I see a lot of questions on the net dealing with LLCs on H1B... However, I'm not married to establishing an LLC but am rather just trying to accomplish two related goals:
1) additional income (legal) to H1B salary
2) liability protection (without having to partner with anyone to establish a US LLC).
It appears H1Bs can own LLCs but only as passive investors. Since I cannot establish a company and then work for it, could openning an offshore Corp doing business in the US be a good route? It provides a company behind the product and liability protection. For an internet product which only makes money through advertisments served by a third party, it does not appear that the offshore corp would be required to register in the US (it doesn't need to be registered in any other country whose residents have access to the product via the web). Yes, the owner would be residing in the US and working on the product from the US, but that doesn't seem to matter anywhere else in the world...
So the bottom line: Although I can own a US LLC as an investor, since the US does not allow us to do work for it while on H1B for someone else, would an offshore company be a good and legal solution to #1 and #2 given the nature of internet business? What taxes would be owed to the US?
Any advice greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Mark
1) additional income (legal) to H1B salary
2) liability protection (without having to partner with anyone to establish a US LLC).
It appears H1Bs can own LLCs but only as passive investors. Since I cannot establish a company and then work for it, could openning an offshore Corp doing business in the US be a good route? It provides a company behind the product and liability protection. For an internet product which only makes money through advertisments served by a third party, it does not appear that the offshore corp would be required to register in the US (it doesn't need to be registered in any other country whose residents have access to the product via the web). Yes, the owner would be residing in the US and working on the product from the US, but that doesn't seem to matter anywhere else in the world...
So the bottom line: Although I can own a US LLC as an investor, since the US does not allow us to do work for it while on H1B for someone else, would an offshore company be a good and legal solution to #1 and #2 given the nature of internet business? What taxes would be owed to the US?
Any advice greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Mark