Can I claim unemployment benefit?

B

buckmaster

Registered Users (C)
My situation is:

I485 pending for more than 180 days, with I140 & EAD approved.
If I got laid off, can I claim unemployment benefit?

Your reply will be highly appreciated!
 
Buckmaster:
You should discuss with your lawyer and don’t create problems for your GC process if you are claiming unemployment benefit while you are on EAD. Follow the advice of your lawyer
 
Your first priority should be finding another job! You haven't earned the right to sit back and enjoy life, not yet.
 
Originally posted by tyzh
Your first priority should be finding another job! You haven't earned the right to sit back and enjoy life, not yet.
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Yes, but with an EAD he has earned the right to collect UI. God knows he paid into it, the least he can do is get some cash to tide him over until he gets that new job.
 
TheRealCanadian
What grounds do you have to make your statements and claims?


You also wrote in other thread that one couldn’t file second I-485 based on Different employer LC and different I-140 from different employer. FYI my friend has 2 pending I-485 in different service centers and was filed by reputed lawyer.

Just being a Volunteer Moderator it does not mean that you are lawyer or expert in immigration law and know better than lawyers. If you claim to be expert then you should also post the law for your claims. Don’t mislead others; he may be in trouble if he claims unemployment benefit while on EAD. I just spoke to my lawyer and he confirmed not to go for it till GC is approved.
 
Realcanadian is correct in saying that claiming Unemployment benefits will not be a problem for GC. Unemployment benefit is paid out of an insurance fund, not government or taxpayers money. Both employer and employee contribute to this fund, not taxpayer or government. Just because a lawyer has advised against it does not mean that his word is final. The only requirement fir claiming UI benefits is that the person have authorization for for unrestricted employment ( EAD, GC,Citizenship, etc.) You may want to check your local UI agency's website. Also check BCIS's definition of "public charge".

By the way your initial issue about a person applying for two 485's based on 2 different LCs and I-140s smacks of immigration fraud.
 
Originally posted by saathia
What grounds do you have to make your statements and claims?
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Easy - experience with the immigration system.

Look, I've had "reputed" attorneys tell me all sorts of things over the years. I've had some tell me that on a TN I couldn't start Green Card proceedings because there was no dual intent allowed. I've had others tell me that I needed a visa stamp before I could re-enter the US. I've had some more say that I needed AP to re-enter the US after my I-485 was filed, despite having a valid H-1.

I'm not an attorney. I freely admit this. However, just because someone has a law degree (where they spent 4 years learning a wide variety of subjects outside of immigration law) and takes your money doesn't appreciably increase the quality of the advice they give you. If you ask 3 attorneys and on a message board, you may get several different answers.

You also wrote in other thread that one couldn’t file second I-485 based on Different employer LC and different I-140 from different employer. FYI my friend has 2 pending I-485 in different service centers and was filed by reputed lawyer.
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As nkm so eloquently stated, the first situation reeks of immigration fraud. You as an alien can only intend to work for one employer. Now two employers can file an LC/I-140 on your behalf; that's their business and not yours. However, when you file two I-485s, you need to intend to work for the I-140 petitioner, and BCIS will legitimately ask "Are you withdrawing one I-485, or were you lying when you promised to work for your first sponsor, or are you lying now?"

I'm sure your reputable lawyer has good reasons to file two I-485s, and probably pocketed two sets of filing fees. But this is a very grey area, and what are you going to do when BCIS takes the opinion that your second I-485 filing automatically withdrew the first?

Second, I've never said that you cannot file two I-485s; I have said that it's at the very least a waste of money, and at worst immigration fraud. Obviously neither issue bothers you, but I would suggest that this attitude is not typical of the folks here.

If you claim to be expert then you should also post the law for your claims. Don’t mislead others; he may be in trouble if he claims unemployment benefit while on EAD. I just spoke to my lawyer and he confirmed not to go for it till GC is approved.
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Bovine excrement.

