Letsgonow

We are self employed with our own business registered in the UK we custom make items for customers home furnishings etc
We are planning to go travelling we wont spend more than 3 months in a country. What I want to find out is can we make things for customers while traveling? We will probably buy the equipment we need while over there sewing machine etc if its not allowed then we wont do it I have tried searching for answers but have been unsuccessful. We plan to travel the USA Australia and Europe would the rules be different in each place?
Thanks in advance.

markwm

You should check the status of working for each country as it applies to your situation. You certainly cannot do any work whilst in the US without an appropriate visa.

Speedwell

Absolutely correct. In the US you can't do any work that a US resident be hired to do for you, nor can you even accept alternate compensation like barter or lodging in lieu of pay, nor can you do work for your own business other than attending meetings or taking training classes, nor can you so much as accept a bowl of soup from a soup kitchen if you are volunteering there. Writers are technically not allowed to even work on their book in the US unless they have a visa saying so. Foreign correspondents need to have a special visa given to the media.

In a word, no, no work, sorry.

Letsgonow

Wow! ok thank you, no work for me then just play

jeffreyhy

I think you should discuss your business activities and your travel plans in more detail with a US immigration attorney. The cost of a consultation would be well worth it.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

You were certainly on a roll there for a while... until you got to here! If you volunteer at a soup kitchen and, as a result of that activity, you get a bowl of soup... there is nothing wrong with that - as long as everyone who volunteers gets a bowl of soup. If, however, you receive a bowl of soup where others receive nothing, then that might cross the line! It's the difference between the soup kitchen showing appreciation for its volunteers and you bartering with them for the soup in exchange for your help.

Ian

Speedwell

That's true. It was an analogy that an immigration attorney used to me, rather dramatically, to illustrate the principle that you can't arrange even to be reimbursed for your volunteerism. I think the actual question at issue was whether someone could accept mileage reimbursement from a charity if they used their car to run errands for them. The attorney said no. Has the interpretation of those rules changed?

jeffreyhy

I agree.

I think this post, for one, reminds us that things may not be so 'black and white'.
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...41&postcount=4

I am particularly struck by the reminder that the law actually deals with employment, which is not quite the same thing as work, although the words are often used interchangeably even in authoritative circles.

Regards, JEff

scrubbedexpat099

I agree it is not as straightforward as can be implied.

My assumption is that most people in such cases ignore the fine legalities.

Also that arguing the fine point when seeking a discretionary entry is not a good idea.

holly_1948

For USA if it is the usual B1/B2 visitor visa then the activity has to be "business" and not "work" as understood by la migra. These are terms of art not to be blithely equated.

So bascially business is such things as giving and/or receiving training, buying or selling on your own account or negotiating deals.
So it you were making up a prototype or sewing up a sample as part of a training or a sales activity with a view to promoting (or closing) further business then that would appear to be covered. But if it is strictly a one-off without possibility of repeat business from home country then it likely would not be business, but would be work.

You have to be pretty careful to distinguish business from work but the immigration folks are pretty tolerant as long as you don't overstay and are careful as to how you phrase and present things.

And it's pretty obvious when you are pushing the envelope, when the balance tips from one to the other on a comon sense basis.

lisa67

But if she's only going to be here for 90 days then it would make sense for her to come on the VWP and not risk the rejection of a B visa application.

jeffreyhy

No one is suggesting a B1/B2 visa application. The activities allowed under the VWP are no different from the activities allowed with a B visa.

Regards, JEff

Pulaski

For all practical purposes an author who chooses to spend a period not exceeding 90 days in Florida working on a novel, especially if they write their draft on paper (aren't carrying a laptop) is unlikely to be "discovered" by the CBP. If you show up with bolts of fabric and a sewing machine you might have more explaining to do, though if you have a camper/RV shipped to Canada and drive in over the border I am not sure how rigorous a search your vehicle might be subjected to, nor what the CBP would make of a sewing machine if they found it (or similar "commercial equipment") in your vehicle. I still think you might face more questions about an inventory of fabric bolts (or similarly bulky raw materials for whatever it is you make) than a single sewing machine.

ian-mstm

No. I believe that accepting mileage reimbursement crosses the line between volunteering and work.

Ian

lisa67

Apologies...I read post #10 as a suggestion of applying for a B visa