Hi again, Dom,
1. Will any income from AdSense classify my website as a "business"
that would put me out of status?
It will imply self-employment income and could potentially put you out of status.
As you know, an H1B visa holder may not be self-employed. It is ok to
own a business, but you may not actually do any work for the business
yourself. Now, although your website may not be a business in and by
itself, Adsense (and any Affiliate relationship) will bring in income
and therefore it is off limits to you. Google will issue you a 1099
MISC (the self-employed version of the W-2) for your Adsense income
which implies an independent contractor relationship and not employer
- employee.
AdSense Help Center
Will you send me a Form 1099 or 1042?
"Publishers are responsible for paying their own taxes resulting from
participation in Google AdSense. In order to facilitate this, we send
IRS forms 1099 and 1042-S to qualifying publishers as required by US
tax law. Forms will be sent before the end of January 2006."
https://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/answer.py?answer=18383&ctx=en:search&query=1099&topic=0&type=f
Attorney Murthy : "A person on an H1B is not allowed to work on a 1099
at all. One who is on an EAD is allowed to work as an independent
contractor if s/he is the I-485 dependent on the EAD and not the
principal applicant for the GC, to be on the safe side. If the total
time working was less than 180 days, there is possible hope to obtain
the I-485 in the U.S. Otherwise, it adds complications and will not
generally allow the person to obtain an approval of the I-485 from
within the U.S. You should consult an immigration attorney to discuss
this issue since it could have serious consequences. "
http://www.murthy.com/chatlogs/chat1018_P.html
"How? Google Adsense? income is business income. Since you are getting
paid via a 1099-MISC, which means Google is treating you as an
independent contractor, the U.S. Government has decided that income is
taxable. More importantly, Google will be reporting your income to the
IRS as one of their expenses..."
"Does this also apply to other income streams like Linkshare,
Commission Junction, other affiliate marketing, Yahoo Publisher
Network, Kanoodle, BlogAds, Adbrite, etc.?
"Yes. Most legit companies will send you 1099s, but some smaller ones
may need some nagging..."
http://www.adsensetaxes.com/
To browse more websites:
://www.google.ca/search?num=100&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=1099+h1b&btnG=Search&meta=
I'm sorry for the bad news. I know this answer may seem brief, but
there aren't alot of ways to say "don't do it!". As always, I'll be
happy to answer any questions you may have regarding this issue.
Thank you,
hummer
Google Search Terms Used: adsense 1099 misc h1b |
Clarification of Answer by
hummer-ga
on
06 Apr 2006 18:55 PDT
Yes, just like two peas in a pod, eh?
Well, you've come up with an interesting question, hmm, let me think.
For the IRS, it will still be considered US income because what
matters to them is where the service is performed and not where the
money is coming from. Therefore, I think USCIS would consider it US
income too (because it would be claimed on your 1040 as US income).
Anyway, I could be wrong but that is the way I see it. Dom, the few
extra dollars just aren't worth the risk, especially if you are
planning on becoming a permanent resident. As they say, keep your
knees loose and your stick on the ice and everything will be fine.
Good to talk with you again, take care,
hummer
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