Business pathways for F-1 status

[gric69]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

Hello,

Please bear with me as I articulate my background which is necessary for you to guide me on this matter.
I am currently an immigrant PhD student in business, and my current visa status is F-1. I have multitudes of business ideas and I am ready to roll, however, I must make sure that I am doing this the right way. When I enrolled and arrived here, the university made me to sign a form which announces that I only work for the university and I am not allowed to work for anybody other than university, of course OPT is an exception. They also threatened me that I should not receive anything in forms of money or even gift from people in exchange for so called "work" they meant that if they track and identify that what I received was a compensation for my work it is against the law. For example, repairing someone's laptop and receiving food and cloth in exchange is against the law (not to mention money). The university is preparing us to enter job market and find a job as university professor, and they did a very good job so far that all of my seniors received "tenure track contracts" and they received their "green card" within a year of writing the contract, so I can work in or outside of the university by the end of 2021. However, I do not want to wait for four years to start my business. I would like to start working on my business and offer my services parallel to studying my PhD and becoming a university professor.

I have web development knowledge and I would like to help small business with my skills as "business incubator (consultation etc)". With that in mind, what are the legal pathways for me to receive money from my customers without being accused of circumventing law.

What are the legal ways to do this?
Is it a must to start a company or I can work as freelancer?
If as freelancer do I need to receive a permission from an specific organ?
How should I deal with my tax in this case?
How could I keep it quiet that the university would not become sensitive to my activities?
Is there a way that I could open a bank account outside of the U.S. (For example, Dubai) specifically for my small business transaction so I could act as a foreign business who is trading with a U.S. customer, only to avoid being accused of working inside the U.S. where I should not receive money or gifts in exchange for any work outside of the university?

I have entrepreneurial urges, and I had long wished to create jobs and contribute to economy, but I would like to do it the right way. I am a student and I have very small earnings that might not make it up to hire a lawyer for this matter. Also, I do not live in a big city, most lawyers here are specialized in immigration and claims, and I know they will just rehash that the best way is to invest $500,000-1,000,000 and change my visa status, blah blah. Well, the investment option is already out. That is why I am seeking advice here. Could there be a way that I do not have to wait until I received my green card to do business?

 

[FlyingRon]

The school is 100% right. They have told you what the law is and they are under no obligation to allow you to work in violation of your visa which they are on the hook for administering. As soon as you leave the program of study you are OUT OF STATUS.

There is no way to dodge around the work authorization. If you want to work you are going to have to adjust you status to one that will allow you to work legally.
You can neither work for a company (whether you started it or not) or freelance out side of the permitted OPT that has to be related to your field of study (either working for the university or one they approve as appropriate).

Working illegally is a catch-22 with regard to taxes. You are fully responsible for all income and payroll taxes when you work illegally (even though F-1 legal work may have been exempt).

Alas there's not really any avenue to use "entreprenurial" urges if you don't have legitimate US status. Something like an H-1B requires you to be hired by an existing US company and even then there are restrictions (they can't hire you just so you can go your own way under their watch). You could go back to your own company, establish your business and then use either a B visa to visit here for business purposes or an L visa to establish a US operation for your company.

Otherwise, you'll have to go thorugh the normal "huddled masses" to get US immigration status.

 

[gric69]

The school is 100% right. They have told you what the law is and they are under no obligation to allow you to work in violation of your visa which they are on the hook for administering. As soon as you leave the program of study you are OUT OF STATUS.

There is no way to dodge around the work authorization. If you want to work you are going to have to adjust you status to one that will allow you to work legally.
You can neither work for a company (whether you started it or not) or freelance out side of the permitted OPT that has to be related to your field of study (either working for the university or one they approve as appropriate).

Working illegally is a catch-22 with regard to taxes. You are fully responsible for all income and payroll taxes when you work illegally (even though F-1 legal work may have been exempt).

Alas there's not really any avenue to use "entreprenurial" urges if you don't have legitimate US status. Something like an H-1B requires you to be hired by an existing US company and even then there are restrictions (they can't hire you just so you can go your own way under their watch). You could go back to your own company, establish your business and then use either a B visa to visit here for business purposes or an L visa to establish a US operation for your company.

Otherwise, you'll have to go thorugh the normal "huddled masses" to get US immigration status.

Thank you so much for giving a detailed explanation. I should better put my plan on hold for the future, considering the current situation. I hope this thread can help others with similar concerns.

 

[eerelations]

And you should try to understand that this isn't the school doing this to you (you indicated that you think it's the school limiting your work options when you said the school "threatened" you), it's US immigration law. All the school did is explain to you how US immigration law works.

And yes, the school is correct - performing work of any kind for money, for gifts, and even for nothing at all, is illegal for you right now.