I did not realize i was working unauthorized

[nguyenh14]

Help,

My wife came here on a k-1 visa and we applied for her green card shortly after getting married in the US. A couple of months after that we got in a financial pickle and my wife decided to look for jobs. She had received an SSN after we got married and we thought that she could get a job with that while we waited for her EAD (been 200+days and still waiting for that) and her green card. Long story short she got a job at the chiropractic office and everything was fine for 6 months. Just last month I stumbled upon a rule stating she technically isn't allowed to work with her type of SSN. We are freaking out because we are near the end of the green card process and most likely have an interview coming up. She quit her job as soon as we realized what she was doing was unlawful, but I fear that she had the job for much too long and that her green card application could be denied. Is there anything I can do?

[JunkMart]

Working without authorization is forgiven for a spouse of a USC. What I'm not sure about is whether that only applies to working without authorization prior to filing AOS. I hope others will chime in.

[newacct]

Help,

My wife came here on a k-1 visa and we applied for her green card shortly after getting married in the US. A couple of months after that we got in a financial pickle and my wife decided to look for jobs. She had received an SSN after we got married and we thought that she could get a job with that while we waited for her EAD (been 200+days and still waiting for that) and her green card. Long story short she got a job at the chiropractic office and everything was fine for 6 months. Just last month I stumbled upon a rule stating she technically isn't allowed to work with her type of SSN. We are freaking out because we are near the end of the green card process and most likely have an interview coming up. She quit her job as soon as we realized what she was doing was unlawful, but I fear that she had the job for much too long and that her green card application could be denied. Is there anything I can do?

Unauthorized work is irrelevant for AOS in her category, no matter if it happens before or after filing AOS. But she shouldn't have had the documents to complete the I-9 to work as an employee, so I wonder what happened there.

[LV User]

Help,

My wife came here on a k-1 visa and we applied for her green card shortly after getting married in the US. A couple of months after that we got in a financial pickle and my wife decided to look for jobs. She had received an SSN after we got married and we thought that she could get a job with that while we waited for her EAD (been 200+days and still waiting for that) and her green card. Long story short she got a job at the chiropractic office and everything was fine for 6 months. Just last month I stumbled upon a rule stating she technically isn't allowed to work with her type of SSN. We are freaking out because we are near the end of the green card process and most likely have an interview coming up. She quit her job as soon as we realized what she was doing was unlawful, but I fear that she had the job for much too long and that her green card application could be denied. Is there anything I can do?

Just read the I-9 and it states the following: Employees must present one selection from List A or a combination of one selection from List B and one from List C.
Indeed, List A contains the EAD, the Permanent Resident Card, US Passport, etc (documents that she hasn't gotten yet).

BUUUUT, there is also the second option they provide: one item from List B and one item from List C, and from there you can select the SSN (presented on List C) + the Driver's License (presented in List B).

So I'm afraid she quit for nothing...this is my opinion. The HR Department would have said something if her docs were not OK.
Plus, the I-9 is flexible, because of immigrants that are going through different stages of the immigration process, so they can work.

[JunkMart]

[QUOTE=LV User;597342]
BUUUUT, there is also the second option they provide: one item from List B and one item from List C, and from there you can select the SSN (presented on List C) + the Driver's License (presented in List C).

Just to clarify so it is clear to everyone: It has to be one item from List B plus one from List C. So what you have said is correct, except that driver's license is from List B, not List C.

[LV User]

@JunkMart, thank you for pointing this out! I corrected my initial post so it won't be misleading.

[QUOTE=JunkMart;597344]

BUUUUT, there is also the second option they provide: one item from List B and one item from List C, and from there you can select the SSN (presented on List C) + the Driver's License (presented in List C).

Just to clarify so it is clear to everyone: It has to be one item from List B plus one from List C. So what you have said is correct, except that driver's license is from List B, not List C.

[newacct]

Just read the I-9 and it states the following: Employees must present one selection from List A or a combination of one selection from List B and one from List C.
Indeed, List A contains the EAD, the Permanent Resident Card, US Passport, etc (documents that she hasn't gotten yet).

BUUUUT, there is also the second option they provide: one item from List B and one item from List C, and from there you can select the SSN (presented on List C) + the Driver's License (presented in List B).

So I'm afraid she quit for nothing...this is my opinion. The HR Department would have said something if her docs were not OK.
Plus, the I-9 is flexible, because of immigrants that are going through different stages of the immigration process, so they can work.

A Social Security card is only a List C document if it does not contain text on it that says something like "valid for work only with DHS authorization". Your wife's Social Security card which she got when she was on K-1 or EAD will have that text on it, so it cannot be used as a List C document. Only Social Security cards issued to US citizens, nationals, permanent residents (green card holders), asylees, and refugees will not have that text on it.

[LV User]

@newacct, you are correct.
@nguyenh14, this subject is too important to be debated in a forum group. Go to an immigration attorney and they will advise what's best.

A Social Security card is only a List C document if it does not contain text on it that says something like "valid for work only with DHS authorization". Your wife's Social Security card which she got when she was on K-1 or EAD will have that text on it, so it cannot be used as a List C document. Only Social Security cards issued to US citizens, nationals, permanent residents (green card holders), asylees, and refugees will not have that text on it.

[nguyenh14]

A Social Security card is only a List C document if it does not contain text on it that says something like "valid for work only with DHS authorization". Your wife's Social Security card which she got when she was on K-1 or EAD will have that text on it, so it cannot be used as a List C document. Only Social Security cards issued to US citizens, nationals, permanent residents (green card holders), asylees, and refugees will not have that text on it.

Yes that was the realization, her SS Card says valid for work with DHS authorization, meanin her SS card isnt valid for the I9 as a supporting document

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Unauthorized work is irrelevant for AOS in her category, no matter if it happens before or after filing AOS. But she shouldn't have had the documents to complete the I-9 to work as an employee, so I wonder what happened there.

Why is it irrelevant? That's good news, but I am curious to why that is the way it is for her case.

[newacct]

Why is it irrelevant? That's good news, but I am curious to why that is the way it is for her case.

The bar to AOS for having worked illegally does not apply to the Immediate Relative category (spouse, parent, or unmarried under-21 child of US citizen).