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Working remotely from the US

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    Working remotely from the US

    My partner might be doing a placement as part of her course in the US for a couple of months (highly speculative at this point). I'd like to go with them and work while I'm there. I had a look at doing a contract in the US, but there appears to be no visa for temporary work and H1-B would require a long commitment with low chances of actually getting one.

    Second idea was to do a contract for a UK employer from the US. Several questions here - is it legal and simple for visa and tax purposes? I'd assume since I was not doing work in the USA I'd be ok on a tourist via. Would a client accept a contractor's offset hours (9-5 UK time would be 3am - 10am so parity is clearly not viable for anyone but the most hardened of night owls) and is it actually practical?

    #2

    Originally posted by jumbotron View Post
    Second idea was to do a contract for a UK employer from the US. Several questions here - is it legal and simple for visa and tax purposes? I'd assume since I was not doing work in the USA I'd be ok on a tourist via. Would a client accept a contractor's offset hours (9-5 UK time would be 3am - 10am so parity is clearly not viable for anyone but the most hardened of night owls) and is it actually practical?
    This is waaaaay more complicated that you want it to be, both from a US and UX tax perspective, and from the perspective of your client accepting such a thing.

    If you have a current client, check with them first (many, especially in finance, will not allow their data to cross into non-EU territories). If your client says they'll allow it, get expert advice on the tax implications. if you're not careful, you could have both the UK and the US claiming tax on the same earnings, or even end up working illegally in the US (not advisable). Length of stay has a bearing on things too, and don't forget about insurances.
    Last edited by Paralytic; 23 September 2021, 15:56.

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      #3
      As you say, your partner is unlikely to get an H1B and you are, therefore, unlikely to get an H4, but you can work on an H4 (you could under Obama, you couldn't under Trump, you can under Biden again).

      If you're just intending to go for a couple of months, treat it as a holiday, forget about doing productive work over there. In theory, you would have to pay tax there (ignoring the illegality of doing productive work on a visa waiver or B visa), but you would be resident in the UK and taxable here on your worldwide income. You could always say one thing and do another, but I would strongly recommend against it.

      In terms of what a UK client would accept, how are we supposed to answer that? Either you can find one that will or you can't, but see above.

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        #4
        Sounds like it's pretty damn complex even without working out the timezone issues. I guess if it does happen I'll treat it as a sabbatical and find something fun to do out there.

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          #5
          Originally posted by jumbotron View Post
          Sounds like it's pretty damn complex even without working out the timezone issues. I guess if it does happen I'll treat it as a sabbatical and find something fun to do out there.
          Good move, IMHO. It's a fun place.

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