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Filed: Timeline
Posted
Was your volunteer activity charitable in the traditional way?

Are you seriously going to nit-pick away at her case until you find some tiny little crevasse to latch onto? She called USCIS to make sure her volunteering was legal. They said yes. Now you're going to re-adjudicate their decision??

Look. You can go round and round and tangle yourself up in the legalese and your own personal interpretation of what "traditional" and "charitable" and "volunteer" means, but the real litmus test is just common sense. If you are volunteering in such a way that you personally don't benefit (other than warmly/fuzzily), and in a way that you are not displacing an actual job, then you are fine. Examples include but are not limited to volunteering at a hospital, a soup kitchen, the school PTA, the library, a woman's shelter, etc etc etc.

Common sense tells us that if you are "volunteering" as a legal secretary for a for-profit law firm who has guaranteed you employment when you get authorization to work, then you are working illegally.

Use common sense and you will be fine. Don't over-think this, and don't get twisted up in the language.

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Posted

The OP wants to know if she can "volunteer" to fill a position which she will continue in one she gets her EAD, when they will start paying her. It is a paid position (except when she isn't allowed to work), and she wants to do the job for free to save her spot on the payroll later.

Does it pass muster?

K-1:

January 28, 2009: NOA1

June 4, 2009: Interview - APPROVED!!!

October 11, 2009: Wedding

AOS:

December 23, 2009: NOA1!

January 22, 2010: Bogus RFE corrected through congressional inquiry "EAD waiting on biometrics only" Read about it here.

March 15, 2010: AOS interview - RFE for I-693 vaccination supplement - CS signed part 6!

March 27, 2010: Green Card recieved

ROC:

March 1, 2012: Mailed ROC package

March 7, 2012: Tracking says "notice left"...after a phone call to post office.

More detailed time line in profile.

Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Australia
Timeline
Posted
The OP wants to know if she can "volunteer" to fill a position which she will continue in one she gets her EAD, when they will start paying her. It is a paid position (except when she isn't allowed to work), and she wants to do the job for free to save her spot on the payroll later.

Does it pass muster?

of course not; it's precisely what both mox and I listed as specific EXCEPTIONS to the 'it's not a problem' rule

that scenario is not true volunteering; it's filling a job for no pay; definitely a no-no

061017001as.thumb.jpg

The Very Secret Diary of Legolas Son of Weenus - by Cassandra Claire

Day One: Went to Council of Elrond. Was prettiest person there. Agreed to follow some tiny little man to Mordor to throw ring into volcano. Very important mission - gold ring so tacky.

Day Six: Far too dark in Mines of Moria to brush hair properly. Am very afraid I am developing a tangle.

Orcs so silly.

Still the prettiest.

Day 35: Boromir dead. Very messy death, most unnecessary. Did get kissed by Aragorn as he expired. Does a guy have to get shot full of arrows around here to get any action? Boromir definitely not prettier than me. Cannot understand it. Am feeling a pout coming on.

Frodo off to Mordor with Sam. Tiny little men caring about each other, rather cute really.

Am quite sure Gimli fancies me. So unfair. He is waist height, so can see advantages there, but chunky braids and big helmet most off-putting. Foresee dark times ahead, very dark times.

Posted
Are you seriously going to nit-pick away at her case until you find some tiny little crevasse to latch onto? She called USCIS to make sure her volunteering was legal. They said yes. Now you're going to re-adjudicate their decision??

Look. You can go round and round and tangle yourself up in the legalese and your own personal interpretation of what "traditional" and "charitable" and "volunteer" means, but the real litmus test is just common sense. If you are volunteering in such a way that you personally don't benefit (other than warmly/fuzzily), and in a way that you are not displacing an actual job, then you are fine. Examples include but are not limited to volunteering at a hospital, a soup kitchen, the school PTA, the library, a woman's shelter, etc etc etc.

Common sense tells us that if you are "volunteering" as a legal secretary for a for-profit law firm who has guaranteed you employment when you get authorization to work, then you are working illegally.

Use common sense and you will be fine. Don't over-think this, and don't get twisted up in the language.

Say there, I haven't re-adjudicated anything. All I did was ask the lady what her volunteerism consisted of.

As you say, it makes all the difference.

Our journey together on this earth has come to an end.

I will see you one day again, my love.

Filed: Timeline
Posted

Hello,

The OP thanks you all for your help :D

I will explain the situation at the interview and see what they say.

I can still volunteer at the school (help kids for homeworks, support, etc) and then get the "serious" job which is actually assistant of the principal later, when I get the EAD.

A school is a good place to volunteer, it is not as if I would translate all day in a office or working at a computer on statistics 40 hours per week.

Does someone know how long it takes to get the EAD from the moment we are legally married?

Thank you, this forum is a great place.

