Will this be a problem?????

roxy2009

Registered Users (C)
Hey guys a question...

This guy came to the country around I think 1996 or 1997 or so. An auto body shop in the U.S sponcered him for his Green Card. He arrived here got his plastic card and everything was ok. Five years later he applied for his citizenship, but his name check took forever to clear. Last week finally, he got a letter from USCIS that they need an explanation within 30 days to a problem they have with him or his case will be denied. This is the problem;

When he went for his citizenship intreview two years ago, under oath he told the IO that the reason he never worked at the same auto body shop that sponcered him sine his arrival in the U.S, is because the body shop was not doing too well and they went out of business. Well, that was not the case.
USCIS checked the story behind his back and found out that the body shop was still in business and running. That's why They sent him a letter.

What do you guys think? is this a big problem? Does he need a lawyer? Will this effect his citizenship only or his green card also?
what do you guys think?
 
Well if he lied about the reason for leaving his sponsoring employer that is a big issue. It can affect both his green card and naturalization if he doesn't have a valid explanation for the discrepancy.
 
When he went for his citizenship intreview two years ago, under oath he told the IO that the reason he never worked at the same auto body shop that sponcered him sine his arrival in the U.S, is because the body shop was not doing too well and they went out of business. Well, that was not the case.
USCIS checked the story behind his back and found out that the body shop was still in business and running. That's why They sent him a letter.

Does USCIS really have resources to check out the story independently?
 
Does USCIS really have resources to check out the story independently?
They can't and don't check out everybody's story like that, but if they suspect something they can go to great lengths to verify or disprove what you told them.
 
When he went for his citizenship intreview two years ago, under oath he told the IO that the reason he never worked at the same auto body shop that sponcered him sine his arrival in the U.S, is because the body shop was not doing too well and they went out of business. Well, that was not the case.
USCIS checked the story behind his back and found out that the body shop was still in business and running. That's why They sent him a letter.

What do you guys think? is this a big problem? Does he need a lawyer? Will this effect his citizenship only or his green card also?
Depends on whether this was an honest mistake or a deliberate lie. Did the circumstances create the appearance of going out of business? For example, suppose the company filed for bankruptcy and told him after arrival in the US that they didn't have a job for him, then the company got an emergency loan or an investor and that enabled them to emerge successfully from bankruptcy, but he didn't find out about that. Or they had 2 branches and closed one of them (again, after telling him after arrival in the US that his job was gone), but the guy didn't know about the other one staying open. He'll need to provide a reasonable explanation for why he thought they went out of business ... but on the face of it looks very unlikely that he would have one if he didn't work for them for even a single day.
 
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The body shop has always been in business until this day. I don't know why he just didn't tell them the truth about not working there at all. Was he legally supposed to work there because they sponcered him? They did check to see if his story was correct or not, and they did find out that the body shop actually never went out of business. From what you guys are saying I think it will be hard for them to believe him. Now he is very scared that they might even deport him for this.
Does he need to see a lawyer?
 
Hey guys a question...

This guy came to the country around I think 1996 or 1997 or so. An auto body shop in the U.S sponcered him for his Green Card. He arrived here got his plastic card and everything was ok. Five years later he applied for his citizenship, but his name check took forever to clear. Last week finally, he got a letter from USCIS that they need an explanation within 30 days to a problem they have with him or his case will be denied. This is the problem;

When he went for his citizenship intreview two years ago, under oath he told the IO that the reason he never worked at the same auto body shop that sponcered him sine his arrival in the U.S, is because the body shop was not doing too well and they went out of business. Well, that was not the case.
USCIS checked the story behind his back and found out that the body shop was still in business and running. That's why They sent him a letter.

What do you guys think? is this a big problem? Does he need a lawyer? Will this effect his citizenship only or his green card also?
what do you guys think?


When did he got Green card?
 
The body shop has always been in business until this day. I don't know why he just didn't tell them the truth about not working there at all. Was he legally supposed to work there because they sponcered him? They did check to see if his story was correct or not, and they did find out that the body shop actually never went out of business. From what you guys are saying I think it will be hard for them to believe him. Now he is very scared that they might even deport him for this.
Does he need to see a lawyer?

