on H1, also has company

T

ttoker

Registered Users (C)
Here is my situation,
I am on H1-B with my current employer, I recently started an online business with 2 partners, it's an S type corporation. I provide IT service to this online business of ours, I also finance it. I do not get paid a salary, we are just planning to share profits between owners and I am planning to file it as other personal income.

Is this legal, do I need to be under some sort of Visa from this business we have started in order to share the profit?

One other question I have is if some company hires my company to do a job and pays to my company's account, not mine, can I go ahead and do the job without a visa, since they would be paying the company for the services and I would be providing the service as a means of investment to my company?
 
Who is working for the company? Who markets and actually does the work? It can't be you since you do not have an H-1 to work for that company in any capacity.

As to your other question, NO. You cannot work for any unauthorized employer. Your ownership of the corporation certainly does not change that. If you want to work AT ALL for the company, you must get some type of work authorization to permit it. Anything that you do for the company would likely be considered work, even answering the phones, sweeping the floor, selling services, or programming.
 
Well yes I do provide service for the company but I do not get paid for it.

So you are saying that I wouldn't be able to touch anything at this company without H1-B even if I am not getting a penny out of it? That also covers giving advise, talking on the phone, or financing the company. Do I need H1-B to give money to the company, I guess not. Then why do I need H1-B to give advise? You are saying I can't invest in this company by telling them what to do, or by consulting, but I can invest in giving money? I can be at Ford's board meeting and with my 10 shares I can raise my finger and give advise on how things should be run but I can't do the same with a private company that happens to me mine?

Ok then, let's say I applied for H1-B through this company. They are not paying me a salary and I don't think INS approves H1-B's when there is no salary. What now?

Even if we apply for H1-B with a salary, it's quite likely that it will be rejected since the company is yet a startup with no solid income or client base.

I am trying to identify a logic gap here, if what you say is true, does that mean that a person who works for a company with H1-B in this country cannot start or run a company on it's own? It seems there is no way to do this which I cannot bring myself to believe.

Thank you very much for your time.
 
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