Working for US company remotely from UK, can I work from their office while visiting?

Question

I am a UK citizen, and have been offered a contract to work for a company that is based in the US. The contract is remote working and I would be paid into a UK bank account, but I was wondering if I could visit the US and work from the company's offices while there.

To slightly complicate matters, I am currently awaiting approval of a K-1 Fiancee visa to the US, where my fiancee is a citizen. So once that gets approved and I enter the country under that visa, I would have to wait until I get my EAD to work for the company full time if I chose to.

My thinking is to just wait out the visa application and hope the company would still hire me once I get my EAD, rather than complicate matters by entering the country and continuing to work "remotely" for a US company while in the US, albeit being paid into a UK bank account.

I'm sorry if this sounds confusing or I've not explained it well. I'm just trying to get my head around my options.

Answer 1

De jure there are dozens of complex laws and regulations regarding remote employment, under which you may or may not need a special visa in order to work in a given country. Tax laws are an additional complication, where countries such as the UK can deem you as a tax resident for spending as little as 16 days on British soil.

De facto, as long as you don't mention your remote job to immigration personnel at the airport, there's a 99.99% chance no one will ever find out. There are millions of people breaking the law by being employed at on-site jobs in any given country, so digital nomads are a pretty low priority for law enforcement.

However be aware that the company would likely not want you working in their office without a valid visa, as they would receive a big fine if someone were to find out. I would recommend waiting out for your EAD to be issued before switching to on-site work.