can h4 work for foreign employer & get paid in foreign account ?

[videomusic123]

stupid crazy question---

can h4 get paid in foreign account for work performed from home!! i read couple of posts people arguing on the point. i am not sure how it will displace employee in usa. most of the folks say its
illegal...with ppl saying h4 can only perform voluntry unpaid work in usa.

i was trying to think this with other prospective. can non-iimg foreign workers after their capout work in foreign countries like china,canada,mexico or india and get paid in usa sallary? few people say it does happen and is legal. may be foreign country laws allow and not the us..

more insight in this will be highly appriciated?

[raghvi]

can h4 work for foreign employer & get paid in foreign account ?

Well, H4 and L2 (without EAD) both are dependent visas given to family members of the primary H1 and L1 holders. As per USCIS : "Family members in the H-4 nonimmigrant classification may not engage in employment in the United States. AND Spouses of L-1 workers may apply for work authorization by filing Form I-765 with fee. "

"A nonresident alien individual engaged or considered to be engaged in a trade or business in the United States during the year. You must file even if:

Your income did not come from a trade or business conducted in the United States,
You have no income from U.S. sources, or
Your income is exempt from income tax."

If you are working on US soil and getting paid, irrespective for whom and where the payment is happening you will have to get a proper authorization to do so.

To cut the long story short, if you are earning income you must file returns in US (unless of course the income is so low that you don't have to file at all), if you file returns you would not be considered as dependent as technically you are "independent", well at least financially, and if you are working you would need proper authorization to do so. . This is my opinion and not legal advice, please do seek expert opinion too.

[raghvi]

can h4 work for foreign employer & get paid in foreign account ?

To take up the second half of the discussion, of working on H4 from a foreign location, as per my opinion one does not have any status as such while outside US so it doesn't matter whether you were on H1, L1, H4 or whatever while you were in US, as soon as you left US it has no significance. I am sure that there are legal issues around paying salary to a worker who is not actually in US, as W-2s would still have to be generated, and the same would be shown in the company's own account books too. Unless the person is super critical to the company's well being I don't see many companies stretching themselves beyond few months and taking risks with not only the USCIS and IRS, but also from project delivery perspective. They would rather try to hire another worker here, or offshore the work entirely. This again is my personal opinion.