Work issue before receiving permit

[Olga&Jared 267]

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when it comes to tax time, you will have to disclose this income and that will be proof to any officer looking at your taxes that you had employment

This is something that I don't quite understand. As far as I know, I won't even be able to have a bank account till AOS is done. My fiancé told me that we'd probably have to have a joined account at first. That's why I am not sure what I'd be able to declare without having an American bank account. I would probably leave one or two Russian bank accounts which I use in case if I need to do any transactions between me and my family in Russia, pay taxes for my property there etc. But why would I need to declare that if it's a Russian bank? 

 

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 believe you mentioned previously that you have clients from all over - including the U.S. correct? If you are living in the U.S. and you accept work from a U.S. client, well that's pretty clearly U.S. employment, is it not?

Only if I choose to work with U.S. clients. For example, for the past few months, I've mainly worked with people from the UK, Israel, and Russia. So it always depends and it's up to me to accept or decline an order. I could just not sign up for U.S.-related work during the wait time and it wouldn't make it a U.S. employment. 

 

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As previously discussed, the INA 245(c)(2) and INA 245(c)(8) bars to adjustment do not apply to: ^[4]

 

•Immediate relatives;

Well, that sounds bloody awesome!  It would definitely save me a lot of headaches.

[C90 376]

3 hours ago, Neonred said:

Nope.  Unauthorized employment by an immediate relative will be forgiven and will NOT result in a ban, deportation, or refusal to adjust status.

Its still illegal to work without an EAD in the US, since they don't want you to take away jobs from USC's and PR. Not everything will be forgiven just because you are married to an USC. And like I said, there are people on this forum who successfully maintained a job in their home country, making the money on their foreign bank account while waiting for EAD and obtained a GC or citizenship because it is a gray area since you don't take an Americans job, but I personally wouldn't risk it. In the end it's up to the officer that you have your interview with (and their supervisor usually) to decide if you're eligible for a GC.

[Dutchster 1,106]

Let's be honest, if you cannot wait for the work permit to arrive, the K-1 is not the route you should take. While working without a permit is forgiven to those who's immediate relative are a USC, I would still think twice about breaking the law --even though it is, as mentioned before, a gray area when it comes to perform work for non US companies. 

 

Again; to any K-1 applicant who cannot wait for their EAD: K-1 isn't the route you should take. 

Edited February 16, 2019 by Dutchster

[geowrian 22,335]

Working without authorization is a violation of status. It is against this website's TGOS to advise or condone illegal immigration activities.

Unauthorized work is not a bar for AOS as the spouse of a USC.

There's no gray area in this case. Self-employment means working for yourself. If you are residing in the US (note this is different than a self-employed visitor!), that's working for a US-based employer.

 

4 hours ago, Olga&Jared said:

This is something that I don't quite understand. As far as I know, I won't even be able to have a bank account till AOS is done. My fiancé told me that we'd probably have to have a joined account at first. That's why I am not sure what I'd be able to declare without having an American bank account. I would probably leave one or two Russian bank accounts which I use in case if I need to do any transactions between me and my family in Russia, pay taxes for my property there etc. But why would I need to declare that if it's a Russian bank? 

You can get as US bank account with an SSN alone. You will qualify for an SSN for the first 76 days from entry on a K-1 (90 days - 14 days of legal status remaining required). You will also qualify for an SSN with an EAD.

 

4 hours ago, Olga&Jared said:

Only if I choose to work with U.S. clients. For example, for the past few months, I've mainly worked with people from the UK, Israel, and Russia. So it always depends and it's up to me to accept or decline an order. I could just not sign up for U.S.-related work during the wait time and it wouldn't make it a U.S. employment. 

Doesn't matter what clients you pick up.

 

4 hours ago, Olga&Jared said:

Well, that sounds bloody awesome!  It would definitely save me a lot of headaches.

As noted above, it's not a bar for AOS. It's also still not legal.

[Neonred 3,446]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Working without authorization is a violation of status. It is against this website's TGOS to advise or condone illegal immigration activities.

Unauthorized work is not a bar for AOS as the spouse of a USC.

