Working Remotely In Dollars And La Visa Precaria

[saltbench]

I'm looking for advice in terms of work. Right now i work remotely at home here in the States as a translator and i make good money in dollars. I'm planning to move to BA in the fall, and my plan is to continue to work part-time as a translator in order to still be able to have some savings in dollars, but working desde la compu is really isolating and I'm looking to either find a part-time job in BA for the work visa which i heard is unlike as it is part-time or potentially finding a full-time job and doing extra work each day in order to continue working part-time and making money in dollars. My first question is, is it really impossible to find a part-time job that would give you the work visa, 2. If i happen to GET a work visa, is the U.S government going to be aware that i am getting two incomes 1 from the States and 1 from Argentina, and 3. What are people's experiences crossing the border every 3 months? I know everyone does it but it still makes me paranoid that for some reason they are going to stop me and not let me back in the country. I'd rather not to have to cross every 3 months and that's why i am looking for the work visa as well as having experience working with Argentines. Any advice/explanations/experiences would be highly appreciated. Mil gracias

 

[Davidglen77]

To get a work visa, you must be employed full time. Don't bother crossing the border into Uruguay as it will only cause you headaches in the long run. Just pay the fine when you leave at the airport. There are jobs for translators here, but they don't pay well, you will be lucky if you earn 10,000 pesos per month and that is only if you are top of the line and can also manage projects and use CAT tools. Also, translation agencies here will WORK YOU TO THE BONE. Just work freelance and earn dollars and then find social activites to make friends....you don't want to work for a translation agency in Bs As, not fun or fulfilling in any way shape or form.

 

[saltbench]

I wasn't planning on finding a full-time job in translation, rather i was planning on keeping the translation job and looking for a full-time job in another field as i have experience in early childhood education non-profit management, and program directing for film festivals. I was just wondering if i got a full-time job and got the visa and STILL worked the translation job making dollars if it would cause me problems and the US would be advised that i am working in Argentina based on my visa, and that somehow getting back to my company.

Pay the fine when i leave the airport to go where?

 

[Davidglen77]

I wasn't planning on finding a full-time job in translation, rather i was planning on keeping the translation job and looking for a full-time job in another field as i have experience in early childhood education non-profit management, and program directing for film festivals. I was just wondering if i got a full-time job and got the visa and STILL worked the translation job making dollars if it would cause me problems and the US would be advised that i am working in Argentina based on my visa, and that somehow getting back to my company.

Pay the fine when i leave the airport to go where?

If you overstay your tourist visa, they charge you a fine at the airport (or you may have to pay previous to flying, not sure) of like $500 pesos. Getting residency here is a pain in the rear as you have to get a whole bunch of documentation for yourself, AND your employer must be previously registered with immigration to be allowed to employ foreigners, if are not, they have to send a load of documentation, including financial statments for the past 5 years to immigration for them to be approved to hire you and then you have to go through the process yourself. If you are hell bent on staying here and having residency (it's not called a work visa) for you it would be residency as a migrant worker, which you have to renew every single year for 3 years and then you can apply for permanent residency. In terms of earning income in Argentina affecting your tax situation in the US, I doubt that will happen as there is something like an $80,000 USD exemption per year on foreign income....double check on the IRS website. You'll be extremely lucky if you earn the equivalent of $15,000 USD yearly here very lucky......probably more like $8,000-$10,000 USD. And those jobs you mentioned - especially education and non-profit work are some of the lowest paying jobs in Argentina.

 

[lucha54]

They're not only some of the lowest paying jobs but I have a feeling they're the kind of jobs/sectors that will not waste time filling out mountains of paperwork for a foreigner who doesn't already have residency. And anyway, why would you want to work full-time in an extremely low-paying job just for a work visa when you already make good money in the comfort of your home? You could look into opportunities for foreigners to work in NGOs (again they will work you to the bone with very little gratification on your part- I'm speaking for a friend who worked for Human Rights Watch and had a terribly unfulfilling experience) and as for film festivals etc.... why not just volunteer and if anything paid comes of it, great. Often that kind of work (part-time and/or temporary) is cash-in-hand anyway, even for locals.

As for taxes, you get the exemption if you are outside of the USA 330 days/ year or more. You still have to declare all income you make, but you won't owe taxes on it. You can mess with the Argentine system (to an extent), but please don't mess with the IRS. If you have independent contractor status through your online work, you'll still owe 15% (prepaid) in self-employment taxes no matter where you are in the world or for how long.

You don't have to leave every 3 months. You don't have to worry about them not letting you back in if you take a trip somewhere and overstayed the last time. Think probabilistically: if you overstayed, then went somewhere say Brazil, Chile, Peru, for a short vacay or home for a visit and came back and they said, "No, you overstayed, we're not letting you back in now" you would be one of the 0.0000001% of foreigners that that has happened to. Just keep your online job, get down here, see for yourself what you think of the place, and then ask us more questions.