what happens to my j-1 and work permit?

HappyAndWorry

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,
I am happy to announce that I got notice of action for i-485, i-765, i-131 and biometrics scheduled. I was j-1 and have DS2019 until August 2008. What is my status now? Can I work on campus or do I have to wait for EAD approval to work on-campus or off-campus? Do I have to do anything with the international student office that I am pending i-485?
Thanks in advance for your time.
 
You can not wait until you get your EAD card. Unless you were work-authorized on your J-1. You could and should maintain your student status until your GC is approved, just to be safe.

ps: you are not subject to the 2 year HRR right?>
 
thanks for your respond. I admire your contribution to this group. At the moment, I am a student who came states with j-1 (got 2-year waiver), but do not have work permit. I guess I cannot apply for work permit (on-campus) to the international office now, since I have applied for i-485. Specifically and legally, I cannot work or volunteer (for an hourly work)during the summer, until I have my EAD, right?
 
if you are maintaining your J-1 status at the moment by going to school full-time, you can work on campus for 20 hours/week until you get your work permit. You will be able to work full- or part-time on or off campus with it.
 
It is my understanding that you CAN volunteer as long as you don't get paid. Before applying for my wife's paper, she volunteered at one of the labs at her school to get work experience. Now, I'm not sure if that was 100% legal...:rolleyes:
 
It was 100% illegal. Gaining work experience is exactly the kind of volunteer work that is not allowed.
 
it is not illegal if that position was always a volunteer position, and will always remain a volunteer position.
 
if you are maintaining your J-1 status at the moment by going to school full-time, you can work on campus for 20 hours/week until you get your work permit. You will be able to work full- or part-time on or off campus with it.

thanks a lot to all of you. I am still a student but my DS 2019 exprires in August and also I do not have paper work for on-campus work permission. Then I need to go to the international office and apply to work on campus as a j-1. And I think I read on this forum that if I apply for i-485, that means I show my intention to be immigrant and cannot use my j-1 rights. I mean if I go to the international office to apply for work permission as j-1 (which I am not anymore, right?), I might be doing something illegal, right?
The work I am talking is offering hourly money to the other people involved in the project. Meaning it is not under volunteer category, right? I would be happy to work for the project just for experience too.
 
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I mean if I go to the international office to apply for work permission as j-1 (which I am not anymore, right?), I might be doing something illegal, right?
no.

I worked on my OPT work permit even after I applied for AOS - because I was maintaining my F-1 status for a while. Then I switched to AOS EAD.

You will probably not be able to extend your J-1 status, but you should be able to get an on-campus work permission without any problem - until your DS-2019 expires. And you don't even need to notify your international center of your AOS application.
 
Experience is a form of compensation and hence illegal. And yes, people do get busted for this kind of thing. My employer (public University) learned the hard way and is now extra careful when it comes to hiring interns, even if its unpaid.
 
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