Your 1–2 own-account margin trades per day are not automatically unauthorized H-1B work, but running a trading business or trading for others is not covered by your current employer-specific H-1B.

A.1

Unauthorized employment is any service or labor performed for an employer within the United States by an alien who is not authorized by the INA or USCIS to accept employment or who exceeds the scope or period of the alien’s employment authorization.

(b)(9)

An alien in this status may be employed only by the petitioner through whom the status was obtained.

pages 593–594

(2) Unauthorized self-employment as a used car dealer is "unauthorized employment" within the purview of section 245(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(c)) and precluded adjustment of status.

Traders

Investors typically buy and sell securities and expect income from dividends, interest, or capital appreciation. They buy and sell these securities and hold them for personal investment; they're not conducting a trade or business. To be engaged in business as a trader in securities, you must meet all of the following conditions: You must seek to profit from daily market movements in the prices of securities and not from dividends, interest, or capital appreciation; Your activity must be substantial; and You must carry on the activity with continuity and regularity. The following facts and circumstances should be considered in determining if your activity is a securities trading business: Typical holding periods for securities bought and sold; The frequency and dollar amount of your trades during the year; The extent to which you pursue the activity to produce income for a livelihood; and The amount of time you devote to the activity.

Implementation

FINRA has adopted new intraday margin standards to replace in their entirety the outdated day trading margin requirements, including the day trade count requirements for designating a customer as a “pattern day trader” and the $25,000 pattern day trader minimum equity requirement. The effective date of the amendments is June 4, 2026, 45 days from publication of this Notice. Members that need more time to implement the rule change will be permitted to phase in their implementation over a period of 18 months, until October 20, 2027.

Frequent Trading in a Margin Account

To trade using margin (funds borrowed from your firm), you must maintain a minimum of $2,000 in equity in your margin account. Your brokerage firm may require higher minimum equity amounts—often called "house" requirements—depending on the firm's policies and your account activity. If you make a practice of creating intraday margin deficits and failing to satisfy them promptly, your firm may need to freeze your account from trading on margin for 90 days or until the deficit is satisfied, whichever comes first.