Volunteer work while on TN status

W

wpower

New Member
Hi folks I am am moving to the US soon on TN status. I have been doing some volunteer work for non-profit organization in Canada. I am wondering if I will be able to continue doing that while in US on TN status? It's just some information analysis and advisory type of work, so they are OK with me doing that remotely, but I am not sure if I can legally do that.

Can you please shed some light, and how/where I can check that (immigration lawyer?, send inquiry to USCIS?, or some official information already available online?) ? Thanks!
 
The general rule of thumb is any volunteer work must be the type of work that is typically done by volunteers only.
For example, volunteering at the local library, the local food bank, the local church, animal shelter, art museum, etc,
If the type of work you are doing is typically done by a paid employee are you are calling it volunteer work because you are not getting paid (you are doing it for the "experience"), that is not allowed.

Another way of looking at it is, will your "volunteer work" potentially be taking away a job of United State Citizen?
Since the organization is based in Canada and is a non-profit your are likely okay.

Google it. On my first google search I found the following
https://internationalcenter.umich.edu/students/employment-volunteer
 
Thanks for the quick response Amberleaf. Yeah it's in Canada so I initially thought it's OK, but later after Googling I saw different opinions, but also recognize they are about volunteering for a US organization rather than Canada.

Just wanna clarify, do you mean it's OK to continue it as it's for a non-profit in Canada?

Kind Regards,
 
I am not a lawyer and I don't work for USCIS, but I think you should be fine since the organization is based in Canada.

But I can't say if "information analysis and advisory work" is typically done by volunteers.
 
Amberleaf said:
I am not a lawyer and I don't work for USCIS, but I think you should be fine since the organization is based in Canada.

But I can't say if "information analysis and advisory work" is typically done by volunteers.
Click to expand...

Got it. Thanks and I will probably want to consult a TN lawyer for legal advise on this and other TN related issues.

In that regard, just wondering if anybody here have good TN lawyers to recommend? I did Google Search and found some but not sure about their reputation, so if people here had good experience with some lawyer that would be helpful.
 
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