There's no gray area in this case. Self-employment means working for yourself. If you are residing in the US (note this is different than a self-employed visitor!), that's working for a US-based employer.

 

You can get as US bank account with an SSN alone. You will qualify for an SSN for the first 76 days from entry on a K-1 (90 days - 14 days of legal status remaining required). You will also qualify for an SSN with an EAD.

 

Doesn't matter what clients you pick up.

 

As noted above, it's not a bar for AOS. It's also still not legal.

Yet there seems to be no consequences.

[Olga&Jared 267]

Thank you, everyone, for responding. 

 

I do understand that the law is the law. I don't have any intentions of breaking it. I asked because I wanted to understand how exactly it works in the US since it does differ from other countries I lived in. We will consult with a lawyer before I move, it's never a bad thing to do. 

 

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Yet there seems to be no consequences.

To me personally, it makes sense. Foreigners who move here not to just visit do work before obtaining all the papers, especially if they're self-employed. I don't mean to be rude, but working adults having to give up work which isn't country-related doesn't sound like a fair must do. Again, I understand that it's the law, but I also understand why it could be forgiven. 

[geowrian 22,335]

37 minutes ago, Neonred said:

Yet there seems to be no consequences.

Yet it doesn't make it legal, and only legal options are permitted according to the TOS.

[Villanelle 4,121]

1 hour ago, Olga&Jared said:

Thank you, everyone, for responding. 

 

I do understand that the law is the law. I don't have any intentions of breaking it. I asked because I wanted to understand how exactly it works in the US since it does differ from other countries I lived in. We will consult with a lawyer before I move, it's never a bad thing to do. 

 

To me personally, it makes sense. Foreigners who move here not to just visit do work before obtaining all the papers, especially if they're self-employed. I don't mean to be rude, but working adults having to give up work which isn't country-related doesn't sound like a fair must do. Again, I understand that it's the law, but I also understand why it could be forgiven. 

I find it funny that you said 'the law is the law' because the exact issue here is the 'law'. Ive done quite a bit of research on this issue. First I was against remote work, then I was for it, now Im just undecided and advise people to do what they need to do. The truth is the law is unclear on the matter- Congress has not updated the definitions to include 'remote work'. Its a case of technology moving faster then the law can keep up. So its more like the law does not allow it and the law does not prohibit it. You are technically not breaking nor following any law- it is not covered in the law. Make sense? Hopefully they will expand the definitions at some point but with all thats going on in the government its not a top priority nor is there currently any legislation addressing it. So again, if you feel you need the income you can work remotely with no consequences as a K visa holder. 

[Olga&Jared 267]

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I find it funny that you said 'the law is the law' because the exact issue here is the 'law'. Ive done quite a bit of research on this issue.

I only said it because the majority of users seemed to be quite inflexible about this issue. And if it was strict and one-sided, I wouldn't have second thoughts. 

 

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Congress has not updated the definitions to include 'remote work'. Its a case of technology moving faster then the law can keep up. So its more like the law does not allow it and the law does not prohibit it. You are technically not breaking nor following any law- it is not covered in the law.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It's a common thing for some of the laws here as well. My only problem is that since I am not going to be on a territory of my own country, I don't feel as brave and confident about doing things my way. I kinda feel like I could, but at the same time, I'm worried to do something that would result in me not being able to stay with my husband to be. And honestly, it makes me a bit angry because my mentality is shaped in a way where I'm always looking for doing things my way if I see that there's even the slightest possibility for it to work out

 

Russia is a country with much better flexibility. Over here a lot of things, including bureaucracy, depend not only on a system but on your own actions as well. So I am used to the fact that I always have a lot of control over my life and the way things play out. For example, when I lived in Spain, I was unpleasantly surprised by their medical system (which I imagine takes after American one a lot). There was very little possibility for me to choose to go to any doctor I like, regardless of the location. While here I don't need to go to a general practitioner to determine what's wrong with me and appoint me to another doctor. I can appoint myself directly and I can choose any medical institution I want. Plus, it's much less expensive and the majority of meds can be purchased without prescriptions. 

 

It's just one example but there're a lot of differences like that. That's why when I read about not being able to work as a self-employed artist, to me it made no sense at all.