Unauthorized work and AOS

[Bigm]

About 9 years ago while on H1B for certain reason I worked for a second company, lets call it company X, which clearly I was not supposed to, for about a year and paid tax using my SSN. I stopped working for company X, changed my status from H1B to F1 and graduated last year. I currently work using my OPT work authorization. Ever since I left company X, I never engaged in any unauthorized employments. Now I am about to file for AOS (approved I-130, parent is a US citizen). Will that one year of unauthorized employment hunt me down? Do they(USCIS) usually interview with family-based petitioners? Should I hire a lawyer?

[azblk]

They only ask for most recent 5 years of employment on the forms. If you are not asked do not volunteer the information.

[S_R_E]

About 9 years ago while on H1B for certain reason I worked for a second company, lets call it company X, which clearly I was not supposed to, for about a year and paid tax using my SSN. I stopped working for company X, changed my status from H1B to F1 and graduated last year. I currently work using my OPT work authorization. Ever since I left company X, I never engaged in any unauthorized employments. Now I am about to file for AOS (approved I-130, parent is a US citizen). Will that one year of unauthorized employment hunt me down? Do they(USCIS) usually interview with family-based petitioners? Should I hire a lawyer?

You might want to look at this

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume7-PartB-Chapter6.html

I am by no means an expert but I think this should give you the information you need


With certain exceptions, a foreign national is barred from adjusting status if:

•He or she continues in or accepts unauthorized employment prior to filing an application for adjustment of status; [2] or

•He or she has ever engaged in unauthorized employment, whether before or after filing an adjustment application. [3]

These bars apply not only to unauthorized employment since an applicant’s most recent entry but also to unauthorized employment during any previous periods of stay in the United States. [4]

As previously discussed, the INA 245(c)(2) and INA 245(c)(8) bars to adjustment do not apply to: [5]

•Immediate relatives;

•Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)-based applicants;

•Certain physicians and their accompanying spouse and children; [6]

•Certain G-4 international organization employees, NATO-6 employees, and their family members; [7]

•Special immigrant juveniles; [8] or

•Certain members of the U.S. armed forces and their accompanying spouse and children. [9]

[newacct]

If your parent is a US citizen, why aren't you a US citizen already? Did they naturalize after you were born?

If you are unmarried and under 21, then you are in the Immediate Relative category, where being out of status and unauthorized employment do not affect AOS.

However, if you are 21 or over or married, then you are in the F1 or F3 category, and unauthorized employment at any time in the past is a bar to AOS, which means you would have to do Consular Processing instead of AOS. This, by itself, is not too big of an issue; just a different process.

But, the unauthorized employment will also bring up other questions that you need to consider. For example, how did the other company let you work? Did you fill out an I-9 (which employees are supposed to), or did you not because you worked as a contractor? You didn't have the documents required by the I-9 to work for that company (H1b I-94 is only good for the company that petitioned you for the H1b), so how did you pass it? Was the company just sloppy or knowingly looked the other way, or did you give them false documents? You really need to make sure that you didn't check that you were a US citizen on the I-9, as that is a lifetime ban with no immigrant waiver possible.

Furthermore, you changed into F1 status. If you did a Change of Status in the US, there may have been a question on the form like "Have you, or any other person included in this application, done anything that violated the terms of the nonimmigrant status you now hold?" The answer should have been Yes, as outside work is a violation of your H1b status; but if you said Yes you probably would have been denied. If you answered No, that may be fraud or misrepresentation, which would be a lifetime ban with possibility of waiver if you can show extreme hardship to your USC parent.

[Bigm]

If your parent is a US citizen, why aren't you a US citizen already? Did they naturalize after you were born?

If you are unmarried and under 21, then you are in the Immediate Relative category, where being out of status and unauthorized employment do not affect AOS.

However, if you are 21 or over or married, then you are in the F1 or F3 category, and unauthorized employment at any time in the past is a bar to AOS, which means you would have to do Consular Processing instead of AOS. This, by itself, is not too big of an issue; just a different process.

But, the unauthorized employment will also bring up other questions that you need to consider. For example, how did the other company let you work? Did you fill out an I-9 (which employees are supposed to), or did you not because you worked as a contractor? You didn't have the documents required by the I-9 to work for that company (H1b I-94 is only good for the company that petitioned you for the H1b), so how did you pass it? Was the company just sloppy or knowingly looked the other way, or did you give them false documents? You really need to make sure that you didn't check that you were a US citizen on the I-9, as that is a lifetime ban with no immigrant waiver possible.

Furthermore, you changed into F1 status. If you did a Change of Status in the US, there may have been a question on the form like "Have you, or any other person included in this application, done anything that violated the terms of the nonimmigrant status you now hold?" The answer should have been Yes, as outside work is a violation of your H1b status; but if you said Yes you probably would have been denied. If you answered No, that may be fraud or misrepresentation, which would be a lifetime ban with possibility of waiver if you can show extreme hardship to your USC parent.

I was over 21 when moved to U.S. I cannot remember which questions were asked in USCIS paperwork for change of status. The second company was so sloppy and I believe they didn't bother to check anything with immigration. Prior to graduation I work for a short period of time under OPT which was 100 percent kosher and legal. Also currently I work using OPT.