Working from home to be notified to DOS

[darshanjdesai]

Hi all,

I came across an unusual/weird statement from my manager that Work From Home (WFH hereafter) day have to be notified to Dept. of State. Has anyone heard/read about this anywhere? I couldn't find it in my search. Thanks for your help/advice in advance.

[manish77]

Good question. But I'm not too sure why the DOS would be interested to know about this. People can work from home due to personal reasons, during illness etc.

Have you checked with your immigration department?

[JoeF]

If your work location changes for a certain amount of time, the LCA has to be amended. That applies to working from home as well.

[chakrakr]

That should only be applicable if your home is outside the normal commuting area of your office. No LCA/H1 amendment is required as long as your work location is within commuting distance (normally in same MSA)

[catx]

I would double check with the immigration attorney handling the visa, etc. about needing to amend the LCA if working from home. It may well not be necessary if working from home is occasional (once a week?). However, if it is considered a regular office (as in my case) it needs to be on the LCA. (I have both my company office and my home office on my amended LCA, and they are only a few miles apart and thus well within normal commuting distance of each other.)

[chakrakr]

I would double check with the immigration attorney handling the visa, etc. about needing to amend the LCA if working from home. It may well not be necessary if working from home is occasional (once a week?). However, if it is considered a regular office (as in my case) it needs to be on the LCA. (I have both my company office and my home office on my amended LCA, and they are only a few miles apart and thus well within normal commuting distance of each other.)

Here is the law --

20 CFR 655.734 (a) (2)

(2) Where the employer places any H–1B nonimmigrant(s) at one or more worksites not contemplated at the time of filing the application, but which are within the area of intended employment listed on the LCA, the employer is required to post electronic or hard-copy notice(s) at such worksite(s),

And here is the definition of Area of intended employment .

Area of intended employment means the area within normal commuting distance of the place (address) of employment where the H–1B nonimmigrant is or will be employed. There is no rigid measure of distance which constitutes a normal commuting distance or normal commuting area, because there may be widely varying factual circumstances among different areas (e.g., normal commuting distances might be 20, 30, or 50 miles). If the place of employment is within a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or a Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), any place within the MSA or PMSA is deemed to be within normal commuting distance of the place of employment;

All that is required is posting the LCA for 10 days before you start working in new location.

I know some attorneys want to apply a new LCA and H1 Amendment even when you move by a block , but the law does not say so.