cleona

Hi everyone,

Please have a read of the overview of my background and future plans and please let me know your best recommendations on how to proceed with this. Thanks in advance.

Firstly a few months ago I came back from touring the states for 90 days, and really loved it. I went on the Waiver Program for 90 days, wish I could have done more as I wasn't working so had the time and money for it. I originally tried for a tourist visa to go for longer than 90 days but this was denied, i guess because i was unprepared for the interview and due to the fact that i'm not working could not prove i was indeed coming back. I thought the visa denial might interfere with being able to travel there as a tourist on the waiver program but luckily not, and all went well.

I've been back in the UK for a few months now and am now working in a globally renowned company as well as working part time for a smaller company. The smaller company have an office is in America and they've asked whether I'd be happy to go there temporarily for a number of months to work directly with their american office. Which is great for me, they know I loved it over there! So I'm really looking forward to this, it won't be right now, it'll be some time down the line though, but probably less than a years time. I understand the visa for this is an i-visa. This company is press associated and i've learned that the 'press' or media visa is the i-visa.

I've been very successful with my career so far, working with some of the largest corporations around, I've also freelanced a lot in the past for worldwide clients - although I've always been based in the UK. I always hoped to eventually one day go full time freelance and just work for myself. I've built up a good client base over the years who I know I can go back to when I'm ready to start working freelance.

My question is, when i do go over to America to work for the smaller company who i am currently employed with on an i-vsa, will i also be allowed to freelance? i wouldn't necessarily need to but it would be great to generate more income, especially because i'd still be part time with this company so i'd be there on a bit of a tight budget. as i'd be part time for them, i'd have lots of spare time anyway to work on my own projects, this company know about this and they're fine with that.

i'm seriously thinking about doing this but need to know now whether this is allowed or not on an i-visa. if i do do it this way, essentially i'd be employed by one company but also be working for myself. and if i were to be working freelance my clients would be from all around the world, not just uk clients, american clients would most likely be in there too, i estimate probably 50% of my clients were american based companies. i this allowed? obviously if it's not i wouldn't want to jeopardise my visa so i just wouldn't do it.

if this is not allowed on the i-visa, is there another visa that would permit me to work for myself and for a company sponsoring me to go to the US? if there is a visa allowing me to work over there for myself would i have to submit papers documenting that i run my own business, tax returns, projects worked on etc? i could show this for previous work i did some time ago, but this isn't directly related to the work i haven't yet done - ie; the company i want to create. my aim is to eventually run my own business but i'm not currently doing that so i'm not registered as self employed yet because i haven't started doing it, would i need to be?

also on another note, does my past tourist visa denial affect my new visa application? i didn't have any problems going to america, no problems at port or entry, didn't over stay, or anything like that.

ian-mstm

I'm not familiar with the I visa, but with employment-based visas in general, you are not allowed to work for anyone other than your sponsor... including yourself, so you can't be self-employed.


That's great, but it's US immigration that sets the rules on this.


To the best of my knowledge, there is no visa that allows you to work for yourself while being sponsored for an employment-based visa.


It likely won't affect it, but you must still declare the denied visa when you apply.

Ian

tht

Sounds like you need a Green Card not a visa, then you can do what you are trying to do. But that won't be easy given the details you have given.

scrubbedexpat099

An I visa, is a nonimmigrant visa which allows bona fide foreign nationals who are the representatives of foreign press, radio, film, or other foreign information media to enter the U.S. in connection with the production of documentaries or newsworthy events.

Steve_

No, because the visa is granted to work for a specific organization. You cannot hold more than one non-immigrant status at a time. In some categories you can hold the same status with more than one employer, however it's not clear from the regulations for I which are very skimpy:

The usual method is to get O-1 and work for an agency, and then the agency gets contracts for you. However I haven't heard of O-1 being used for journalists although it wouldn't surprise me to find out that David Frost for example has it. O-1 requires "outstanding ability", you might qualify for it. The trick would be to find a press agency that is willing to sponsor you for it. You have to prove your outstanding ability, peer review, getting awards in your field, etc.

However as I said, you cannot hold O-1 and I at the same time. There are basically two different types of O-1, an O-1 where the employer has sponsored you and you only work for that employer and O-1 where an agency has sponsored you and you are expected to work for different clients.

I suppose it might be possible to start up your own agency and get an E-2 visa also, E-2 requires a "substantial investment", business plan etc.

Steve_

Hmm... having read the FAM entry: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87224.pdf

It says you can get an I visa to work freelance for a media organization in another country, so say you have a contract with e.g. the BBC to make a news programme for them, that would be sufficient to get an I visa.

The question is whether you can hold multiple I categories at the same time i.e. work for multiple foreign organizations simultaneously, which is not clear from the regulations or FAM or the law frankly, you'd have to ask the State Dept. for clarification.

Holding the same category multiple times is not a common situation, as most work-authorized categories require the work to be full-time. This precludes it obviously, but with a few categories you can do it, not sure if I is one of them.