Is it okay working outside the US remotely for a few months?

[AndersonGraves 0]

Hi everyone,

 

My wife and I have been married over three years. I am from Peru with Spanish dual citizenship, she is American. We met and got married in Madrid, Spain.

 

We applied for a spouse visa back in 2019, as of now, we are waiting for our interview at the US consulate in Madrid in just two weeks (August 9). We think that we have everything in order to have our visa approved.

 

One week ago I got a really good offer with an American company for a full time remote job. I explained  my situation to them and they're willing to wait for me to arrive to the US.

 

My wife is 7 months pregnant, we were planning to be in the US at least a couple of months ago, but you know sometimes immigration times get extended. So, my plan was to arrive to the US by the middle of August, if everything goes alright with the consulate. After that, we were planning to wait in the US (at my in law's house) two weeks to receive my social security card, so I can start working with the American company and then go back to Spain and have our baby here and then travel back to the US one month after our baby is born. 

 

Why we were planning to do so? Well, we are not 100% sure that we will be able to find a health insurance that will cover my wife since she doesn't have currently one. And even if we get one, we will end up paying around 5K$ in the best case scenario. And on top of that, all of her checkups have been in Madrid and we feel more comfortable having our baby here. So my question is, would it be okay to leave after two weeks of a first entry to the US with my social security card, then come back to Spain to work for a few months here remotely and then go back to the US in November/December? Of course, we will travel back to the US before our visa stamp expires (6months valid). Do you see any issues that we might have by leaving the US so soon after my first entry and by working remotely from Spain?

 

Thank you very much for reading us. We really appreciate your help!!

[arken 4,197]

24 minutes ago, AndersonGraves said:

So my question is, would it be okay to leave after two weeks of a first entry to the US with my social security card, then come back to Spain to work for a few months here remotely and then go back to the US in November/December?

Perfectly Ok.

 

 

25 minutes ago, AndersonGraves said:

Of course, we will travel back to the US before our visa stamp expires (6months valid).

Don't worry about the visa expiry. Your visa is useless after you enter the US the first time. The stamp they put on your visa/passport at POE will act as a green card for up to a year. You will be traveling as a permanent resident.

 

 

[Crazy Cat 39,313]

1.  The US petitioner must enter the US either with you or before you.

2.  Once you enter the US with your spousal visa, it is void.  It does not expire in 6 months.  Once you have entered, you will be a legal resident.  You can then exit and enter whenever you want using your passport.  Entering again in November or December would not be an issue. 

3.  Your SS card may or may not be sent to you within a couple weeks.

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Crazy Cat

[JeanneAdil 6,203]

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

1.  The US petitioner must enter the US either with you or before you.

2.  Once you enter the US with your spousal visa, it is void.  It does not expire in 6 months.  Once you have entered, you will be a legal resident.  You can then exit and enter whenever you want.  Entering again in November or December would not be an issue. 

3.  Your SS card may or may not be sent to you within a couple weeks.

 

do not count on SS card coming in 2 weeks

also ,  your USC wife may not be able to travel as she is pregnant / she may need dr permission

 

Generally, women are not allowed to travel by air after 36 weeks for domestic travel, and after 28 to 35 weeks for international travel. The decision on whether to travel and how far to travel at any time during pregnancy should be a joint decision between you and your healthcare provider or midwife.

[Mike E 11,723]

40 minutes ago, AndersonGraves said:

 .One week ago I got a really good offer with an American company for a full time remote job.
I explained  my situation to them and they're willing to wait for me to arrive to the US.

 

 … 

 

Why we were planning to do so? Well, we are not 100% sure that we will be able to find a health insurance that will cover my wife since she doesn't have currently one. And even if we get one, we will end up paying around 5K$ in the best case scenario.

If your employer doesn’t provide health insurance that covers you, your wife; and your newborn then you don’t have a “really good offer”. And if your out of pocket cost for delivering a baby is $5000 you don’t have a good offer. 
 

40 minutes ago, AndersonGraves said:

 

 . So my question is, would it be okay to leave after two weeks of a first entry to the US with my social security card, then come back to Spain to work for a few months here remotely and then go back to the US in November/December?

Once you enter the USA on your immigration visa, you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR). While you are not supposed to be continuously absent for 181 days or more, that has nothing to do with expiration date of your visa.     
 

This said, LPR status  is for living in the USA not working and living outside the USA. While I don’t agree with your rationale for leaving the USA, if you want to proceed with this plan, then file for a re-entry permit (I-131) since your plan will break continuous residency.  

[AndersonGraves 0]

52 minutes ago, Mike E said:

If your employer doesn’t provide health insurance that covers you, your wife; and your newborn then you don’t have a “really good offer”. And if your out of pocket cost for delivering a baby is $5000 you don’t have a good offer. 
 

Once you enter the USA on your immigration visa, you are a lawful permanent resident (LPR). While you are not supposed to be continuously absent for 181 days or more, that has nothing to do with expiration date of your visa.     
 

This said, LPR status  is for living in the USA not working and living outside the USA. While I don’t agree with your rationale for leaving the USA, if you want to proceed with this plan, then file for a re-entry permit (I-131) since your plan will break continuous residency.  

Thank you very much for your answer. Regarding, the health insurance, I have to see my employee's benefits yet, I should receive it next week. I just did an appraisal doing some research online. Every pregnancy is different and I am aware that 5k can perfectly be a good estimate. In Spain, everything is covered, no out of pocket payments. 

 

Regarding my intentions to live in the US, of course we are planning to live in the US, our situation is just different since we are expecting a baby. I am just pondering wether to accept that job or not. Thank you very much for your answer 

[AndersonGraves 0]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

1.  The US petitioner must enter the US either with you or before you.

2.  Once you enter the US with your spousal visa, it is void.  It does not expire in 6 months.  Once you have entered, you will be a legal resident.  You can then exit and enter whenever you want using your passport.  Entering again in November or December would not be an issue. 

3.  Your SS card may or may not be sent to you within a couple weeks.

 

1. Yes, the plan was entering together for a couple of weeks and then come back to Spain. Her pregnancy is healthy and the doctor can write a letter to let us flight, she won't be over 36 weeks when we travel.

2. Okay, thank you very much.

3. I've saw in the SS website, that it should arrive within 3 weeks upon entry to the US. I had recently a friend with the same visa that got her ss card in just 12 days. But in any case, in order to start working I just need the card number right? My inlaw's can just can scan it and email it to me. 

 Thank you very much for your time.

Edited July 23, 2022 by AndersonGraves

[Shwee 6]

2 hours ago, AndersonGraves said:

company and then go back to Spain and have our baby here and then travel back to the US one month after our baby is born. 

 

Are you traveling back to the U.S with the baby after 1 month? You need to get baby's CRBA and passport. Might be longer than a month before you can travel back with the baby.

[AndersonGraves 0]

14 minutes ago, Shwee said:

Are you traveling back to the U.S with the baby after 1 month? You need to get baby's CRBA and passport. Might be longer than a month before you can travel back with the baby.

Hi, yes it is our plan. We are aware about the CRBA and the passport for our child. As we've seen, the appointments in the US consulate in Madrid can be booked within a week to do both procedures at the same time. We've seen as well that if you have to travel within 10 days, they can expedite the process to issue you a passport. Thank you!