Very Complicated Case!
I am here on H1-B visa. My wife has H-4. We want to start an investing business. I will still work for the company here in Portland, OR which sponsors my H1-B full time. We are in the process of applying for the green card. My question is.....since we can't work for anybody else how can we receive monthly income from our business?
Also, I heard that if I register company in Nevada or Delaware I would
pay less taxes. Is that true? How does it work?
I paid thousands of dollars to the lawyers who worked on my immigration case, I don't have $$$ anymore to hire a full-service law firm that has
immigration, tax, business and real-estate departments to represent me. I want to do it myself!!!
Any ideas, advices, suggestions etc. are very welcome.
Thank you,
Thomas
Federal and you oregon state taxes still are due if you operated in oregon. A Nevada Corp only gives some privacey to the owner of record. The State of Nevada does not have state taxes - but you would have to be doing business in Nevada. What kind of "investing" business?
Hi Thomas,
The H1B rules according to my knowledge states,that you should be employed with the company which processes your H1B.You can invest in real estate or partner with someone to invest money and all that is www.fine.I have heard people on H1B start their own companies too.You cannot be an employee of your own company and get salary,that I think is conflict of interest.
Iam not an attorney but I would still suggest you to check with an attorney(immigration!!) for that part alone!.
I just don't get how does it work... Let say I register a corporation. I work 4 to 6 hours everyday, plus weekends marketing my company, meeting with potential buyers and sellers etc. I make a deal... lets say I sign a lease option in my company's name and the company gets $5000 from rent-to-own buyer before he moves in. Also company will be receiving rent money every month from the rent-to-own buyer...lets say $1000. $800 will go to the owner to pay off mortgage payment and $200 is company's profit.
My question is....where is my place in this picture? Remember, I am on H1B and I can't work for anybody. How do I get paid for the deals I made?
...or maybe I should go into business under my own name and not register corporation.... To much liability .....
What do you think?
I'm on an A2 and currently have everything in my own name(not the way you should do it), however I am now need to form an LLC, as I have too much at stake to lose.
Your stake in this is that you would own the company. period.
You build the company up to a stage where you have all the right team in place, CPA, Real Estate Attorney first, and they advise you the best way to go about forming your business.
The company is a seperate identity or entity therefore you get a seperate Tax number (TIN or SSN) (don't use yours), and you shouldn't take a salary from it until you have everything correctly in place.
If you need the extra $200, THEN use the company to pay for something related to your real estate investing. ie appraisal fee, cleaning fee, down payment on next property, camera to take photos of your investment prooperties, laptop to place your contracts on a database etc.
The thing to remember is that the US Govt, wants a US Based Agent in the event, it all goes wrong, so they have a person here on US soil, they can serve documents and/or legal writs on. That is why I'll have my CPA or Attorney as my acting agent with maybe 1% shareholding in the company.
I won't be taking any salary as there is no benefit to me in doing so, and I live on my salary anyway.
In my present situation I have simply bought the properties, rented them out, and paid the taxes only on the income related to my investments, same as if I would if it were stupidly in stocks.
After six and bit years I have yet to be told to leave the US because I was doing something wrong.
I file the taxes, and pay my dues if any.
Spend a few dollars now for correct legal advice first. It could save you millions in the end.
My mentor is also on A2 and he has 20 years of property investments under his belt, all in his own name.
We just have to think and act smarter in our decisions, and so far it has served us wisely.
Happy Investing!!
8-)
Dear KIWIINUS,
Thank you for the smart advice. I just sent an e-mail to my immigration lawyer asking how much would he charge for consultation.
Far as I understand it anyone can buy and sell real estate in the US, just like any other country. But you have to pay taxes on the income earned. Like, I could go to England right now and buy a house and rent it out, but I'd have to pay English taxes and unfortunately, some to the US.
The money you earned from investing would just go on your W2. I mean, you have to pay US taxes anyway right? It would just go on the form you file. Once you get your green card you can ditch the company you work for and invest full time.
Peace,
Mitchell
Thanks Tomazas, it is a bit scary taking that first step especially when you have alot riding on it trying to get that greencard, but Kingmonkey is right. You can invest in real estate anywhere in the world and as long as you play by the local rules, you lessen your risk of losing.
Go for it.
Let us know how it goes.
All the best.
Hi Thomas,
I am in a situation very similar to yours; the one difference is that my LLC will be formed by a company in Mexico and myself. Anyhow, I would love to know if you could get advice on how to manage a monthly income from your own LLC.
It's been a while since your last messge. I hope you that by now you've already managed to work it out.
Rgds,
Ale
If you have a work permit ( if you are paying yourself for the rehab) and a tax id/social security number then there are no issues unless you have some special permit that binds you only to that employer.
You could also set up the corporation as a foreign national/business investor.
The first option is best if you want to settle in the US. For the LLC - you can include the earnings from there on your regular federal income tax filings. Just make sure to keep good receipts and records.
linlin, thanks for your response!
:-? I do have a working permit that allows me to work for 1 employeer only. That means that I can not have a salary from my LLC, right?
Is there a way to handle that properly?
Rgds,
Ale
Ale,
I'm no expert on immigration law by any respect but I do know how to get money out of a LLC without calling it salary. Call it a divided or distribution. When you file your tax return for the LLC such things will pass through in that form unless you take specific action to call it salary. Also, don't pay yourself out of the LLC on a weekly or monthly basis. I assume that you are actually using the salary from your regular job for your living expenses so making distributions from the LLC only when there is a profitable event shouldn't be a problem.
Mark