My husband who is my dependent is on H4 visa. He has been studying full-time in a US university for a year. He is currently in China for his summer break. His professor found him a small project for him to do remotely from China for a couple of weeks in July. And his professor is willing to pay.

Question: his professor sent him a W8-BEN form to fill out. Can he earn income in his current status(on vacation in China and work from China, will return as H4 in late August)? Should he fill out the form?

Yes, have him complete the Form W-8BEN, designating the income as China-sourced and NOT subject to U.S. income tax.

Yes, he CAN earned the income while in China. The income will be considered to be China-sourced income and this NOT liable for U.S. income taxes. Your husband should be sure to coordinate with the professor so the professor does NOT originate a Form 1099-MISC for the work performed.

Thanks a lot! I will let him work with his preofessor to work it out.

And BTW, we fileD joint tax return for year 2009...