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Hello hive mind,
I'm in the process of filling form I-485 while I wait for I-140 approval. I am pretty much done, but I am concerned since in 2019 I received about $1500 from selling an app I developed during my free time. Because of that, in Part 8, point 17 ("Have you EVER violated the terms or conditions of your nonimmigrant status?"), I had to put YES since I am currently in a H-1B visa and I didn't know at the time I was violating my visa.
To circumvent my mistake I added the following justification in the last page:
"Unaware of my visa restrictions and as a hobby activity, I generated less than $1500 during FY2019. That was the only instance and I was never out-of-status for more than 180 days and never again since my last admission. INA Section 245(k) forgives brief status violations such as this one."
For all intents and purposes the above statement is true. If I understand 245(k) correctly, the 180 days timer should reset every time I get admitted to the US with a new I-94, so there was never a period of time I was more than 180 days out of status and as soon as I noticed my mistake I immediately remove the app from the app store.
My concern is, is this the best way to handle the situation? Maybe there is a better way to go around it? I declared the app revenue in my 2019 tax returns as hobby income so they will see it there when they evaluate my case.
Any input is appreciated, thank you!
I'm in the process of filling form I-485 while I wait for I-140 approval. I am pretty much done, but I am concerned since in 2019 I received about $1500 from selling an app I developed during my free time. Because of that, in Part 8, point 17 ("Have you EVER violated the terms or conditions of your nonimmigrant status?"), I had to put YES since I am currently in a H-1B visa and I didn't know at the time I was violating my visa.
To circumvent my mistake I added the following justification in the last page:
"Unaware of my visa restrictions and as a hobby activity, I generated less than $1500 during FY2019. That was the only instance and I was never out-of-status for more than 180 days and never again since my last admission. INA Section 245(k) forgives brief status violations such as this one."
For all intents and purposes the above statement is true. If I understand 245(k) correctly, the 180 days timer should reset every time I get admitted to the US with a new I-94, so there was never a period of time I was more than 180 days out of status and as soon as I noticed my mistake I immediately remove the app from the app store.
My concern is, is this the best way to handle the situation? Maybe there is a better way to go around it? I declared the app revenue in my 2019 tax returns as hobby income so they will see it there when they evaluate my case.
Any input is appreciated, thank you!
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