Legality and other issues

[deviprsd]

Hey, I have few questions. I'm in the US on an F1 visa, but I want to take projects from the upwork india server, (i'm indian). Am I doing anything illegal by taking up projects and working on my devices while I'm in the US? Even if I want to use the upwork.in (if that exists) server?

[prestonhunter · Accepted solution]

re: "Hey, I have few questions. I'm in the US on an F1 visa, but I want to take projects from the upwork india server, (i'm indian). Am I doing anything illegal by taking up projects and working on my devices while I'm in the US? Even if I want to use the upwork.in (if that exists) server?"

Devi:

I'm sorry, but this Community Forum is really not the place to ask questions like that.

Nobody here is a is an official who can authoritatively answer your question. Nobody here can tell you what is "legal" or not. We don't even know the details of your circumstances.

You would need to talk to government officials and experts who can provide you with authoritative or expert advice.

[abinadab-agbo]

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Devi P wrote:

Hey, I have few questions. I'm in the US on an F1 visa, but I want to take projects from the upwork india server, (i'm indian). Am I doing anything illegal by taking up projects and working on my devices while I'm in the US? Even if I want to use the upwork.in (if that exists) server?

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Consult a lawyer to advise you according to your specific situation.
Neither Upwork nor the community is able to offer you specific advice on such a sensitive matter.

[mwiggenhorn]

According to the moderators in the past,  B-1, B-2, F-1, J-1, H-1, H1-B, H-4, or L-2 visas, can't work on Upwork while in the U.S. 

[prestonhunter]

re: "According to the moderators in the past..."

But the moderators in the past were not referencing the original poster's particular situation, or the original poster's specific questions. Nor are they government officials. They simply made some general comments in an attempt to be helpful.

[petra_r]

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Preston H wrote:

re: "According to the moderators in the past..."

They simply made some general comments in an attempt to be helpful.

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They stated Upwork's position, they didn't just randomly make up some nonsense "in an attempt to be helpful."   Upwork's position is that people with an F1 visa are not eligible to work through the platform.

[martina_plaschka]

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Devi P wrote:

Hey, I have few questions. I'm in the US on an F1 visa, but I want to take projects from the upwork india server, (i'm indian). Am I doing anything illegal by taking up projects and working on my devices while I'm in the US? Even if I want to use the upwork.in (if that exists) server?

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It does not matter which server you use, to which bank in which country your money goes, all that matters is where you are physically located. If you are not allowed to work in the US, you are not allowed. 

[mwiggenhorn]

From the US Social Security website.  These are the visa holders who are allowed to work in the US.  https://www.ssa.gov/people/immigrants/visa.html