UK National Wanting to Contract in the US

[bigSAS]

Hi all,

I have been contracting through my UK Ltd company for about a year, here in the UK. I would like to work in New York for about 9 to 18 months.

I spoke for a bit with an immigration lawyer and there didn't see to be any options for me to go out and contract on the open market. I'm suspicious that he just wasn't knowledgable about my industry and was the wrong person to speak with.

Does anyone here know who I could go to for help? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thank you

[jamesbrown]

You cannot contract in the US unless you're a Green Card holder or a US citizen. There are employment visas, sponsored by US employers, but you would be an employee of the sponsor, not a contractor in the sense of being a freelancer.

[bigSAS]

Shortage skill?

Thanks for your response jamesbrown. Does it by make any difference that my skill is on their shortage list?

[GillsMan]

Thanks for your response jamesbrown. Does it by make any difference that my skill is on their shortage list?

If your skill is on their shortage list, you've a better chance of getting a visa, but not as a contractor living/working in the US. You'll need to find an employer (i.e. not a client) to sponsor you on an H-1B visa.

Of course the other thing you could do is growing your business so that you are an employer yourself. Having a turnover over a certain size and employing Americans can get you a visa.

[GillsMan]

And here, this will be useful: Entrepreneur Visa Guide | USCIS

[sal]

You cannot contract in the US unless you're a Green Card holder or a US citizen. There are employment visas, sponsored by US employers, but you would be an employee of the sponsor, not a contractor in the sense of being a freelancer.

^This, plus the fact that AFAIK there is no real market for contractors in the term used in UK. Have you even explored the labor market over there?

[jamesbrown]

Also, even if it were possible, it's not something I'd recommend nowadays, at least for a short period. The IRS reporting requirements post FACTA/FBAR are a nightmare, and owning a foreign company will make your US tax returns extremely complicated and expensive. On the other hand, you can always source US clients from the UK (I have several), but this will probably only work in niche areas of some sectors, where they cannot source local suppliers easily. If you really want to work in the US, consider potential sponsors for an H1B employment visa, but it would make sense to wrap-up your UK company if you make that move.

[jjdarg]

I can echo what JB said. If you are moving to the States get rid of your company, first, unless you are into doing two sets of accounts with two different year ends and adding about 80 pages to your US tax returns. (oh, and paying a US tax lawyer to make sure the forms are filled out. ~$2k a year last I checked.)

[jjdarg]

I pay about £500 a year with a UK based US specialist accountant?

That's pretty good. I gave up the citizenship back in 2012 and my US-based guy was beginning to get up on his charges once the FATCA stuff started coming in.

My problem isn't so much tax guys, it's things like having my entire economic life here, but being unable to do things like sell my primary home without having to pay CGT (I don't really care about mortgage interest relief, as the house is practically paid for) or tax free savings (ISAs) here not being tax free for US purposes. And I don't intend retiring in the states, either.

Plus potential penalties. If the IRS says you're guilty, you're guilty until proven innocent. It took me three years to sort out a mistake Turbo Tax made to the tune of $3000. I had to get the Taxpayer Advocate involved because there was no one I spoke to at the IRS who understood international taxation - even on their international number. By that point the fines and penalties were going north of $6k. Too many life points eaten up in trying to sort it out.

Citizen-based taxation is a bi-partisan issue, too. The Dems believe we're not paying our fair share, and the Reps think we're unpatriotic - and besides, our votes only get counted if a tie breaker is needed in our home districts. 6 million votes spread across 50 states and countless districts does not a voting bloc make. The Republicans are making noise about FATCA, but I believe only because it, more than other citizen-based taxation issues, affects their corporate donors.

The default position of FATCA is that all of us living abroad are tax evaders and we have to prove that we aren't.
[/rant mode]

[jamesbrown]

I pay about £500 a year with a UK based US specialist accountant?

That's extraordinarily good value (if they're doing it properly ). As far as I can recall, if you have a UK company, handling Subpart F income alone (from a Controlled Foreign Corporation) requires several hours of effort, and a specialist will typically charge something not far south of £500 an hour. As jjdarg has noted, everything has become pretty hard-core post FATCA.

On your point about renouncing citizenship, once you've done that, you're an alien, regardless of birth certificate. Not having a passport isn't the same as not having the right to residency (i.e. a US Citizen without a passport is still still a US Citizen). You renounce all rights and privileges, by definition. Edit: also, note that anyone eligible for a SS number at some point can retain that SS number (it doesn't imply anything about the right to residency).