Working illegally then AOS
 

Hi,
A friend of mine filed for AOS from F1 status a few months ago but is worried that the INS interviewer will ask: "have you ever worked without INS approval?" Ofcourse they can see that because one has to list all the places that he/she has worked.
Has anyone ever been asked this question at the interview? If so, what do you say? I am sure if you say you have, then it is wrong and if you say you haven't then you'd be lying under oath. She is really scared. Any experiences to be shared are welcome. Another thing, she was not asked to pay a fine for working illegally at the time of filing. She is worried that it will not be forgiven.

Re: Working illegally then AOS
 

Maggie wrote:
    > Hi, A friend of mine filed for AOS from F1 status a few months ago but is worried
    > that the INS interviewer will ask: "have you ever worked without INS approval?"
    > Ofcourse they can see that because one has to list all the places that he/she has
    > worked. Has anyone ever been asked this question at the interview? If so, what do
    > you say? I am sure if you say you have, then it is wrong and if you say you haven't
    > then you'd be lying under oath. She is really scared. Any experiences to be shared
    > are welcome. Another thing, she was not asked to pay a fine for working illegally
    > at the time of filing. She is worried that it will not be forgiven.
    >
If she worked illegally and is adjusting based on marriage to a US citizen, illegal
work is forgiven. IF she worked with fraudulent documents, document fraud is NOT
automatically forgiven, and you may have to file a waiver. Alvena

Doc Steen Site: http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
=========================================
I am not a lawyer and this is not immigration advice. This is my personal opinion,
gleaned from the previous postings of others, and posted for the purpose of
discussion only. If your case is complicated, then you may need an immigration
attorney. Locate an immigration attorney in your area at: http://www.aila.org
=========================================

Re: Working illegally then AOS
 

Hi Alvena,
Thanks for the reply. No, she did not use fraudulent docs, infact she even stayed in status (her F1 visa). Do you think there is a possibility that this issue could be raised at the time of interview? And if so, what would be the best approach in trying to answer.

Re: Working illegally then AOS
 

Always stay with the truth. Illegal work is forgiven for spouses of USCs.

- Des

Re: Working illegally then AOS
 

Maggie wrote:
    > Hi Alvena, Thanks for the reply. No, she did not use fraudulent docs, infact she
    > even stayed in status (her F1 visa). Do you think there is a possibility that this
    > issue could be raised at the time of interview? And if so, what would be the best
    > approach in trying to answer.
    >
As long as she is honest, there are no issues for her, since illegal work is forgiven
for the spouse of a US citizen. The employer *could* be held accountable, however I
suspect that INS has better things to do with their time these days.

Read section (c) VERY carefully on this page to confirm that illegal work is not held
against her: http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/lpBin/lpext.../slb-21/slb-6-
081?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm#slb-act245

Alvena

Doc Steen Site: http://www.mindspring.com/~docsteen/...o/visainfo.htm
=========================================
I am not a lawyer and this is not immigration advice. This is my personal opinion,
gleaned from the previous postings of others, and posted for the purpose of
discussion only. If your case is complicated, then you may need an immigration
attorney. Locate an immigration attorney in your area at: http://www.aila.org
=========================================