

Ask HN: Can A US Company Bring In a Foreign Freelancer for 2 Months Legally? - jackkinsella

I'm a Rails freelancer based in the UK and a company in San Fran offered me a contract on the condition that I come over and work with them locally.<p>I'm not a US national. I'm Irish and I am set up as a sole trader. (A sole trader is an independent businessman, not quite a private limited company.) Would it be possible for me to come to the US for 2 months and complete the contract? Is there anything I, or my employer, should be careful with?
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byoung2
IANAL, but it seems like it can't be done legally. Here's an example I was
able to dig up:

<http://www.workpermit.com/us/employee.htm#UScandFreelance>

And this one makes it sound more grim if you were considering doing it while
on a tourist visa:

 _In the eyes of CBP, the arrangement appears to be a circumvention of work
authorization laws by paying a foreign individual in exchange for work, even
when payment is made to a foreign account. Furthermore, in the independent
contractor situation, the actual “work” often involves consulting, research or
analysis that primarily takes place on U.S. soil. If the principal activity
happens in the U.S. and the benefit is retained by the U.S. company, it will
constitute unauthorized employment by a business visitor._

[http://www.shipmangoodwin.com/files/Publication/ec95917d-826...](http://www.shipmangoodwin.com/files/Publication/ec95917d-8268-4932-b9c2-1096bb77cab0/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/65201174-350b-493b-a7de-2307c0a29132/Reprint_ECKERT_072610.pdf)

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jackkinsella
Thanks, very informative. (And depressing.)

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byoung2
It seems so silly. Apparently, you could come to the US to scope out the
requirements, but you would have to do the actual work outside the US. The US
doesn't want you here for 2 months, staying in one of our hotels, buying
groceries, going to restaurants, or buying our gas. That might actually
stimulate our economy.

