Telework poses potential risk for businesses with foreign workers

With more people working remotely than ever before, U.S. employers need to consider foreign workers’ visa status or risk fines. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have allowed employees to work from home. In fact, the percentage of the U.S. workforce telecommuting on a full-time basis is greater than ever before, and some have no plans to return to a more traditional worksite setting. As long as Internet access is available, many can potentially work anywhere or change a worksite location on a whim, with or without notice to the employer. The flexibility, often viewed as a perk, is a potential pitfall to businesses with foreign workers.

Location, location, location!

Many immigration statuses (such as the H-1B visa) grant work authorization for a specific worksite address only, which means any change in a worksite location may trigger a requirement to post a notice and/or amend a filing.

The first challenge is to know and remember the specific address where a foreign worker is authorized to work.

The second challenge is to contact your immigration attorney before any change in worksite happens. A quick stop and check can save a lot of anguish and legal work. An immigration attorney will verify if the proposed change requires any legal compliance work. That's critical because the regulations require legal compliance before any change happens or a technical violation results.

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