> If one moonlights then does he jeopardise his H1 status or NIW?
YES (for the H1 status)
No (for the NIW)
If you moonlight using your NIW related EAD during the initial 3 years of the actual J1 waiver, you loose you H1b status and change your status to 'adjustee'. The law (or at least USCIS interpretation of it) says that you have to serve the 3 year period 'in H1b status'. So, by moonlighting on EAD, while you still have a valid 'adjustee' status you blew the conditions of your waiver. If USCIS finds out about it (by reviewing your tax records at the time of an I485 adjudication), they can invalidate your waiver and make you start all over again.
You will have to do it some other way:
- you can get a second H1b from the moonlighting employer for a part-time job. As long as you practice 'full-time' (36 hours) for your main employer, the conditions of your waiver are fulfilled and everything is legit. Problem with that is that while your primary H1b is cap exempt, your moonlight H1b is not (unless you worked for a non-profit or educational institution). Also, an H1b is expensive.
- find an agreement with your primary employer to run your moonlighting income through your primary employers books (and onto your W2). Tax wise, it shouldn't make a big difference (bc you would have to pay self-employment taxes on a 1099 independent contractor income anyway). Now, employers might not have the accounting flexibility to do this. Key would be to find a way to loop all the money through to you after deduction of taxes (but without employer overhead). Also, your primary employer might not be interested to expose himself to any liability related to your moonlighting gigs.
Coming back to your original question:
3 years and 1 day after you started your J1 waiver employment on a H1b visa, you can use your EAD to moonlight.
At that point, as long as you provide primary care services at the hpsa/mua locations stated in your NIW on a full-time basis, you can do whatever you please in your free time. If your moonlighting gigs are in a hpsa/mua, you can add them to your petition as additional practice locations and count the time towards your service requirement.
