Leading immigration attorney Nandini Nair explains how to meet condition of working at place of employment.
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought with it unprecedented times. While there are health and safety concerns, for a large population of immigrants living and working on visas, the lock-down and work from home safety measures have also opened up a lot of immigration related questions.
At the American Bazaar, we are trying to get you answers to some of the most frequently asked immigration related questions during these times of emergency.
This week, New Jersey based immigration attorney Nandini Nair, who is a partner at Greenspoon Marder answers one of the most frequently posed questions during the Coronavirus pandemic.
“One of the foremost question that many of those on H-1B visas in the United States have is: Can a H-1B worker work from home?†she said.
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While these are unprecedented times, the fact is also that one of the requirements of H-1B visa workers is that they should be employed at the address mentioned on the labor condition application or LCA filed by the employer.
So, how is one supposed to navigate this somewhat difficult situation? Can a person on H-1B work from home, even though the address on LCA may be different.
“The answer to it is – probably yes,†Nair said. “As long as the following conditions are met – If your home office location is within the same metropolitan statistical area (MSA) you should be fine to work from home.â€
She also explains that your employer needs to post the LCA posting notice at the home office location and update the public access filter.
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Nair also explains the situation when one does not live or work where the office address on LCA was. This could happen in situations where someone may be working on a new project and moved to another city.
In such situations, the temporary solution Nair says, “would be that the employer could use the ‘short-term placement rule,’ which allows you to work in a location that is outside of the MSA commuting distance but only for 30 days.”
“For longer periods, the employer does need to file an amendment to list that home location on the application.â€
Watch the video for more details on everything that you may need to know about working from home during the Coronavirus crisis:
(Have an immigration related question? Mail it to us. We will get some the top immigration attorneys answer your queries. Readers can direct their questions to editor@americanbazaaronline.com)