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Contracting to the US of A

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  • 28-05-2019 7:40pm
    #1
    Dboy85
    Registered Users Posts: 627 ✭✭✭


    Hey,

    I've been offered a contract in the US and have never contracted before. I'm currently a PAYE employee.

    I've a couple of questions I hope you kind folk could help me find answers to:
    1. Can they contract me directly as a sole trader i.e pay me directly each month and I can find an accountant to help me tie up tax etc
    2. Does a contract with them really hold any weight or security? It's in Texas
    3. Would you recommend I use an Umbrella company/accountant?

    I should add that they want to hire me as a full time employee after the year, my partner is an American but we're going through the visa process ourselves and not looking to H1B.

    Thanks for reading.


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    #2
    Jim2007
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,305 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    You need to ask these questions on a US contracting forum. It really has nothing to do with Ireland...

    One observation though, you need to read up on labor law or more precisely the lack of it in the US. It comes as a nasty surprise to most Europeans.


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    #3
    dennyk
    Registered Users Posts: 1,707 ✭✭✭dennyk


    Sure, they can enter into a contract with you to provide professional services to them. You will have to register for income tax self-assessment, and it might be advantageous to take some other steps to set up a proper business. It might be best to have a consult with an accountant and/or solicitor to advise you on the options and help you make sure everything is in order.

    Keep in mind that a contract role is unlikely to qualify you for any sort of visa in the US, so if you were planning to move there to perform this work, that may be difficult. If your partner is currently living in the US, be aware that working for a US company as a contractor might adversely affect your ability to enter the US as a tourist, as immigration officials may assume you are planning to carry on work while in the country in violation of your visitor permission.

    Whether you can be hired on as an employee will depend on a number of factors. If the company wants to hire you as an employee residing in Ireland, you don't need visa status in the US, of course, but the company would likely have to establish some sort of business presence here if they don't already have one, which can be a complicated process. They would also have to follow Irish employment law, which they may be completely unfamiliar with if they don't operate here already. US labor law (particularly in Texas) is very, very different (as in mostly nonexistent) than in the EU and in Ireland, so they will most likely be quite shocked at things like mandatory paid annual leave and holidays, employment contracts, the EU Working Time Directive, and the inability to fire you with zero notice at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

    If you want to work for them as an employee while residing in the US, you'll need to get your visa sorted first and make sure that the visa you obtain allows you to take up work freely. This is generally not a very fast process at all in the US, so unless you're well along in the process already, you may not be able to obtain a visa within just one year. Also, if you do manage to get the visa sorted, then it will be you who will have to get used to the whole "lack of paid time off or limitations on working hours" and the whole "at-will employment" thing, not to mention the ridiculous cost of health insurance and health care and all the other assorted joys of working in a red state in the US... :pac:


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