Hiring Offshore QA From the US: Overlap, IP and Time Zones

A US company can run offshore QA from Bangladesh, but the time gap is real: Dhaka (UTC+6) is 10 to 11 hours ahead of US Eastern time, so there is no daytime overlap. RAITHub bridges it with a daily 2-hour evening window, when New York and Toronto at 08:00 to 10:00 meet Dhaka at 19:00 to 21:00, plus written daily handoffs for everything else.

This guide is for US founders, CTOs and QA leads deciding whether an offshore testing partner can work across that gap. RAITHub is a QA and software studio in Dhaka. It has no US office, works in English only, and is not SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified, so read this as engineering and hiring guidance. Legal points are general information; confirm them with a US-qualified adviser.

What is the time overlap between the US and Dhaka?

None during normal US business hours, by default. Dhaka is 10 hours ahead of New York in US winter and 11 hours ahead of the Pacific coast, with no daylight saving in Bangladesh. RAITHub offers US, Canadian, Colombian and Caribbean clients a daily 2-hour evening overlap instead:

US / Canada time (East)	Dhaka time	What happens
08:00–10:00 (winter)	19:00–21:00	The daily 2-hour overlap: stand-up, demo, live triage of urgent bugs
09:00–11:00 (summer)	19:00–21:00	The same window, shifted by daylight saving on the US side
Rest of the US day	Dhaka night	Asynchronous: you work, questions queue for the evening window
Dhaka 09:00–18:00	US night	Testing runs; a written handoff lands before your morning

So the model is honest about what it is: mostly asynchronous, with one live window a day for the things that need a conversation. For West Coast teams the window still works but lands earlier in Dhaka's evening; agree the exact slot on the first call. This is the same async discipline RAITHub uses with Canadian clients, covered in QA testing for Canadian companies.

How do written handoffs carry QA across the gap?

The written daily handoff is the backbone of offshore QA for a US client, not a nice-to-have. Each Dhaka working day ends with a report your team reads before it starts:

• What was tested that day: which journeys, roles, browsers and devices.
• What failed, filed as bugs in your tracker with steps and evidence, not held in a private list.
• What is blocked and the exact question or access that would unblock it.
• What is next, so the evening window is spent deciding, not catching up.

Because the testers work while the US sleeps, overnight turnaround is a feature: a bug found Monday afternoon your time is often reproduced, isolated and reported by Tuesday morning. The rule that keeps it working is the same one that keeps any offshore QA honest: tests in your repository, bugs in your tracker, one place that decides release readiness. See QA gates for offshore teams and offshore QA testing services.

How do you make sure test IP assigns to your US company?

Put it in the contract; do not assume it. Under US copyright law, a transfer of copyright ownership must be in writing and signed by the owner (17 U.S.C. § 204). A foreign contractor's work is not automatically "work made for hire" for you, so the agreement needs an explicit assignment, not just a work-for-hire clause. The US Copyright Office's guidance on works made for hire explains why the category is narrow (Copyright Office Circular 30). For offshore QA specifically, that means:

• Written assignment of all test artifacts to your company: automated test code, test plans, bug reports and CI configuration.
• Tests committed to your repository, in an account you own, from the first week.
• An NDA covering your code, data and product details.
• A DPA if testers will touch any personal data, with standard contractual clauses for the transfer.

RAITHub assigns full IP to the client as standard and signs an NDA by default. The broader checklist for US buyers is in the offshore IP assignment checklist for US companies. This is general information, not legal advice; have your counsel review the contract.

How big is the cost gap for a US buyer?

Wide, and mostly in the rate. The US median wage for software quality assurance analysts and testers was $104,300 in May 2025 (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). Benefits add to that: in June 2026, wages and salaries were 68.5% of employer compensation costs for full-time private-industry workers, with benefits the other 31.5% (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation), which puts one in-house tester near $150,000 a year before tools and devices.

