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Can a software engineer on H1B make money from GitHub Sponsors?

11 points| quantumdreamer | 5 years ago

As the title suggests, would I be violating H1B status by making money from GitHub Sponsors ?

Any input appreciated, thanks!

9 comments

DarmokJalad1701|5 years ago

Ask an attorney. Don't end up jeopardizing your legal status over a few dollars.

quantumdreamer|5 years ago

hmm ok you are right. I wonder if there is a website where you can ask quick questions to immigrations attorneys

emrah|5 years ago

IANAL but I think it would depend on how such income is categorized. If it is considered as contract work, then no you can't. You can only legally work for your employer who is sponsoring your visa.

I agree with DarmokJalad1701, it's not worth risking it

ixacto|5 years ago

Upvote, but also what are the most sponsored types of projects? I'd like to make a few bucks extra hacking away.

Right now I'm working on random webapps in node, nothing too special.

quantumdreamer|5 years ago

This is exactly my status too right now. I contribute to opensource here and there but apart from that its mostly hacking away at my own libraries, some of which are mildly popular (600stars)

zht|5 years ago

They probably pay via 1099 which is risky. It’s the same vein as driving for Uber or renting your place out on Airbnb

nt2h9uh238h|5 years ago

yes, a 100% they can. look at the payouts of nodeJS or Nuxt or VueJS developers - and rightly so. Top contributors who fix a lot of bugs get payouts of 10,000+ USD every month.

cpufry|5 years ago

lol sure hope so