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| EB3, H1-B and paid unrelated Work/Hobby... Is it legal for me to engage? Thoughts? |
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I am faced with a dilemma and trying to tackle some finite loopholes of the US immigration law. Please advise and share what you know.
I am an H1-B waiting for my EB3 green card. No EAD and no filed 485 yet. H1-B is certified in finance/accounting area.
Now, I am also an amateur photographer/artist. Every piece of photography belongs to the original artist (me).
Here are my specific instances that I do not know what to do:
1). US company wants to buy some of my photography work. Can I sell my pics and accept the money? I would have to report this income on my tax return as a self-employed income (I believe). If I get RFE for my tax records during my 485 processing, then I may be screwed as I was not supposed to engage in any other employment within US, right?
- what if the company is not from US but from France?
Essentially, any other photographer in the world can sell their works to US companies if they wish without any problems. It seems that I cannot do that.
2). A person (in US) saw my work (pics) and wants me to do for her a set of pics from specific site in the Caribbean with some specific instructions. Essentially she wants a customized decoration art for her house.
Now, can I accept the money legally in my current status?
The work occurs outside of US. However, the customer is from US.
- what if, the site is in US?
- what if, the customer is not US citizen or US firm? Let's say Ukrainian magazine pays me to do pics of Dallas downtown...
Anyway, you can see my point, I hope. What the F am I supposed to do in these situations without jeopardizing my legal status in the US?
What status do foreign artists and athletes use to accept money while doing temporary work in the US?
Any solid advice will be very much appreciated. Thanks! |
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