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Home - Login - Register - Help This is online community of international students studying in the USA. The site where students help students to survive and thrive during their stay in America. |
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| AbroadPlanet Forums -> Help Community | Post new topic |
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11-Mar-2002 11:02 PM |
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ComputerGuru |
Hi,
I couldnt even get an answer to this from INS. I hope someone here will be able to help me or direct me into the right direction. I am junior undergrad F-1 student. I started working on internet and making money when i was in my home country for the summer after my freshman year. Then i started using my address in the USA when i came back here for my second year. But the companies require you to give them your SSN to get your money. So i gave it to them. Next year i got 1099 forms and i filed tax forms, not to get into any trouble and played it by the rules. My income was low, so i didnt have to send any money after all the deductions. But during 2001 i made more money and i think i will have to pay taxes now. They dont hold any money for taxes because its like your own business, so you never get a return, you always pay money you owe for taxes. Then i also did some custom jobs and programming stuff where i got paid by bank wire or other money transactions where i didnt have to give them my SSN. But my bank has it. I made a lot of money that way. I get paid from all over the world, and also from in USA too. In 2001 i worked harder because my dad left me and didnt pay me money anymore. Now i try to pay all my expenses. I still dont know if what i did was illegal or not but i found out that i can apply for a work permit to INS based on economic hardship. I am going to send those forms this week. They also ask for my SSN in the forms i am worried that i have to send it to them. By the way i read everything on this site about my situation and something is really interesting. My social security card doesnt say anything about work permit. On your site you say that this kind of cards are given only to Americans, i was really surprised. I am 100% sure that my social security card doesnt have a stamp on about work permit, it is just like the ones that americans have. Is this good or not? If what i do is illehal and in case i get into trouble, how can i defend myself? I didnt mean to do anything illegal and if i didnt make this money, i would have to leave USA because of my economic problem, i had no choice. If noone finds out now, can it cause trouble in the future when i try to get a work permit after i graduate? If nothing works out and everything i did turns out to be illegal and if i cant defend myself (well, this is the worst case scenario), how can i ever get to stay in USA again and get my green card? Would i have to marry someone? Sorry this was long to read but i really need help, noone know for sure if what i do is illegal or not. I wish i never used my SSN and have all the money sent to a bank account in my home country. But its too late for that now. Thank you very much in advance, Sincerely, A computer guru |
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14-Mar-2002 06:25 AM |
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Eric |
I 'am on F-1 student visa; i work from home too; and i make $8000 / month . I asked an attoney before and he told me that was not illegal.
As F-1 student you cannot take a paid employment (sure unless you have permission from INS ). But nothing prevent you to have your home business as you are not taking a job from american citizens. I will suggest you get a federal tax id and pay your tax through that not througth you social security number. I hope this will help Eric |
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20-Mar-2002 11:07 PM |
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Brian |
Unauthorized work in the US is absolutely illegal with only a few exemptions. Working from home isn't one of them.
Will the INS find out? That's a different question. Currently the Treasury Dept (IRS) and the Justice Dept. (INS) have no electronic verification systems with each other. That may change in the future. Ironically, even after Sept. 11 you have a better chance getting caught by the IRS than the INS. But even if you're audited by the IRS it doesn't automatically mean that the INS will be notified. You need to decide if the risk of losing your visa is worth the extra income. Good luck! |
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28-Mar-2002 05:29 PM |
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NANA |
PLEASE,CAN YOU GIVE ME MORE DETAILS ABOUT THIS KIND OF JOB?SINCE I NEED TO MAKE SOME MONEY TO SUPPORT MYSELF.IF POSSIBLE,CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME ADDRESS.HERE IS MY E-MAIL:s.ninive@caramail.com
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP. |
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29-Mar-2002 09:56 PM |
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bra-girl |
Hey everybody! I read a couple of messages from people that managed to pay their bills working from home. Can anybody hook me up with this kind of job? I would appreciate your help and in return will do whatever I can to help you! My online portfolio is in: http://www.geocities.com/dede_pira/portfolio/ Thanks! Andrea |
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30-Mar-2002 09:43 PM |
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InTrouble |
Simple Rules:
If you are an F-1 student, you are NOT allowed to work and to earn money from out-of-campus sources unless you have special permission to do so. Special permission can be the economic hardship thing you have said or the OPTs. And, out-of-campus sources are any job/earning sources from where your income is taxable against your US social security number. So, you are not responsible for works you have done for companies or people from other countries as long as you have not used your US social security number for that. Sometimes social security cards for F-1 students do not come with statement about work authorization. Having no stamp, however, does not exempt you from the requirements of an F-1 student to not to engage yourself in unauthorized employment. It is nice that you are trying to support yourself (I wish I could do that!). Apply for the economic hardship thing ASAP. It is better to be safe now than taking risk. You have a nice future. If some company or person unofficially pays you for your work, by unofficially I meant, your payment has no record and is not being taxed against your SSN, it is OK (It is illegal both for you and for the person, but you are safer that way). Hope that helps. |
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09-Apr-2002 06:29 PM |
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ComputerGuru |
i am a programmer and i dont work for any company. i get paid directly for custom jobs and some other things. i also do some websites. i could do the exact same job and get paid from exact same people even if i was in my home country. i am a student here, and i am continuing my job which i was already doing in my country.
