Hello, antiwork community on reddit. I am a WordPress developer and a digital marketer from Sri Lanka. I’m writing this to clear things about US law and how it treats to remote workers all over the world.
I always loved new opportunities, because of that I'm applying to remote jobs on LinkedIn. At end of LinkedIn application there are two questions in every remote job opening in United States.
- Are you legally authorized to work within the United States?
- Do you now or in the future require sponsorship visa to work in the United States?
Basically, Remote work is a legitimate way to work and it’s been on the rise over the past few years, especially since the pandemic started. “x” work remotely for a company in his/her own country, or be hired by a foreign employer but work from his/her home country. In this case I'm looking for work in US from Sri Lanka remotely.
Main question, is it profitable for the company? This case study shows benefits of remote work to both the employee and the employer. It’s a true “win/win.”
The only “illegal thing” about remote work would be avoiding paying taxes. Legal and financial repercussions for both individuals and companies may be severe. Taxes have to be paid whether someone working from the US or from a foreign country. Company can hire remote worker as an independent contractor, in which case that remote worker covers their taxes, health insurance, and social security. If a part of remote worker’s income is US-sourced (for the work performed in the US), it’s subject to US taxes. This is the only thing that have to understand on this “legally authorized” Problem. What is the meaning of opening a remote job position for all over the world but you wouldn’t hire them because of the question “authorized” to work in the US.
Let’s jump off to the second question “Do you require sponsorship visa to work in the United States?” It’s a BIG NO!!!! Whole idea of working remotely is to work from anywhere in the world. Offer your time to your career and spend the spare time with your family, your loved ones, stress free.
End of every position I applied for the last two weeks, these 2 questions pops up. When I see these questions, I was asking myself, “Is this going to be a waste of my time? If the company don’t want to hire remote workers why they open a job position that’s visible to all over the world? Is working remotely a crime?
I’m very sorry this became so long and might take lot of your time to read. I wanted to tell you the whole reason about my problem and ask for advice. I really appreciate your time and your insights on this. Thank you very much