Boston at a Glance

Expat Business Info Boston

Boston's many excellent higher education institutions cause a lot of competition on the job market, even for highly skilled expats.

In contrast to other large US cities such as LA or New York, many people do not have a mental picture of what working in Boston is like. You might be surprised! Working in Boston is your key to one of the biggest urban economies in the US. Our guide to working in Boston has all the vital facts.

Taxation

For reasons of taxation, the US government distinguishes between two different categories of foreign nationals living in the country: resident and nonresident aliens. You are considered a resident alien under US tax law if you pass either the Green Card test – i.e. if you are a Green Card holder – or the substantial presence test.

In simplified terms, you have to be present in the USA for at least 30 days in the current year and a total of 183 days in the three-year period of the current and two previous years. The homepage of the IRS has further info on this subject, including exemption rules. Generally speaking, if you are living and working in the US on a permanent basis, you are taxed like a US citizen.

If you do not pass the tests mentioned above, you are considered a nonresident alien for tax purposes. In this case, only your income from sources within the country is subject to taxes.

As with tax legislation virtually everywhere in the world, the regulations of the IRS are fairly complicated, both for foreign residents and nationals. We highly recommend reading the section on the taxation of aliens on the IRS website. These links might be of special interest to you:

Tax Treaties
Taxation of Nonresident Aliens
Tax Info for Resident Aliens
International Taxpayers Overview Page

Social Security

The social security card showing your individual social security number is of utmost importance in the USA, almost every bit as important as your ID. It is prerequisite to getting any kind of work in the country, and every citizen, immigrant, and expat is required to have one. The Social security Administration has compiled lots of useful and important information on this overview page. We highly recommend perusing it in detail!

If you plan on entering the US on an immigrant visa, you can request a social security card with your visa application. Non-immigrants can file for their card online within ten days of arrival in the country. The social security deductions from your paycheck are 6.2% of your salary.

The Hidden Job Market

As we have mentioned in our overview article on working in the USA, you should not expect every job opening to be advertised in the classifieds of the local newspapers, online job portals, or even on the company website. In fact, it is estimated that only about 30% of all jobs are advertised. The rest is only open within the so-called hidden job market.

This basically means that knowledge of current or upcoming openings is mostly passed on between colleagues, friends, or business contacts. Unfortunately, the best and most lucrative jobs are often only available to those with “access” to this hidden market. Networking and maintaining good contacts throughout the business world are vital to career-driven individuals who want to give their CV a boost.

The Job Search from Abroad

As entering the US on a tourist visa with the intent to look for jobs is illegal, you have to go about this task from abroad. Assuming you do not have an existing business network, your first stop will probably be the “traditional” (in the loosest sense of the word) Internet resources as well as the classified sections of the large print publications in Boston. If you are lucky enough to work for a company with offices in Boston, just inquire about a possible assignment there.

One way of harnessing the hidden job market, even as an expat without a large network of contacts, can be unsolicited applications. Look for a company you’d be interested in working with, and give it a try. These kinds of applications are not at all rare. Given your CV and application are convincing enough to justify the considerable cost of hiring a foreigner (the visa application process is, after all, also the employer’s responsibility), your chances might be actually quite good. Best of luck!