Is it possible to find a truly remote US job from Buenos Aires?

[De Callisto]

I've tried using a relative's address, but the problem is always the phone. (I'm now looking into forwarding lines from the US as others have suggested in this thread.

I had a similar (BIG) problem here with my new Samsung S22Ultra, whose IMEI was somehow not compatible with AT&T. I was suddenly cut off from all money transactions. The ordeal sucked beyond imagination. And I was contemplating having to return to Florida just for a new phone and phone number. So, really long story short..... I used this VOIP provider and was able to receive the initial SMS confirmations from my bank, my investment bank and credit cards. And most importantly I was able to receive the SMS confirmation from GoogleVoice, which in turn made life exponentially easier because all subsequent SMS now arrive via GoogleVoice. I set my phone's Caller ID to the GoogleVoice number and, with voice verification, now I have no issues.

OneSim VoIP - A new way of calling via Wi-Fi

OneSimCard mobile application for Android devices, iPhone and iPad to make and receive calls via Wi-Fi for as low as 1c/min!

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Using them may not be immediately intuitive but as of last October it worked with all the financial institutions I rely on. Be advised that financial institutions are always fine tuning their systems to recognize VOIP. Good luck.

 

[Cambalache]

Hello! I'm a local and a close relative is asking me about a job posting currently open on one of the most popular job portals in Argentina (I don't know if I can put the link here). Is it legal for a US-based law firm to offer a job to someone who lives outside the US and is not allowed to work in the US? I'm not familiar with the labor laws there, but I understand that this is not legal. Any opinions?

 

[HenryHoneyBalls]

Not currently, and sadly my EU citizenship was lost with Brexit but in theory it‘s possible for me to if I asked to change my country of work since the company I works for has a similar presence in the EU.

In any case, between Argentina, the UK and the rest of Europe, it’s easy to avoid hitting the 90 day visa limits

UK citizens are free to work in Ireland and vice versa. Ireland is full of tech companies.

 

[lunar]

Is it legal for a US-based law firm to offer a job to someone who lives outside the US and is not allowed to work in the US?

Yes, U.S. companies can hire people outside the USA, except from places like North Korea. Hiring them as contractors is more common because hiring as employees involves much more administrative work.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

Hello! I'm a local and a close relative is asking me about a job posting currently open on one of the most popular job portals in Argentina (I don't know if I can put the link here). Is it legal for a US-based law firm to offer a job to someone who lives outside the US and is not allowed to work in the US? I'm not familiar with the labor laws there, but I understand that this is not legal. Any opinions?

Hello! I am not a lawyer and I'm not even an American but I'm acquainted with Argentines who provide services to US companies perfectly legally but not as employees of the US firm but as overseas contractors. i suspect that if your relative looks at the small print, it's not a job offer but an invitation for themselves to provide a service after which they would be paid, like any other firm by presenting an invoice. In the situations I know about both parties know and trust each other personally and it works very well.

 

[Cambalache]

Yes, U.S. companies can hire people outside the USA, except from places like North Korea. Hiring them as contractors is more common because hiring as employees involves much more administrative work.

Hello! I am not a lawyer and I'm not even an American but I'm acquainted with Argentines who provide services to US companies perfectly legally but not as employees of the US firm but as overseas contractors. i suspect that if your relative looks at the small print, it's not a job offer but an invitation for themselves to provide a service after which they would be paid, like any other firm by presenting an invoice. In the situations I know about both parties know and trust each other personally and it works very well.

Thank you! Exactly, it is a job as a contractor. I thought it was an illegal practice, but it seemed strange to me that a lawyer would put his BAR at risk by hiring illegally. Thank you very much for the answers, both of you!

 

[Quilombo]

Hello! I'm a local and a close relative is asking me about a job posting currently open on one of the most popular job portals in Argentina (I don't know if I can put the link here). Is it legal for a US-based law firm to offer a job to someone who lives outside the US and is not allowed to work in the US? I'm not familiar with the labor laws there, but I understand that this is not legal. Any opinions?

Obligatory I'm not a lawyer/accountant:

Legal Answers

Note: What the law says, and what the reality is are two different things.

What does the law say about these types of jobs? They're technically illegal (for the employers) in Argentina, because they are a dependency relationship masked as a contractor/monotributista relationship. The legal requirement for foreign companies is to create an Argentine division to manage, pay, and make social security benefit contributions for these types of employees, but of course this rarely, if ever, happens, especially since COVID, and the explosion in remote work amongst Argentines.

