Anybody in my situation: CP with a Gap in H1B Employment History

S

sansin

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I have a gap of close to 2 months in my employment history. This happened back in 2001. I subsequently got my H1B-transfer approved and got the new H1B-Visa stamp in my passport from India, but I have some concern about my CP because of this gap (issue of maintaining status all through the stay in US). The concern was mostly caused by what my attorney told me.

If you were in a similar situation, and have gone through CP, or are applying for CP, could you please post your thoughts here on this issue, and discuss your situation. Do you feel that we might be taking a risk by doing CP instead of AOS?

If you would rather not post in this thread, please do send me a Private Message. We can discuss our situations and strategies on how to best tackle this issue when going for CP.

Thanks a lot
Sanjay
 
So far as you were not out of status for more than 6 months .. you will be fine.. this is what my attorney told me... make sure that you tae all the Approval notices .. since INS has approved your H1B after the 2 month gap period.. you should not have any problem.. how are they even going to know of the GAP.. if you show the approval notices??
S
 
SANJAY76,

thanks for your feedback. They will know of the gap from DS 230 Part I, where I have mentioned my employment history. My employment history clearly shows the gap. Also, the last date of work on my experience letter from my previous employer, and my start date at my current employment shows the gap. It is extremely important to be consist, and not hide any facts. So, I laid it all out on the table for them. They can pardon a gap of two months, but they can never pardon a concealment of material fact.

regards
Sanjay
 
I agree with sanjay. The fact that you could get your new H1 visa stamp in india and came back to U.S. indicates that 2-month gap is not a problem. If you were out of staus for over 6 months, however, you could be barred for 3 years, and you would not have got your NIV H1 and returned to U.S. The same applies to IV.

imwatcher
 
I had a gap of a month

Hi there,
I had a gap of 1 month in my employment history where I left the job of previous company before my H1 was approved with the new company. No problems with CP. To be very true my lawyer mentioned that I was unemployed for that month in the employment history DS230 part 1 ( I was not happy with this ) He explained me that I was in status as my H1 B application was pending with INS/USCIS. I successfully went through cp interview at Mumbai consulate on June 18th...
Best of luck...
 
Hi UVWXYZ,

thanks for writing. Did the consular officer raise any question about that gap in employment in your DS 230 Part I? Did you have to explain to the Consulate officer that your H1B Petition was pending? At least you had a pending H1B. In my case, I did not even have a job offer for 3 weeks after the termination of my previous job. So, no job offer for 3 weeks, and no job + no pay stub for 6 weeks. I joined the new job soon after we received the receipt notice for H1B-transfer petition. I did not even wait for the H1B approval.

regards
 
No

No questions were raised about it, I don't think they read all the DS230 in detail. Just keep all the compulsory docs ready which they look for.
copy of DS230 part I submitted to NVC
1. DS230(II)
2. Notarized offer letter
3. Birth certificate
4. PCC
5. photos
6. medical
7. Interview letter
8. Marriage certificate

and the interview will go smoothly.

sansin said:
Hi UVWXYZ,

thanks for writing. Did the consular officer raise any question about that gap in employment in your DS 230 Part I? Did you have to explain to the Consulate officer that your H1B Petition was pending? At least you had a pending H1B. In my case, I did not even have a job offer for 3 weeks after the termination of my previous job. So, no job offer for 3 weeks, and no job + no pay stub for 6 weeks. I joined the new job soon after we received the receipt notice for H1B-transfer petition. I did not even wait for the H1B approval.

regards
Click to expand...
 
thanks!

GCDisaster,

thanks so much for pointing me to the user experience in immihelp.com, that talks about rejection due to applicant being out-of-status for more than a month.

I wish I could find out more about that case.

Do you personally know of any such case (rejection)?

By the way, why did you pick such a UserName? Did you go through any hardships in your quest for CP?

Thanks a lot

Sanjay
 
Sanjay,

I personally don't know anybody whose CP got rejected.

My username is more pertinent to the whole GC process rather than my own experience. By the way I opted for AOS, not CP as there is a month gap in my work experience. This could be interpreted as illegal stay by the consular officer as that is one of the grounds for CP rejection. If the officer is forgiving then it should be fine. We never know, it depends on the officer.
 
gap in employment

GCDisaster,

so, I understand that you chose AOS and not CP because of the one-month gap in employment? Are you considering CP now, or are you going ahead with AOS.

Can you share your thoughts and apprehensions about the one-month gap, and its interpretation on CP.

My case is described at the top of this thread.

It would be nice if you can discuss your situation with me. That would give me a better understanding of what to do in my situation.

You can send me a personal message if are hesitant to discuss your case here.

Thanks a ton.
Sanjay
 
One-month gap is not a ground of rejection for CP. If a person is not out of status for more than 6 months, his IV cannot be rejected based on that.
 
Sansin,

I can see your dilemma. However a one month gap in employment history will
not cause any problem at the inteview.

Raju
 
actually, my gap was closer to 2 months, however, I would like to believe that a two months gap would not be a problem either.

Thanks
Sanjay
 
GCDisaster said:
By the way I opted for AOS, not CP as there is a month gap in my work experience. This could be interpreted as illegal stay by the consular officer as that is one of the grounds for CP rejection.

{How sure you are that in AOS they will not consider this stay period ? just curious to know }
Click to expand...
 
I read somewhere on this forum that for AOS, if any illegal stay <6 months can be resolved by paying some amount/fine etc. For AOS, in any worst case atleast one has the option to appeal.
 
Hi

I am in the final stage of LC. I am thinking to opt for Consular Processing. my My employer did not pay for about 5 1/2 months during which I had no earnings. Will that cause a problem during interview.

Thanks,
Kb_gc
 
How to define illegal stay?

Is it staying beyond expiration of I-94. Or is it staying without employment and without pay-stubs, even though previous I-94 is still valid. For the latter case, how long a stay would be considered illegal. In my case, my I-94 was valid, but I stayed after getting laid off, for a 1.5 months, before starting my next job.
 
I think staying beyond the date given in I-94 is considered illegal. As long as you meet the LCA stated earnings in your W2, it doesn't matter if you're without paystubs for 6 months. I was interested to know if anyone had problems during Consular interview with insufficient w2 income
 
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