i am talking about pretty good amount of money here, i believe i just started making over $9,000 per month. so the money transfers or checks i receive arent small at all and i wonder if they are being tracked. i have used my SSN only for small jobs and i got my income reported to IRS from last year. i received 1099 forms and i am about file tax forms for those. its only about $7000 for the whole last year, and i will need to pay taxes for that. i was also in economic hardship because my family wouldnt support me anymore. i wasnt making good money until a couple months ago, so i just started to afford all my expenses and started even supporting my own family. i applied for work authorization based on economic hardship and sent the forms about 2 weeks ago. the form asked me to put my SSN, so INS has it now. i dont know if they are going to find out about my reported income and if that will put me in trouble. in case they say i have done anything illegal, do i have the chance to defend myself? the facts are: i am in a top college in USA and in a good major with a good GPA. i just continued my work that i did in my home country and i even intended to pay taxes just because i am living here for this period. i had no other chance, because i was in need for money to pay for my college. i applied for student loans at many places and got declined for being a foreigner. my intensions have always been good in this and i did this to be able to finish my education. can this justify my situation in case i get into trouble with INS? this was part 1 of my questions. now part 2: in case everything goes really bad and everything i did is considered illegal and i have to leave the country or something, do i ever have any chance to come back? i have an american citizen girlfriend. if i marry her, would i be able to come back to USA regardless of my background? in case everything goes ok and i get my work permit from INS based on economic hardship for my application, what can i do in the future to prevent any trouble? should i receive all the money i get to a bank in my country and then transfer it back here to spend it here? is there any problems about transfering about $10,000 per month from my country to USA as long as i am a student? is there any taxes for these transfers, or bringing money? or should i only bring the money that i need for school and expenses and leave the rest there and save it there? and i guess i should stop using my SSN at all. (well, actually with work permit i would be able to use it i guess). this has been a long post with lots of questions. even if you can answer them partially, i would really appreciate it. best regards, a computer guru |
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10-Apr-2002 07:56 PM |
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Cat Girl Nuku Nuku |
It's funny how the INS does not allow us F-1 students to work, however there is no rule that says we can't open our own business here in the US. I am a holder of an F-1 student visa. My social security says I am able to work only with INS authorization. I am also a business owner with a registered company with a valid employer ID number. That means I am fully authorized to hire Americans to work for me and yet I cannot work myself. How ironic.
Another thing about the INS is that they love to threaten us F-1 visa holders about deportation if we are caught working off campus. Why would they want to deport us educated people with prestigious college degrees when there are zillions of other illiterate, non-English speaking Mexicans from down south who are obviously of lesser use to the nation compared to us highly educated people? If you were in charge of the INS, who would you deport? Which of the 2 groups would serve a better purpose from being in the US? When we F-1 students work, we also pay taxes. In other words, we are contributing to the US economy unlike those other Mexicans who use fake SSNs & documents to obtain jobs. Which of the 2 groups is commiting a bigger crime? What the zillions of other illegal immigrants from a host of Asian countries currently working illegally in big cities like CHicago, San Francisco and NY? Step into Chicago's Chinatown and you'll know exactly what I mean. The INS knows of this problem and yet,they aren't doing a thing to deport these people. Rather than picking on the poor Arab-American communities & threatening us educated F-1 students, the INS should start paying attention to the illegals in these big cities if they hope to do something about the growing problems with unwanted immigration. It's better to rid the US of 1,000 illiterate, non-English speaking illegals than a single F-1 student with a college degree up his/her sleeve. |
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16-Apr-2002 06:26 AM |
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yass |
Can you please explain me the procedure of doing business from home. I mean as a webmaster or through anyother way. my email is yaserarsh@hotmail.com
Thanks |
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