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Hello everyone,
I am in seek of help and advice regarding a fairly unique situation with the EAD / OPT. Last August I worked as an intern for a company on a CPT, then went back to school and graduated in December. The company that I worked for as an intern decided to hire me after the graduation, so I went ahead and applied for the OPT at the beginning of September (well over 90 days before I was supposed to start working). Unfortunately the DSO person at my school told me wrong amount for the application fee ( $300 instead of $380 ) and my application was sent back on December 10th. I immediately wrote a new check with the correct amount and overnighted my application back to Texas service center. The check was cashed by the USCIS on December 18 and on the 20th I got my receipt. Since then my application status has been "Initial Review".
Due to this unfortunate delay, I did not receive (still haven't) the EAD on time. I notified my employer that my OPT application was delayed due to the mistake and that I couldn't work until I was approved by the USCIS. The employer acknowledged my situation and told me to notify him when I receive the EAD.
Last night I checked my secondary bank account (that I hardly ever use), and to my surprise I noticed that I had a lot higher balance than I expected. After a short investigation I found out that my employer by an accident put me on payroll in January, and that I've been getting paid as I was working (but I was not!). I immediately asked the employer to take me off the payroll, and issued a wire transfer to return the money.
My questions are the following: given that I have been on a payroll without my knowledge for over 2 months with having my OPT EAD pending, is it going to interfere in any way with my OPT application? Is it going to have any implications in the future when I apply for the H1-B visa? My understanding is that any off university employment before the EAD was issued is considered illegal. That really worries me because, even though I wasn't working, I was on payroll with paychex that transfers withheld taxes to the IRS with my SS. If the USCIS or DHS is going to see that I may get in serious trouble.
Do you have any suggestions of what I should do? Should I just wait for the OPT application to go through? Should I report what happened? If so, to what institution?? I am really frustrated with this crap, I did everything right, but due to other peoples' mistakes I still don't have my EAD, and I may be unwillingly violating federal laws.. Not to mention it almost killed all my savings as I have been without any income since the end of December. Any help, advice or comment will be much appreciated!
Best regards,
PT
I am in seek of help and advice regarding a fairly unique situation with the EAD / OPT. Last August I worked as an intern for a company on a CPT, then went back to school and graduated in December. The company that I worked for as an intern decided to hire me after the graduation, so I went ahead and applied for the OPT at the beginning of September (well over 90 days before I was supposed to start working). Unfortunately the DSO person at my school told me wrong amount for the application fee ( $300 instead of $380 ) and my application was sent back on December 10th. I immediately wrote a new check with the correct amount and overnighted my application back to Texas service center. The check was cashed by the USCIS on December 18 and on the 20th I got my receipt. Since then my application status has been "Initial Review".
Due to this unfortunate delay, I did not receive (still haven't) the EAD on time. I notified my employer that my OPT application was delayed due to the mistake and that I couldn't work until I was approved by the USCIS. The employer acknowledged my situation and told me to notify him when I receive the EAD.
Last night I checked my secondary bank account (that I hardly ever use), and to my surprise I noticed that I had a lot higher balance than I expected. After a short investigation I found out that my employer by an accident put me on payroll in January, and that I've been getting paid as I was working (but I was not!). I immediately asked the employer to take me off the payroll, and issued a wire transfer to return the money.
My questions are the following: given that I have been on a payroll without my knowledge for over 2 months with having my OPT EAD pending, is it going to interfere in any way with my OPT application? Is it going to have any implications in the future when I apply for the H1-B visa? My understanding is that any off university employment before the EAD was issued is considered illegal. That really worries me because, even though I wasn't working, I was on payroll with paychex that transfers withheld taxes to the IRS with my SS. If the USCIS or DHS is going to see that I may get in serious trouble.
Do you have any suggestions of what I should do? Should I just wait for the OPT application to go through? Should I report what happened? If so, to what institution?? I am really frustrated with this crap, I did everything right, but due to other peoples' mistakes I still don't have my EAD, and I may be unwillingly violating federal laws.. Not to mention it almost killed all my savings as I have been without any income since the end of December. Any help, advice or comment will be much appreciated!
Best regards,
PT
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