Volunteer work
Oct 12th 2012, 12:45 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 11
Volunteer work
Hi
With the length of time my OH's EAD is taking to come through, for his own sanity, he needs to get out of the house and start interacting with people apart from me! He'd like to volunteer at an animal welfare charity thrift shop - does anyone know if this is allowed? He's on an L2.
thanks
With the length of time my OH's EAD is taking to come through, for his own sanity, he needs to get out of the house and start interacting with people apart from me! He'd like to volunteer at an animal welfare charity thrift shop - does anyone know if this is allowed? He's on an L2.
thanks
Oct 12th 2012, 1:14 pm
#2
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2010
Location: Oakland County, Michigan
Posts: 846
Re: Volunteer work
Is he doing the same job as any paid workers?
Oct 12th 2012, 1:23 pm
#3
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2012
Location: SF
Posts: 42
Re: Volunteer work
Hi kirstyvw
I'm on an L2 as well and we arrived in July. I checked with the immigration lawyers who facilitated our visa application and they said it was fine for me to do voluntary work a long as I accepted no payment or payment in kind for it. They also said I should avoid volunteering in a role in my line of work (even same industry/sector but very different role) in case I ended up taking paid employment with the organisation I was volunteering with (when I had my EAD) as it could look like a contrived arrangement. I can't place my hands on the exact email but they had a specific term they used for this.
My EAD arrived after just over 6 weeks though (California processing centre) even though the timescales they quoted were 3 months so, depending where you are, your OH may not need to wait too long to start job hunting. Good luck!
I'm on an L2 as well and we arrived in July. I checked with the immigration lawyers who facilitated our visa application and they said it was fine for me to do voluntary work a long as I accepted no payment or payment in kind for it. They also said I should avoid volunteering in a role in my line of work (even same industry/sector but very different role) in case I ended up taking paid employment with the organisation I was volunteering with (when I had my EAD) as it could look like a contrived arrangement. I can't place my hands on the exact email but they had a specific term they used for this.
My EAD arrived after just over 6 weeks though (California processing centre) even though the timescales they quoted were 3 months so, depending where you are, your OH may not need to wait too long to start job hunting. Good luck!
Oct 12th 2012, 1:36 pm
#5
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 11
Re: Volunteer work
Hi kirstyvw
I'm on an L2 as well and we arrived in July. I checked with the immigration lawyers who facilitated our visa application and they said it was fine for me to do voluntary work a long as I accepted no payment or payment in kind for it. They also said I should avoid volunteering in a role in my line of work (even same industry/sector but very different role) in case I ended up taking paid employment with the organisation I was volunteering with (when I had my EAD) as it could look like a contrived arrangement. I can't place my hands on the exact email but they had a specific term they used for this.
My EAD arrived after just over 6 weeks though (California processing centre) even though the timescales they quoted were 3 months so, depending where you are, your OH may not need to wait too long to start job hunting. Good luck!
I'm on an L2 as well and we arrived in July. I checked with the immigration lawyers who facilitated our visa application and they said it was fine for me to do voluntary work a long as I accepted no payment or payment in kind for it. They also said I should avoid volunteering in a role in my line of work (even same industry/sector but very different role) in case I ended up taking paid employment with the organisation I was volunteering with (when I had my EAD) as it could look like a contrived arrangement. I can't place my hands on the exact email but they had a specific term they used for this.
My EAD arrived after just over 6 weeks though (California processing centre) even though the timescales they quoted were 3 months so, depending where you are, your OH may not need to wait too long to start job hunting. Good luck!
Oct 12th 2012, 2:01 pm
#6
American Expat
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,598
Re: Volunteer work
This is the guidance for visitors who wish to volunteer. It says selling articles and soliciting/accepting donations is prohibited.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87206.pdf
b. A “voluntary service program” is an organized project conducted by a recognized religious or nonprofit charitable organization to assist the poor or the needy or to further a religious or charitable cause. The program may not, however, involve the selling of articles and/or the solicitation and acceptance of donations. The burden that the voluntary program meets the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) definition of “voluntary service program” is placed upon the recognized religious or nonprofit charitable organization, which must also meet other criteria set out in the DHS Operating Instructions with regard to voluntary workers.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87206.pdf
b. A “voluntary service program” is an organized project conducted by a recognized religious or nonprofit charitable organization to assist the poor or the needy or to further a religious or charitable cause. The program may not, however, involve the selling of articles and/or the solicitation and acceptance of donations. The burden that the voluntary program meets the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) definition of “voluntary service program” is placed upon the recognized religious or nonprofit charitable organization, which must also meet other criteria set out in the DHS Operating Instructions with regard to voluntary workers.
