some revenue to show. She can also possibly file for an O visa on grounds of extraordinary ability in arts or business given her circumstances, with a waiver that essentially asks the US government to overlook her immigration law violations… I’m not a lawyer.
- mahyarm 13y ago
  While located in the USA, you cannot do any sort of work unless authorized by your visa to do so unless it's like the B-1 telecommuter (getting paid by a non-us source into a non-us bank account). That includes unpaid and/or volunteer work. That theoretically means it's illegal for a guy on a H1B to contribute to open source projects independently of his employer, fix his car, etc. Nobody gives a shit about that stuff in practice although.
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    But if you are a principle or officer of a US-based company, surely you aren't required to stop your work just because you are in the country. The duties haven't changed. It's slightly different if you have a contractor who must do billable work only when out of the country. Otherwise you couldn't do sales on a business visa, nor could you discuss a possible joint venture when visiting a friend on a tourist visa. So I don't think the courts would hold the rules to be that inflexible.
    - nknighthb 13y ago
      > surely you aren't required to stop your work just because you are in the country Of course you are. Look up the B-1 visa. It covers exactly what you're talking about. http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html
      - einhverfr 13y ago
        Um..... A b-1 visa allows consulting with business associates. Isn't this pretty much something that allows corporate officers to do pretty much all duties of corporate officers? I mean what can't they do in this case?
        nknighthb 13y ago
        The point is that the visa is required to perform the work. There's no exception for "corporate officers", it's still work, and you must have a visa for it. I use the existence of the B-1 to demonstrate this.

dalke 13y ago

Yes, I understand and agree with the first sentence. The fuzziness is in what those limits are. The first person mentioned, Carla Chavarria, is not a legal resident of the US, but she "obtained a two-year reprieve from deportation under the Obama administration's deferred action program." She does not have proper visa status. We are agreed on that. Foreigners can own a US LLC, independent of their visa status. Therefore, she is allowed to own a US LLC. Owners of an LLC can draw money from the LLC. Therefore she can draw money from her LLC. Are we agreed upon that? What then is the illegal part about the way that she makes money from the work that she does? "most certainly do NOT say that a foreign person without proper visa status may form an LLC and then work here" Since a foreign person without proper visa status may form an LLC, the key part is the "and then work here." I agree with you that her LLC is not a reason to let her stay in the country. She gets to stay in the country because she has a two-year reprieve. In that case, starting an LLC is a way to make it possible for her to get money, based on her work as owner of the company. So if "work" is broadly defined to include work done by non-employees (eg, owners), then she's legally making money from her work, no? If not, then what law is being violated?

einhverfr 13y ago
Indeed. I actually suspect that if she was deported, she could probably move just to the other side of the border, and use NAFTA Professional Services visas to come to client's sites in the US, and continue making money, this time without paying income taxes.
- evadne 13y ago
  The L visa for multinational managers or intracompany transferees is possibly more suitable assuming that she has already hired a few people and would have some revenue to show. She can also possibly file for an O visa on grounds of extraordinary ability in arts or business given her circumstances, with a waiver that essentially asks the US government to overlook her immigration law violations… I’m not a lawyer.
mahyarm 13y ago
While located in the USA, you cannot do any sort of work unless authorized by your visa to do so unless it's like the B-1 telecommuter (getting paid by a non-us source into a non-us bank account). That includes unpaid and/or volunteer work. That theoretically means it's illegal for a guy on a H1B to contribute to open source projects independently of his employer, fix his car, etc. Nobody gives a shit about that stuff in practice although.
- einhverfr 13y ago
  But if you are a principle or officer of a US-based company, surely you aren't required to stop your work just because you are in the country. The duties haven't changed. It's slightly different if you have a contractor who must do billable work only when out of the country. Otherwise you couldn't do sales on a business visa, nor could you discuss a possible joint venture when visiting a friend on a tourist visa. So I don't think the courts would hold the rules to be that inflexible.
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    > surely you aren't required to stop your work just because you are in the country Of course you are. Look up the B-1 visa. It covers exactly what you're talking about. http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1262.html
    - einhverfr 13y ago
      Um..... A b-1 visa allows consulting with business associates. Isn't this pretty much something that allows corporate officers to do pretty much all duties of corporate officers? I mean what can't they do in this case?
      - nknighthb 13y ago
        The point is that the visa is required to perform the work. There's no exception for "corporate officers", it's still work, and you must have a visa for it. I use the existence of the B-1 to demonstrate this.