Yes, have him contact a lawyer if this was indeed a lie.
 
The body shop has always been in business until this day.
You already said that. What I was asking was if there were any events that would create the appearance (from the perspective of that guy) that they went out of business. Events like filing for bankruptcy, or closing one location to open another across town, can create the impression that the business has closed or is about to close, even though the reality is that they're staying in business. Did he show up for work and get turned away?
 
The body shop has always been in business until this day. I don't know why he just didn't tell them the truth about not working there at all. Was he legally supposed to work there because they sponcered him? They did check to see if his story was correct or not, and they did find out that the body shop actually never went out of business. From what you guys are saying I think it will be hard for them to believe him. Now he is very scared that they might even deport him for this.
Does he need to see a lawyer?

How did he get his green card without working for this compamy even for one day.
 
Yes, have him contact a lawyer if this was indeed a lie.
If it was a lie even a lawyer probably can't help him. But if it was an honest mistake based on the false impression of the business being closed, a lawyer would be useful for constructing a credible case to show that a reasonable person in the circumstances would believe the business was closed or about to close.
 
What I am asking is was it prior to enactment of AC-21?
It seems like he got his green card via consular processing in 1996 or 1997 (which is before AC21). In those days EB3 was usually current for everybody (except occasional retrogression for India/China) and the labor certification could be completed in a month, so it was possible to directly get a green card via consular processing within 3-6 months without ever having worked for the employer before that.
 
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You already said that. What I was asking was if there were any events that would create the appearance (from the perspective of that guy) that they went out of business. Events like filing for bankruptcy, or closing one location to open another across town, can create the impression that the business has closed or is about to close, even though the reality is that they're staying in business. Did he show up for work and get turned away?



He never showed up for work not even for one day. And there were no problems with the shop in any kind or shape. They just simply sponcered him and he came here and did not work for them at all.

I really don't know how he got his green card without actually working for them, all I know is that back in 1996 or 97 he waited in his home country to go and get his papers at the embassy.
 
I really don't know how he got his green card without actually working for them, all I know is that back in 1996 or 97 he waited in his home country to go and get his papers at the embassy.
Even in today's world it is legally possible get a green card without ever working for the sponsoring employer before GC approval. The requirement is to work for the employer after the green card, not before. It is just rare these days that somebody gets a green card without working for the sponsor during the application process, because the employer won't hold the position open for years. But 12 years ago it was often possible to get an employment-based green card in less time than it takes to get an H1B today, so it would have been less uncommon back then to directly obtain a green card without getting an H1B or any other work visa first.

Now he has doubly screwed up himself by failing to show up for work after entering the US and then lying about the company going out of business. He shouldn't even bother to respond to that letter, because anything he says is either going to be a lie or a self-incriminating truth. He should just ignore it, accept the fact that they will deny his naturalization, and hope that they won't pursue deportation.
 
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He never showed up for work not even for one day. And there were no problems with the shop in any kind or shape. They just simply sponcered him and he came here and did not work for them at all.

I really don't know how he got his green card without actually working for them, all I know is that back in 1996 or 97 he waited in his home country to go and get his papers at the embassy.

That is immigration fraud. Similar to marriage scams for green card. Even this day if some one enter the US with consular processing he has to wrok for him. Even the Shop owner is in risk.
 
wow...So he was required to work for that company after he came to the U.S. I bet he didn't know that such a small white lie would eventually hunt him down and get his case denied.
You guys don't think a good lawyer can do anything about it either?

The shop owner is at risk too? really? What if the shop owner simply says that he never saw or heard from this guy again?
 
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The shop owner is at risk too? really?
The shop owner isn't at risk, unless the owner was participating in the fraud. For example, suppose the job never was genuine, and the owner filed the GC paperwork only because the guy paid the owner thousands of dollars (on top of paying the green card fees) or the guy was the owner's cousin and filed for the employment GC to get him into the US quickly because the family-based green card wouldn't work for a cousin.
 
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I see. Well, He spoke to a lawyer today he said. I will keep you guys posted and let you know what happpenes in his case.
 
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