Voluntary work on an L2
Jul 26th 2010, 11:14 am
#1
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Posts: 82
Voluntary work on an L2
Is it possible to do voluntary work on an L2 without the need to get an EAD?
Jul 26th 2010, 11:20 am
#2
American Expat
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,598
Re: Voluntary work on an L2
Please provide more information. L2 Spouse or L2 child? What specific type of volunteer work? Maybe a soup kitchen, but you can't volunteer to wait tables for your neighbor who runs a cafe.
Jul 26th 2010, 12:22 pm
#3
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Posts: 82
Re: Voluntary work on an L2
It would be an L2 spouse and just something as simple as helping out in the local school. No payment, terms etc
Jul 26th 2010, 12:36 pm
#4
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Re: Voluntary work on an L2
Rene
Jul 26th 2010, 9:54 pm
#6
US immigration lawyer.
Joined: Jan 2008
Location: Los Angeles & Palm Springs, California
Posts: 695
Re: Voluntary work on an L2
Copied out of a response I made earlier today for another question:
A word about "volunteering." There are chapters and chapters that can be written about what constitutes unauthorized "work" in the USA. Rolling bandages once a week for the Red Cross or teaching kids their ABCs at the city library 2-3 times a week are pretty clearly OK. "Volunteering" to do brain surgery (because you have an MD and years of experience) at Cedars-Sinai and in exchange the hospital "provides" you a 7-bedroom house to stay at in Beverly Hills is pretty clearly out of the question.
Can a photographer volunteer to help out a professional photographer? Welllll, that's a toss up. Depends on how regular or episodic, depends on whether there's ANY quid pro quo, depends on what the gig is for. I can imagine that volunteering for a photographer who is doing photographs for an up-coming benefit for an AIDS charity would likely be OK. But everything else is pretty grey. THIS SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CARTE BLANCHE TO VOLUNTEER 8 HOURS A DAY, FOR 5 DAYS A WEEK, even if you're not paid a penny.
A word about "volunteering." There are chapters and chapters that can be written about what constitutes unauthorized "work" in the USA. Rolling bandages once a week for the Red Cross or teaching kids their ABCs at the city library 2-3 times a week are pretty clearly OK. "Volunteering" to do brain surgery (because you have an MD and years of experience) at Cedars-Sinai and in exchange the hospital "provides" you a 7-bedroom house to stay at in Beverly Hills is pretty clearly out of the question.
Can a photographer volunteer to help out a professional photographer? Welllll, that's a toss up. Depends on how regular or episodic, depends on whether there's ANY quid pro quo, depends on what the gig is for. I can imagine that volunteering for a photographer who is doing photographs for an up-coming benefit for an AIDS charity would likely be OK. But everything else is pretty grey. THIS SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS CARTE BLANCHE TO VOLUNTEER 8 HOURS A DAY, FOR 5 DAYS A WEEK, even if you're not paid a penny.
