Angelo Paparelli Published in The New York Law Journal
“Drawing the Immigration Line Between Business and Work”

Angelo Paparelli co-authored the article, “Drawing the Immigration Line Between Business and Work,” published December 28, 2009 in The New York Law Journal. In their article, Angelo and his co-author discuss how India’s Ministry of Home Affairs caused a stir earlier this year when it abruptly changed the immigration rules for business visitors to India. Contract workers and those working on projects in India, who in the past had routinely been admitted under the business visitor visa category, were ordered to leave the country no later than October 31, 2009, and apply for a work visa.

According to their article, the fine distinction between authorized business activities and services, on the one hand, and labor and work, on the other, is not limited to immigration authorities in India. The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has historically refused to issue visas, and the immigration agencies of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have refused to grant admission or extend temporary visitor status, to business visitors intending to come to the United States for contract and project work.

The authors note that since the line between permitted business activities and prohibited work is fuzzy, the consequences of opting in good faith, but incorrectly for the position that the proposed activity constitutes business, can be significant. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may refuse admission to the legitimate holder of a B-1 visa, and can issue an order of expedited removal, which would bar the foreign citizen from reentering the United States for five years. Moreover, if a B-1 visa is revoked by the Secretary of State, another provision of law provides that a visa revocation  renders the individual deportable as "present in violation of law."

The authors recommend that foreign citizens and the corporate entities dispatching them should therefore exercise caution when contemplating an entry to the U.S. under either the B-1 or the B-1 analogue WB (Waiver Business) classification under the visa waiver permanent program.