This might be long but it’s educative ✍️ “Work Authorization” is simply the right to work ‘in’ the USA. (Take note of the word ‘in’). It is a perk/benefit associated with an individual status in a country. Legally, every USA citizen has the right to work in the USA. However, with immigration of citizens of various nationalities with diverse visa classes, it becomes a discuss. For instance, a student studying in a foreign country has limited ‘rights’ which usually doesn’t include a right to work. As such, there’s a form people can apply for ‘in the USA’ to have that authorization. It’s called the “Employee Authorization Document” a.k.a. the EAD card. Now, having a work authorization and using it for work has implications both for the hiring company and the employee (in accordance with the laws of the USA). What this means is that when the company hires you, your income is ‘taxable’ in the USA. Many companies (especially structured companies) do this because there are legal, tax, and compliance issues associated with it. Now, about getting a work authorization as a foreign resident, that is not possible (to the best of my knowledge). You can either get it in the USA yourself or have a company file for you as an expatriate to have the right to work ‘in’ the USA. Now, down to your original question, there’s a different between having authorization to work in the USA and working for a company in the USA as a foreign resident. For one, the hiring classification is mostly different. Whilst I can’t give you a one-size fits all answer, this is the difference. 1. As a foreign resident, you’re hired as a “consultant” or “independent contractor” on a contract basis. (What this means usually is you’re not legally entitled to certain employee benefits as you’d have gotten if ‘in’ the USA or on a work authorization, in accordance with the labour laws). Usually, this is contracted to a third-party agency to prevent litigation (company doesn’t hire you directly as your contract is with the agency). 2. Based on 1, the company is not responsible for your tax obligations to your resident country. This is 100% on you. 3. You don’t have to be a US citizen or permanent resident to work with a US company. However, the company or hirer must be willing to hire you on a consulting/contract basis. When & if they agree, they use a Form W-8BEN to claim your income as payroll deductions for their filings. Some might not even care, they’re probably paying lower than they’d have paid if they were hiring in the US anyways 🤷🏽 4. In order cases, some of them have US LLC with which they can enter into C2C contracts. In this case, the company isn’t dealing with them individually as a foreign resident but as a US-based legal entity. I can speak more to this because this is a space I’ve navigated for over 6 years across all levels but I’ll stop here. Now, I know the mantra “The world is a global village” might have flattened the discourse to make it seem hiring out of state/country is a norm. However, remember, there are local/state/federal laws guiding these processes and nobody wants to be caught on the wrong side of Uncle Sam. So, the hirer isn’t doing too much, every situation is unique and not everyone has the capacity to navigate such (especially if it’s not worth it) but if you’re able to navigate these situations to land an opportunity, I wish you the best of luck.