Is it legal to be on US company payroll without any visa status outside US

[ps316]

I have little bit complex situation, I came to US on L1B from Company A subsidiary in India, my VISA expired in Jan 2014 and I94 is valid till 6/30/2015.
Company A hired me directly and processed my H1B which is picked up in lottery and now to cover the gap of three months for H1B to be valid they applied extension for L1B in normal process.

Everything was going as expected but unfortunately there is medical emergency in my family back home and I have to go back.
Now, I have asked my employer that if I can work from India for 2-3 months and then come back on H1B, I have few doubts about it.
- Is it legal for them to have me on their payroll for that time period when I have no status here in US and I am not in US?
- Will it impact H1b processing?
- I heard about changing the L1b extension petition to counselor review, will it be of any help in this case.

Please let me know about it.

Thanks

[inadmissible]

It does not violate US rules to work abroad for a US company without valid US immigration status

[raghvi]

I have little bit complex situation, I came to US on L1B from Company A subsidiary in India, my VISA expired in Jan 2014 and I94 is valid till 6/30/2015.
Company A hired me directly and processed my H1B which is picked up in lottery and now to cover the gap of three months for H1B to be valid they applied extension for L1B in normal process.

Everything was going as expected but unfortunately there is medical emergency in my family back home and I have to go back.
Now, I have asked my employer that if I can work from India for 2-3 months and then come back on H1B, I have few doubts about it.
- Is it legal for them to have me on their payroll for that time period when I have no status here in US and I am not in US?
- Will it impact H1b processing?
- I heard about changing the L1b extension petition to counselor review, will it be of any help in this case.

Please let me know about it.

Thanks

-With whom you work with outside US is hardly an immigration matter as long as its not an anti-US work. So yes, its legal to work on US payroll outside US. You do have to take care of the taxation aspect of the same. I would assume you still have to pay taxes on that income in US as 2-3 Months is generally not considered a resident Indian for tax purposes (do check with a tax attorney).
- It should not impact h1 processing.
- If you are planning to come back on h1 no need to convert L1 extension to consular review. But if at all you want to keep a backup in case H1 doesnt go through then yes it would make sense to go for converting L1 as consular process. But remember if you leave now, all stay beyond 6/30 till date of departure is considered out of status and would have to be declared.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[ps316]

Thanks for quick response, that sounds good and yes I will be paying taxes for those 2-3 months.
I have doubt about your point,

"But remember if you leave now, all stay beyond 6/30 till date of departure is considered out of status and would have to be declared."

As extension is applied to cover beyond 6/30 and if I leave before getting any response (approval/RFE/denial), is it really considered as out of status?

Thanks