F-1 Visa

Implications on working without authorization on student visa status

Question details

What happens when a student works without authorization because they have no choice as they need the money to support their school or because they did it unintentionally?

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FAQ Transcript

If you work without authorization on purpose, it is important to understand the implications. One is your violation of status which is much easier to fix and the other one is if you lie about it in any immigration proceeding. The first one, lets say you are close to getting an H-1B and you have three months or six months or even a year of working without authorization. In a worst case scenario you will have to go outside for H-1 visa stamping. You will not get your change of status. Make sure there is no history of misrepresenting your work status to the government. The moment you prevaricate or you lie about your situation to gain an immigration benefit you have committed a felony which is punishable by five years  and also it is a permanent bar from entering the US. Make sure you understand that lying about work authorization or working without authorization is much worse than actually doing it. 

But what happens when you do it inadvertently?

For ten days you work without authorization not realizing you don't have the authorization, then it is a very small violation. The government might ignore it and let it go. It is called de minimis. It simply means it is a minimal problem. Hence the point is if you have violated the law inadvertently and unknowingly by mistake you have several options. First of all disclose it when you file the H-1B and if you have fallen out of status talk with your DSO and act upon their advice. They might tell you to apply for reinstatement which should be readily given.

 

 

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Note: Unless the context shows otherwise, all answers here were provided by Rajiv and were compiled and reported by our editorial team from comments, blog and community calls on immigration.com. Where transcribed from audio/video, a verbatim transcript is provided. Therefore, it may not conform to the written grammatical or syntactical form.

March 31, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Discussion Topics, Thursday, March 31, 2022:

FAQ: Impact of criminal misdemeanor case on an F-1 or any status || Protecting immigration status: Traveling with advance parole, divorce proceedings and an entrepreneur on H-1B visa

March 17, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

 

FAQs: - From F-1 OPT directly applying for a green card - STEM OPT employment parameters, volunteering, part ownership, etc. - Can two employers file H-1B for the same employee using an existing I-140?

Relation between F-1 OPT and H-1B lottery change of status and changing employers

Question details

I am a student on F-1 and will be graduating by December 2022. Company A is willing to apply for an H-1B for me this year. I am interviewing with other companies, and I am planning to drop company A as soon as I graduate

1. If I am selected in the lottery and haven't done a change of status, can I continue on F-1 OPT with the other company (not Company A), after graduation?

2. Can Company A retract my H-1B if I leave them?

3. Being on F-1 can Company A start my green card if I win the H-1B lottery?

 

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FAQ Transcript

1. If you file it as a consular processing you can continue working on F-1OPT for that company or another company.

2. Absolutely.

3. That depends upon which country you were born in. If you were born in India that's not such a great deal.

 

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

Relation between F-1 status and I-485 AOS (child covered under Child Status Protection Act (CSPA))

Question details

In October'20 I filed for the EB3 downgrade based on the Date of Filing, my wife and son were included in the petition. In December'20 my son filed for the F1 - I539 adjustment of status petition. In April'21 my wife, son, and I received the GC EAD Cards. In Aug '21 the EB3 Final Action Date became current for me, and my son became 21 and should be covered under CSPA. In Feb'22 USCIS approved his I-539 F1 COS petition. My son is a Senior in college doing his major in Industrial Engineering in the final semester. He is on the lookout for possible internship/employment opportunities. Does the F1 approval mean he is no longer under GC EAD? What's your recommendation on whether he should choose to be on F1 or seek employment on GC EAD?

 

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FAQ Transcript

My recommendation would be to just use the green card EAD. You cannot do interfiling because then your son would lose his CSPA protection.

Note: Where transcribed from audio/video, this is a verbatim transcript of the referenced audio/video media delivered as oral communication, and, therefore, may not conform to written grammatical or syntactical form.

March 03, 2022 Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

Discussion Topics, Thursday, March 03, 2022:

FAQ: Abandonment; can I leave the USA while a change of status is pending?/Stamping requirements || Relation between F-1 status and I-485 AOS (child covered under Child Status Protection Act (CSPA)) || Relation between F-1 OPT and H-1B lottery change of status and changing employers || Is doing an unpaid U.S. externship/observership with F-2 visa unauthorized employment? || Can parents of U.S. citizens travel to the U.S. on an existing B-2 visa while their GC is pending?

Feb 17, 2022, Free US Immigration Community Conference Call with Rajiv (Every Other Thursday)

Immigration.com

Discussion Topics, February 17,  2022

FAQ's: Left while Extension pending. B-1/B-2 visa inspection at the airport by the CBP and repercussions || Interfiling || Interfiling and AC21 Portability || Interfiling, Returning to Old Employer

Are you eligible to become a naturalized US citizen?

Question details

1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee. 

2. My brother is a US citizen, and he applied for our mother's green card. Everything is clear, all paperwork is done, but due to the pandemic, we are waiting for the interview date from March 2021. Do you have any information on how we get the date or how much time it will take?

3. My daughter is in Dallas, US, and under medical treatment. She is there with an IN40 visa. As a father, I want to be there during her medical urgency. How can I get a visa now to be with her in the US?

4. I am a US citizen currently in India. I am traveling back to the States in mid-February for two months and want to take my Indian-citizen senior citizen mother with me for that duration. Her last US tourist visa expired eight years ago. (She has an active Schengen visa on her passport) Is there a way she can get a short-term two-month visa to the US?

5. I stayed outside of the US for more than two years because of COVID-19. Am I eligible for naturalization? I came to the USA in August 2016.

 

*Please note that the queries have been put together and edited by the Economic Times to address similar questions at once and that the answers are clear and relevant to the audience.

1. My Son was born in February 2020 in the USA, where my wife is on an F1 visa working on OPT. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, I couldn't meet my son for two years. Kindly suggest to me the way forward to meet my son and wife. I also tried to travel on a tourist visa and F1 Visa. Unfortunately, I got both rejections. I'm an Indian taxpayer and an IT employee. 

FAQ Transcript

Note: For the NRI readers, The Economic Times has started an immigration helpdesk. A team of experts which includes Rajiv S. Khanna will address the most pressing issues. Please see the link below.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/migrate/nri-helpdesk-who-is-eligible-to-become-a-naturalized-us- citizen/articleshow/89116038.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst