Worked illegally a long time ago, now applying for green card

Offspring

Registered Users (C)
Hi guys,
I am applying for Green Card through marriage right now, but about four years ago I have worked on F-1 visa for about a year. My attorney says it can be a huge problem and technically it can be forgiven. My record is clean, so as my wifes, both graduated from a good university etc. Have any of you had any experience with this stuff? please help,
Thanks a lot
 
Did you work illegally during your time in the Univ or after your OPT was over. I am assuming you have never been out of status , F1, OPT and marriage.

I know many people who have worked at subway, dunkin donougts and gas station off the books and have got thier GC. It depends when you worked illegally .

Since you are getting married to a USC it will be forgiven, they dont give you a hard time unless you havent paid back taxes or taxes at all.

Fill me in so I can answer your question more Comprehensively.
 
Offspring said:
Hi guys,
I am applying for Green Card through marriage right now, but about four years ago I have worked on F-1 visa for about a year. My attorney says it can be a huge problem and technically it can be forgiven. My record is clean, so as my wifes, both graduated from a good university etc. Have any of you had any experience with this stuff? please help,
Thanks a lot

You worked Illegally :eek: of all the....

:rolleyes:

It can be a problem and will be questioned at the interview, However with AOS married to USC it is most likely going to be forgiven, when you fill out your I485 there is a section on there that asks if you have ever worked illegally , Honesty is the best route, if USCIS knows you lied on the 485 that would be a BIGGER problem, The way most Govt. agencies work is they scare you into giving information before they have to ask for it, in a lot of cases it may never be found out by USCIS, but the risk of them finding out after stating other wise is higher than if you admit to it and explain it in the interview.

Where did you work did you file taxes on that income? If IRS finds out you worked illegally and did not file taxes they are legally entitled to come after you for back taxes, fees, & Penalties.
 
Hey, thanks a lot for the reply,
I did file taxes and everything, worked pretty hard too lol.
I am guessing best bet is to come clean.
By the way do you know whether INS can check IRS documents and stuff, what are the chances INS will find out if I don't mention anything?
Thanks again, Addie_Goodvibes
 
to BPS01:
Ok there goes the whole story:
I was a fresman at the community college in southern Illinois in town name Robinson. Population about 5000 people. My superviser at the college had no clue whether I could work or not, so I got SSN that says "work only with IRS authorization". Pizza Hut hired me, although my English was pretty bad. So I worked there over a year, filed taxes etc. THen I transfered to the University of Illinois. Now I an on OPT and married. I am an accountant, my wife works for Boeing. My records are clean besides two speeding tickets. That's about it,
THanks for you reply.
 
Offspring said:
Hey, thanks a lot for the reply,
I did file taxes and everything, worked pretty hard too lol.
I am guessing best bet is to come clean.
By the way do you know whether INS can check IRS documents and stuff, what are the chances INS will find out if I don't mention anything?
Thanks again, Addie_Goodvibes

I would assume they will check IRS documents, the fact that you paid taxes on your earnings is a big plus++ it will show good faith and will weigh in your favor at the interview. There is no reason why you shouldn't claim The Only Form that asks about Employment is G325-A there it asks Employment history past 5 years. So it would be in your best interest to complete that honestly,
In Part 3 of I-485 where it asks for Current Occupation state NONE or STUDENT
USCIS may not even make the connection between Employment history and your Status being uneligable to work (USCIS officers are not the brightest, they are more concerned in disproving the legitimacy of your marriage than anything else, it could easily be over looked.) If it is brought up the fact that you paid taxes on your earnings is a big plus :cool: & shows good moral character which will weigh in your favor at the interview.

Only claim it on forms where Asked about employment or if Asked directly by USCIS in interview if you have worked. DO NOT Volunteer any info in the interview if it is not asked. If they don't ask about it don't say a thing.
 
USCIS may not even make the connection between Employment history and your Status being uneligable to work

This is true. You fill out that firm and you have done your duty.

And remember, pizza hut is present on a lot of campuses. We had a pizza hut on-campus. The adjudicator isnt going to go looking if the pizza hut your worked at in bumfuck, IL, was on-campus or off campus.

I dont know if the USCIS officers are dumb. But they certainly are over-burdened. Unless you are a prima facie case of fraud, there is very little chance you will get caught.
 
Offspring said:
to BPS01:
Ok there goes the whole story:
I was a fresman at the community college in southern Illinois in town name Robinson. Population about 5000 people. My superviser at the college had no clue whether I could work or not, so I got SSN that says "work only with IRS authorization". Pizza Hut hired me, although my English was pretty bad. So I worked there over a year, filed taxes etc. THen I transfered to the University of Illinois. Now I an on OPT and married. I am an accountant, my wife works for Boeing. My records are clean besides two speeding tickets. That's about it,
THanks for you reply.

I think you'll be OK.

BTW, what is the sifnificance of your wife and Boeing? Is that supposed to prove you didn't break the law or something? Just wondering.
 
to eddie_d:
Hey there are more cases of Airbus crashes than Boeing, I though mentioning Boeing would have implied credibility. LOL
 
LOL. Yeah, it appears that the Offspring is in habit of providing excess information. For instance, I dont see how Robinson having a population of about 5000 people is relevant to this discussion.

The only reason I am mentioning this is, be careful with what you say and send to the USCIS. Answer only what you are asked, and nothing more. Actually, this is good advice for life in general.
 
everyone here is right in telling you to NOT lie on the form. Since you had a SSN number and pizza hut may or may not be on campus , it too minor for INS to worry about. Just don’t lie. I worked for Barnes and Nobel in my university, on campus employment states that the Univ. has to have a contract or agreement with them for int. student to be able to work there.

I don’t see any problems as long as you don’t lie or volunteer EXTRA info.

Good Luck
 
so

So now.. did u get GC? its been 6 years.. nd i do not see any replies in last few years..

did USCIS asked u the question of the work while the interview?

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[I]

Hi guys,
I am applying for Green Card through marriage right now, but about four years ago I have worked on F-1 visa for about a year. My attorney says it can be a huge problem and technically it can be forgiven. My record is clean, so as my wifes, both graduated from a good university etc. Have any of you had any experience with this stuff? please help,
Thanks a lot
 
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