The area where your relative, and other Argentines or expats can get in trouble is via working totally en negro. There are some stupid people who work remotely as let's say devs, never pay a centavo to AFIP (now ARCA) and then when repatriating funds to Argentina, wonder why their MercadoPago or bank accounts gets locked and they have messages informing them that they have been banned by the platform or bank either for violating tax obligations, or due to a freeze imposed on their assets by the UIF

You have to pay ARCA something, and you now have up to 36K a year you can bring in from abroad without having to pesify, so it's getting better, but the other area people get in trouble with is not pesifying their dollars according to the BCRA rules when exceeding this limit. It's per calendar year, and increasing, but the requirement is still there.

Reality
This sort of work happens all the time with tens of thousands of people. I have a friend who works as a lawyer for a US company from here, and they haven't had any issues, but they, like everyone else, works in gris: they pay taxes to ARCA, they don't pesify over the previous and current limits 24K and 36K limits, and they haven't had any problems.

The government knows people do this, the only problem is as I mentioned, when people don't pay any taxes. Even then, AFIP/ARCA has, as far as I know, never prosecuted anyone and has given people warnings and time to regularize their situation (i.e. become monotributistas). I do know of once case where the UIF has blacklisted someone from having bank accounts, but they admitted they were a serial tax evader and kept their paycheck in a bank account abroad anyways.

TL;DR: your relative needs to become a monotributista, pay some taxes to ARCA, and things should be fine.

 

[Cambalache]

Obligatory I'm not a lawyer/accountant:

Legal Answers


TL;DR: your relative needs to become a monotributista, pay some taxes to ARCA, and things should be fine.

Thanks for your detailed response, Quilombo (me encanta tu nickname, es tan argento!). Being an older woman with many years of binational work experience, I know how complex it can be at times. However, I have no ties to the US and have no idea how the labor system works there. Finally, I suggested to my family member (who is still young and inexperienced) not to take that job, as it was not just an assistant position. I was concerned that the job description included taking declarations from people seeking asylum in the US, and everything is filmed by zoom. In the contract for services, they mentioned some things that I didn't have much confidence in (such as, if necessary, they could ask for all documentation to be destroyed). I suppose these statements could be used in court and, depending on that, some people could be deported or even imprisoned. It seems to me an excessive responsibility for a very low-paid job, plus I don't know if there could be legal liabilities for my relative's work (and irreparable consequences for the poor asylum seekers if the work is badly done due to lack of legal knowledge). Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I didn't have a good feeling about it. Anyway, thank you! I'm going to suggest he looks for personal assistant or even medical assistant positions, but not as a paralegal in declarations. I think that would be better, at least to start with. Thanks again!

 

[LuckyLuke]

Thanks for your detailed response, Quilombo (me encanta tu nickname, es tan argento!). Being an older woman with many years of binational work experience, I know how complex it can be at times. However, I have no ties to the US and have no idea how the labor system works there. Finally, I suggested to my family member (who is still young and inexperienced) not to take that job, as it was not just an assistant position. I was concerned that the job description included taking declarations from people seeking asylum in the US, and everything is filmed by zoom. In the contract for services, they mentioned some things that I didn't have much confidence in (such as, if necessary, they could ask for all documentation to be destroyed). I suppose these statements could be used in court and, depending on that, some people could be deported or even imprisoned. It seems to me an excessive responsibility for a very low-paid job, plus I don't know if there could be legal liabilities for my relative's work (and irreparable consequences for the poor asylum seekers if the work is badly done due to lack of legal knowledge). Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I didn't have a good feeling about it. Anyway, thank you! I'm going to suggest he looks for personal assistant or even medical assistant positions, but not as a paralegal in declarations. I think that would be better, at least to start with. Thanks again!

You are right to be cautious. Much like the translation certification that Argentina requires, the US requires a federal interpreter certification for federal trial or immigration cases. My wife is a judicial interpreter for California and regularly interprets depositions for workers comp and civil injury suits. She is certified to also handle CA state trials. Her mentor is a federal interpreter who handles immigration and federal criminal trial cases. Interpreting on a state level is regulated by state laws and varies depending the nature of the work. IMO, assisting an attorney with an intake form on prospective clients can be handled by a employee he deems sufficiently bilingual.

 

[Cambalache]

You are right to be cautious. Much like the translation certification that Argentina requires, the US requires a federal interpreter certification for federal trial or immigration cases. My wife is a judicial interpreter for California and regularly interprets depositions for workers comp and civil injury suits. She is certified to also handle CA state trials. Her mentor is a federal interpreter who handles immigration and federal criminal trial cases. Interpreting on a state level is regulated by state laws and varies depending the nature of the work. IMO, assisting an attorney with an intake form on prospective clients can be handled by a employee he deems sufficiently bilingual.

Thank you Lucky Luke! I found this very helpful. I totally agree with your opinion in the last sentence, thanks again!