Can i work from India for employer, client in Usa while waiting for h4ead renewal?

My h4ead expiring soon and not yet received my ead card.
Can i work from India for the same employer and client while waiting for my renewed h4ead card.

Do I have to be in India payscale or can i work in the US pay scale.

Hi @TechBI

The simple concept to understand is that once you are out of US, US immigration law does not apply to you.

If you are physically in India, Indian tax and work laws will be applicable.

Now, if you take salary in US on your H4 EAD SSN, then there are records that can prove that you were working while your H4 EAD was pending and current one expired

Legally, your employer should either terminate you or send you on unpaid leave and report it to government using form I-9.

If your US Employer keeps you on the payroll and does not report it to USCIS and keeps paying you, they are violating the US law.

As per my opinion, it is safe to work from India and run payroll in India.
Rest is your choice.

What you mentioned is absolutely true. The EAD is for being employed by a US subsidiary and getting your pay. Just changing the location and getting paycheck in US does not help.

You can continue to work from India and get paid in India but that also means the employer should have an Indian office and means to generate paycheck as per Indian tax laws.

The confusion arises from the fact that we think EAD is just for working in the US. The law is very clear there. For e.g. you can continue to work in the US for say charity without an EAD because they are not paying you.

So if the intention was to work for charity by all means the employee can work for them even here and doesn’t have to go to India

There are several H4s who run food shops from their home to neighbors for money. In stricter terms they need to have a EAD but in reality this may not happen. But you can certainly be investigated for such acts by USCIS for illegal work. It’s no different from the undocumented who work at some companies.

Does this mean employee can still go ofc and work without pay untill EAD come in US ?

That’s true only if the work you are doing is normally a charity work.

You cannot work without salary to trick USCIS.

This is definitely not allowed, my wife got unpaid offs for 4 months when h4 ead under renewal, tried to get work from India and employer refused it.

She could continue only after renewal.

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Basically one can’t work and be on US company pay roll since their EAD has expired and it’s illegal to work. They should be on Leave without pay(policy varies company to company) or need to be terminated and can be rehired after ead Approval.

However if US company has their offices outside US they can work from there but should work some options to be paid from respective country pay roll and not in US pay roll.

Requested to expedite ead through congressman,senator and ombudsman .
Checked the case status and saw expedite request denied .
Not sure whose request they denied .
Is there a way to find out.
Does ombudsman sends any email when uscis denies their request?

Hi @TechBI

The EAD expedite request denial is for your case irrespective of who requested it.