First off, I am under no obligation to post any law to support my claims. You are the one going around saying you cannot claim UI when on an EAD; you post the relevant statute or regulation that says you cannot. There's another poster here who made the ridiculous claim that getting UI would adversely affect citizenship. Again, put up or shut up. If you can make a prima facie case based on statute and/or regulation that a legally present alien with work authorization can be either denied UI or this will adversely affect his/her Green Card, only then will I waste my time searching for the BCIS memo that explicitly states that UI does not make one a "public charge". At which point your apology will be graciouly accepted.

Second, I am not misleading anyone. I am telling you the laws and regulations as I understand them. I back them up - I've always stated my reasoning. For UI, the only qualifications are that you and/or your employer have contributed for long enough to be eligible, and that you are legally able to work. If you have a valid EAD, you meet the criteria.

Your lawyer has a different opinion. Good for him. On what grounds does he base this? You are paying him, so I hope you are getting your money's worth and asking him for the reasoning behind his opinion. Let me tell you a dirty secret - many folks (attorneys included) will say something no matter how much they know on the subject. They may be over-cautious when they do not need to be.

It's odd that your reputable attorney will file duplicate I-485s willy-nilly but doesn't want you claiming UI if you're entitled to it.

Answer me this: if you were a derivative applicant, would claiming UI harm your GC? If not, what is the difference?
 
...Answer me this: if you were a derivative applicant, would claiming UI harm your GC? If not, what is the difference? [/B]
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For that matter what about Disability insurance? What if you were injured on the job?
This argument that claiming UI somehow affects one's GC is absolutely facetious. Unfortunately on this forum most people think otherwise.
There are clear definitions for public charge and nowhere does it say that UI is public charge. It isn't by any stretch of imagination. Unfortunately the public charge argument is floated by most posters as the reason against claiming UI.
 
I didn't mean he can't, but my ways are always: don't complicate the case and give yourself some sense of urgency.
 
And don't forget that Unemployment Benefits are taxable income under both federal and state law. However, no income tax is taken out of your payment unless you tell them to do so in writing.

Check with your state workforce center.
 
Unemployment Compensation and Public Charge Definition: The (former) INS Field Guidance on Deportability and Inadmissibility on Public
Charge Grounds provided that
"``public charge'' means an alien who has become (for deportation purposes) or who is likely to become (for admission/adjustment purposes) ``primarily dependent on the government for subsistence, as demonstrated by either (i) the receipt of public cash assistance for income maintenance or (ii)
institutionalization for long-term care at government expense.''
"Public cash assistance means income or needs-based monetary assistance. ...It does not include ...work-related compensation." 8 C.F.R. § 210.1(n), a term which Immigration Law and Procedure, Section 53.02(c)(2)(c)(iii), considers to include unemployment compensation. Likewise the Field Guidance states that ", cash payments that have been earned, such as Title II Social Security
benefits, government pensions, and veterans' benefits, among other forms of earned benefits, do not support a public charge
determination." Since unemployment compensation payments are derived in part from payroll deduction, they appear to fall within this earned benefits exception.
Thus it appears that accepting unemployment compensation should not be considered evidence that an applicant for adjustment of status is a public charge.
Of course if both spouses are unemployed at the time of adjustment of status, they may not have sufficient assets to indicate that they will not be public charges. Still "A healthy person in the prime of life cannot
ordinarily be considered likely to become a public charge, especially where he has friends or relatives in the United States
who have indicated their ability and willingness to come to his assistance in case of an emergency/" Matter of Martinez-Lopez, 10 I&N 409, 421-422 (AG, Jan. 6,
1964), quoted in the Field Guidance at nt 5.
Finally, the fact that the applicants may not be maintaining status as a result of these layoffs should not be a basis for a denial of adjustment of status, since according to Pearl Chang's letter of March 13, 1997 to H. Ron Klasko, one need not continue to maintain a lawful nonimmigrant status after the filing of an I-485.
 
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