Volunteer Firefighter

[DotNM]

Hello everyone,

I'm in the US on an L1A visa and am looking into becoming a volunteer firefighter in my community. My area, as apparently much of my state (NJ), has volunteer-only fire service.

Despite the fact this would be completely volunteer, I do have a few concerns:

• No salary would be received as a volunteer, however, to be covered under insurance/worker's compensation, the town may want an I-9 form and list me as a "town employee" purely for insurance purposes (e.g. if injured in while attending a fire call).
• There is a stipend that volunteer firefighters become eligible for in my community if they attend a certain amount of calls, training sessions, etc. This is done as a bonus/incentive to encourage volunteers to participate and is nominal and varies based on how many calls you attend, etc. (most get less than $2,000/year)

Would either of these be issues on an L1A? Getting the stipend or not isn't a concern to me, I just want to avoid running into any issues because of my visa and being a "town employee" (with no pay/salary) to be covered under insurance.

On a side note, is there some way I can get an official answer? If so, who would I call? DHS, USCIS, etc.?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[seanhodg]

We will pray for the fires to stop

[Rezzonto]

The intentions are good, and this is the most important. I would do the same in your place, but taking care of yourself is also very important, and make sure that your kindness is not overused. Just remember that if you get any injures, you can ask for a compensation and they should give it to you. If there appears any problems with it, you can always go on https://www.oxnerpermarlaw.com/seven-things-which-let-a-workers-comp-adjuster-know-shell-probably-win-your-claim/, they will help you anytime.