Special kind of internship - B-1 visa?

[blahblahblog 36]

Tax law and immigration law are different in the US.

To satisfy B1 status all the compensation you receive must be restricted to coverage of expenses. You can't get paid an actual salary or compensation for your work. Otherwise it's violation of status for USCIS.

You can't legally sign a W9 under B1 visa (doing so would be fraudulent for IRS, you're an alien person). You can sign a W8EN under B1 and you must if you receive any money above a minimum limit.

If you receive actual salary under W8EN you're fine with the IRS but USCIS may consider you violated status which may cause you trouble in the future.

But seriously, this is a conversation you should be having with the institute, not with anonymous people on the internet.

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But seriously, this is a conversation you should be having with the institute, not with anonymous people on the internet.

Exactly

[florsaff 0]

I had this conversation with the institute (I was in the middle of an e-mail exchange when I posted here), I just wanted to double check because I have no experience on this.

So as it turns out I can fill a W8BEN form under a B1 so the tax aspect is not a problem. Back to my original concern, I am just afraid of the officer at the POE to consider I will be studying (which I won't, the institute is not even an educational institute) or to give me trouble for the word "internship" on the title (even though it's a training not a proper internship). All of this is clarified in the agreement I signed with the institute (which I will bring with me in case I need to show it in the POE). I am 100% sure there is no other type of visa suitable for this program other than B-1 and I honestly believe that this program falls in the B-1 category, but because of all the gray areas regarding the B-1 I'm scared the agent might think otherwise. I am afraid of being sent back home for not having a proper visa. Does anybody know the implications if that happens? Should I be this worried and stressed, is it really THAT bad at the POE?

By the way I've been to the States 3 times before working with a J-1 and never had any problem, I have a clean record. Will that help me?

Thanks everyone, you are helping me a lot!

[blahblahblog 36]

1) Stop worrying that much. You should be fine.

2) Yeah, prior entries establish that you follow the rules and may help you.