Option	Market cost (2026)	Overlap with your day
In-house US QA hire	~$104,300 wage, ~$150,000 loaded (BLS)	Full
US freelancer or crowdtesting	Upwork median $35/hr for QA engineers (Upwork)	Full, but knowledge leaves each time
North American agency	$80 to $150+/hr manual (QA Madness)	Full
Offshore managed QA (Bangladesh)	Offshore rates, managed for a result, quoted per scope	2-hour evening window, rest async

Those are market figures, not RAITHub prices; RAITHub publishes no rates. The saving is real, but a low rate times more hours or more rework is not a saving, so compare fixed quotes with the scope and deliverables visible. For how each model is priced, see QA as a service pricing and in-house QA vs outsourced QA.

What about compliance questionnaires from your customers?

US enterprise customers often send a security questionnaire before they buy. An offshore QA partner that is not SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified cannot answer those as "we are certified", and should not pretend to. What it can do is sign a DPA and SCCs, follow your controls, test against synthetic data, and give you traceable test records per release that help you answer the questionnaire yourself. Note too that RAITHub's web application security testing follows OWASP guidance; it is not a CREST- or PCI-recognised penetration test and issues no compliance attestation. If a customer requires an accredited pentest report, use an accredited firm for that piece. See answering your first security questionnaire without SOC 2.

Why RAITHub for offshore QA from the US?

• A daily live window plus overnight turnaround. A 2-hour evening overlap for decisions, and testing done while you sleep, reported before your morning.
• A managed service, not seats. RAITHub manages its own testers. It does not offer staff augmentation.
• Tests and IP you own. Automated tests and CI configuration go in your repository, with a written IP assignment to your US company and an NDA as standard.
• Specialist breadth from one provider: manual and exploratory testing with UAT support, mobile testing on real iOS and Android devices, web application security testing against OWASP guidance, WCAG 2.2 accessibility audits, and automation, API and performance testing.
• Counted suites as proof. PropDesk runs 1,024 automated tests and Sundor Skin runs 530+. TheSkinProof, the founder's own venture rather than a client, runs 750+.

When a US company should not hire RAITHub for QA

• When you need testers working in your own time zone for most of the day, and a 2-hour window is not enough.
• When a customer requires a SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified vendor, or an accredited CREST or PCI penetration test report.
• When you need a legal accessibility certificate (ADA, Section 508). A WCAG 2.2 audit reports issues and fixes but does not certify compliance; confirm with your adviser.
• When you want to manage the testers yourself. That is staff augmentation, which RAITHub does not do.

How RAITHub would test this

• Scope: the journeys and roles that matter, the browsers and devices, and the test types across manual and exploratory, mobile, security, accessibility and automation, API and performance.
• Rhythm: a 2-hour evening overlap for live triage, a written handoff every Dhaka working day, bugs in your tracker.
• Model: a monthly QA plan, a one-off audit or a dedicated team RAITHub manages and bills monthly.
• Contract: written IP assignment, NDA, and a DPA with SCCs where personal data is involved.

Next step: a free 15-minute technical audit, then a written fixed quote. For the full service, see QA as a service. Ready? Ask for a QA plan or dedicated team quote.

Frequently asked questions

What is the time difference between the US and Dhaka?

Dhaka is 10 hours ahead of US Eastern time in winter and 11 ahead of the Pacific coast, with no daylight saving in Bangladesh. There is no daytime overlap, so RAITHub uses a daily 2-hour evening window instead.

How can QA work with no shared business hours?

Through a daily 2-hour evening overlap for live decisions and a written handoff for the rest. Testing runs while the US sleeps, so a bug found in your afternoon is often reported by your next morning.

Who owns the tests if an offshore team writes them?

Whoever the contract says. Under 17 U.S.C. 204 a copyright transfer must be written and signed, and a foreign contractor's work is not automatically yours. Insist on an explicit IP assignment and keep tests in your own repository. RAITHub assigns full IP as standard.

Is offshore QA cheaper than hiring in the US?

On rates, clearly: a US QA tester's median wage was $104,300 in May 2025 before benefits, against far lower offshore rates. The total saving depends on hours and rework, so compare fixed quotes with the scope visible.

Can RAITHub answer our customers' SOC 2 security questionnaires?

Not as a certified vendor; RAITHub is not SOC 2 or ISO 27001 certified. It signs a DPA and SCCs, follows your controls, and provides traceable test records per release that help you answer the questionnaire yourself.

Does RAITHub have a US office?

No. RAITHub is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, works with US clients remotely in English, and has no US office. It is an offshore partner, not a nearshore one.