Travelling IT Professionals

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Hi guys -

Got an interesting one here. My fiance and myself are traveling IT professionals. I, of course, am based in the U.S.. His company is based in the UK. He has traveled all over the world delivering training, typically only staying a day or two in the countries he visits. One of those countries being the U.S.. I'm just curious, when he enters the U.S. on a K1, can he still deliver training for the UK based company to his US clients? Or will he not be able to work at all? I'm under the impression he cannot work at all and that's the side we are going to err on as we don't want to do anything to jeopardize our visa / AOS / EAD.

Thanks

[marriedtomrg 141]

K1 is a single entry visa, and the conditions for entering under the K1 is that you both must be married within 90 days after arriving; the visa expires after entry, and from there if he wants to work, he will either need an approved green card or an employment authorization document (EAD). He will not be authorized to work without either; if he needs to travel outside the US, he will need either an approved green card or an advance parole (AP) document to re-enter the US; if he leaves the US without an AP, his pending AOS application will be considered abandoned, and you will have to start the sponsorship process again.

If your guy needs to hit the ground running, you may want to consider getting married then start the CR1 visa process; at the end of the process, he becomes eligible for a conditional green card,and that will allow him to work and travel without downtime or problems. (If you've already started the K1 visa process, you can ignore this bit)

Hi guys -

Got an interesting one here. My fiance and myself are traveling IT professionals. I, of course, am based in the U.S.. His company is based in the UK. He has traveled all over the world delivering training, typically only staying a day or two in the countries he visits. One of those countries being the U.S.. I'm just curious, when he enters the U.S. on a K1, can he still deliver training for the UK based company to his US clients? Or will he not be able to work at all? I'm under the impression he cannot work at all and that's the side we are going to err on as we don't want to do anything to jeopardize our visa / AOS / EAD.

Thanks

Edited January 19, 2011 by marriedtomrg

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Hi, thanks for the quick reply.

My question isn't really about the steps, as I do understand them.

But moreso I'm wondering if he can still be employed by his UK based company while he is entering the U.S. on a K-1 visa and if so, will the work restriction still apply to him since he will not be employed by a U.S. company at that time.

The more I type it out the more it sounds like no, but just curious if anyone else were in the same situation or knew for sure...

thanks again

[HeatDeath 430]

My understanding is that it is OK for a K-1 entrant to work remotely for their foreign employer. The standard I have heard is that the K-1 entrant cannot fill any position for which a US citizen could be paid. If you are working for a UK employer, and getting paid in UK pounds to a UK bank account, that would very likely be ok.

But I'm not quite sure. This is more for telecommuting sort of jobs. I don't know if it's still ok if you're meeting with clients and doing physical work inside the US. Also, if the UK employer tries to pay you in US dollars to a US bank account, or tries to pay you through a US-based subsidiary, that is probably not ok.

[DiZZyLoX 114]

Hey there, it would definitely be payment in GBP.

I'm with you that I'm not quite sure. It's all very confusing and gray area for me. I feel like it is safer to err on the side of "don't do it!" so it doesn't come across as shady. My understanding is that if you are not removing jobs from USC that it would be okay...as obviously a U.S. citizen would not be working at a UK based company. But at the same time, like you say, if you are actually training clients and meeting with clients in the U.S., technically that should be able to be performed by a USC, right?

So confusing. I told him to just leave his UK employer and let's see what we can find for him here because we're both unsure and confused and unwilling to risk our precious K-1 or AOS.