Receiving Financial Support from Overseas

If you are an R-1 M-ssionary and are receiving support from overseas, I want to encourage you to have your foreign supporters contribute directly to your R-1 employer.   That way, your R-1 employer can use that money to pay you, and then, at the end of the year, your R-1 employer will be able to give you a W-2 or a 1099 form.   You then can use those forms to file tax returns.   And, as I said in my last article), you want to be filing US tax returns each year reflecting income from your R-1 employer.  This will help you when you file for an extension of your R-1 or for a religious worker green card.1

However, there are some things here that you need to be aware of.    I am not talking here about having your foreign supporters donate to you and then you give the money to your R-1 employer.   That is completely forbidden under the USCIS regulations.   You, as the R-1 m-ssionary are not allowed to provide your R-1 employer with the money that they will then use to pay you.   You are allowed to make regular donations to your R-1 employer, but you are not allowed to give them your own salary.

This could make things complicated for some people.   Donating directly to the U.S. R-1 employer could have negative tax repercussions for some people — they could lose their tax deduction in their home country.   Also, if you are paid in the US, that may affect you negatively in your home country if some government benefits are based on how much you earn in your home country.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

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