A question about TN status for a Canadian living in the US. There are some income-generating things I'd like to do outside of my work visa (play a music gig, upload music to Spotify, act in a movie). My understanding is that I can't do these things in the US. Am I able to do these things if I do them outside of the country, or is there any way to make them work? For example, if I went to Canada, recorded an album, uploaded it, then came back to the US.
Yes, if the activity occurs while you are outside U.S., then you can get paid for it without having to have U.S. work authorization to do it. So, yes, recording an album while outside is fine but it becomes a little more complicated if you are now getting paid for downloads while you are in the U.S.
While I'm inside the US, can I perform work for non-US entities? For example, remotely teaching a music lesson do someone in a different country or writing a book and publishing it abroad but not in the US.
I think a related but separate question would be "Can I do these things if the proceeds are going directly to charity instead of to me?"
I suspect it would be important that any funds never reached you, so you couldn't simply receive money then donate that amount. Playing a charity gig where the receipts go directly to the charity would likely be fine, streaming/Spotify revenue I don't know, acting in a movie might be out of the question if it's being professionally shot because the producer might have insurance or other requirements that only paid performers and crew can be on set, etc.
IIRC from the time I was waiting for employment authorization, I wasn't allowed to do any charity work that could otherwise be a paid position, so be very careful with this charity idea.
Some visas that are employment-limited specifically mention volunteering and charitable work as problematic. You do not need to personally gain financially. A crude way to tell is "is this an activity which someone could be paid for, even if I'm doing it for free?"
However the practical answer is ask. Some visas like the J1 allow this - even consulting, provided it meets a bunch of criteria and relevant people sign off. It's not a trivial process, but it's not outright forbidden.
