Currently H1, own an ebusiness?

[tadi18]

Hi all,
I own a website thats on my name hosted in US since almost an year. I am on H1 B visa and i ran this website posting adds for free until 1 year . So, i did not make a penny from this website. As I see a good response for my website, I want to charge for ads and other stuff to make some money. Is it legal to own a profitable company on H1? Is it legal for me to pay taxes on it?

Thanks
-gupta

[knowledgeable]

Yeah ...

... make sure you document all your proceedings absolutely honestly and pay all the taxes as required. Do not "forget" to include any possible income to the IRS.

Once your income goes beyond a certain amount like say much more than your regular H1B income, consult a proper CPA and an attorney. In that case you'll have to go through some different procedures.

Good luck.

[txh1b]

Absolutely NOT. You are NOT allowed to make money by owning a business and working for it while on H1b. You can work only for your employer but are not allowed to run any sort of e-business which by all means is working for yourself and becomes illegal on H1b.

Only passive investments are allowed like buying stock and getting dividends from a company that you invest it. You should not be running the website by writing code/making changes etc. You absolutely should be one that puts in money, gets something in return if you go by the law.

[tadi18]

Thanks for the reply. That makes sense. But, is there any alternative for me now?

[immihelp]

No, there is no other alternative. You need greencard (or at least an EAD) to work for such web sites and make money from it.