Zoé

22 Jan 2008 met in Belgium

01 Oct 2009 I-129-F

05 Oct 2009 NOA1 received

12 Jan 2010 NOA2 received

19 Jan 2010 NVC received

20 Jan 2010 NVC left

29 Jan 2010 packet 3 received

29 Jan 2010 packet 3 sent

04 Feb 2010 packet 4 received

25 Feb 2010 interview approved

15 Mar 2010 US Entry with my cat :-)

19 Mar 2010 Official wedding (courthouse)

31 Mar 2010 MMR to be re-done

05 Apr 2010 I-485 sent

14 Apr 2010 NOA received

08 May 2010 Wedding party

21 May 2010 Biometrics

Filed: Other Country: Afghanistan
Timeline
Posted (edited)
Hello,

The OP thanks you all for your help :D

I will explain the situation at the interview and see what they say.

I can still volunteer at the school (help kids for homeworks, support, etc) and then get the "serious" job which is actually assistant of the principal later, when I get the EAD.

A school is a good place to volunteer, it is not as if I would translate all day in a office or working at a computer on statistics 40 hours per week.

Does someone know how long it takes to get the EAD from the moment we are legally married?

Thank you, this forum is a great place.

Zoé

It takes anywhere from 60 -100 days.

And yes if you volunteer at the school in a capacity that isn't the full time job they are offering you then you are volunteering without benefit which is fine. Just don't "volunteer" for your full time job.

Edited by Sousuke
Posted
This is ABSOLUTELY untrue. There is nothing forbidding volunteering, and it doesn't endanger status adjustment at all. The thing to be aware of when volunteering is that there can be no compensation of any kind, including reduced memberships or services. Beyond that, volunteering is fine. PLEASE stop spreading this kind of silliness.

Oh good grief. Read my post fully before laying into me in such an obnoxious manner. I said volunteering for the school.

I am well aware that volunteering is not only allowed but actively encouraged in immigrant communities as a good way of keeping yourself occupied, meeting people and networking for eventual jobs. And something I plan to do myself, especially as I'll be waiting on my EAD in the run up to Christmas and so want to help with 'toys for tots' and food bank type organisations.

But we are not discussing just any old volunteer role, the OP was suggesting that she 'volunteer' in the school that she has an open offer of employment at. This makes the aspect of 'voluntary work' questionable and so at her risk be it.

Timeline Summary:

K-1/K-2 NOA1 - POE: 9 February - 9 July 2010

Married: 17 July 2010

AOS mailed - Interview : 22 November 2010 - 10 March 2011

ROC mailed - approved: 14 February - 18 June 2013

Citizenship mailed - ceremony: 9 February - 7 June 2017

 

VJ K-2 AOS Guide

Posted
She called USCIS to make sure her volunteering was legal. They said yes.

How often do we read that unless you have confirmation in writing, especially of such an interpretive situation, you still risk problems. If it's called into question, how accepting of her explanation is the IO going to be when she says, "but I called (wherever she called) and they said..."

This is now all a moot point, as she's not going to be performing any aspect of her pending job, which is predominantly administrative, if all she's doing is listening to kids read and washing paint pots.

Timeline Summary:

K-1/K-2 NOA1 - POE: 9 February - 9 July 2010

Married: 17 July 2010

AOS mailed - Interview : 22 November 2010 - 10 March 2011

ROC mailed - approved: 14 February - 18 June 2013

Citizenship mailed - ceremony: 9 February - 7 June 2017

 

VJ K-2 AOS Guide

Posted
Does someone know how long it takes to get the EAD from the moment we are legally married?

Thank you, this forum is a great place.

Zoé

It's not measurable from the moment you're legally married, but rather from the date you submit your AOS.

Say you arrive on your K-1 on 1st Feb, get married on 2nd Feb but don't file your AOS until 7 days before your I-94 expires (so 83 days after the date you entered the country) then count 60-100 days from the filing date, not 2nd Feb.

And yup, it IS a great place. Even if we look like we're arguing, it inevitably turns into a useful resource for anyone following in the OP's footsteps.

Timeline Summary:

K-1/K-2 NOA1 - POE: 9 February - 9 July 2010

Married: 17 July 2010

AOS mailed - Interview : 22 November 2010 - 10 March 2011

ROC mailed - approved: 14 February - 18 June 2013

Citizenship mailed - ceremony: 9 February - 7 June 2017

 

VJ K-2 AOS Guide

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted

It's almost Talmudic: you learn a lot more listening to learned rabbis argue with each other than you would form any one rabbi's commentary :)

DON'T PANIC

"It says wonderful things about the two countries [Canada and the US] that neither one feels itself being inundated by each other's immigrants."

-Douglas Coupland

Posted
It's almost Talmudic: you learn a lot more listening to learned rabbis argue with each other than you would form any one rabbi's commentary :)

And what did you learn, Padawan? :P

Our journey together on this earth has come to an end.

I will see you one day again, my love.

Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline
Posted

Virtually everything I know about this whole process.

DON'T PANIC

"It says wonderful things about the two countries [Canada and the US] that neither one feels itself being inundated by each other's immigrants."

-Douglas Coupland

Posted (edited)
from the SSA's web site: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203500#c1

1. Aliens Work Authorized Without Specific DHS Authorization

The following sections list nonimmigrants, by alien class of admission codes, who are authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The person’s I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD.

. . .

K1 Fiancé(e) of U.S. citizen

. . .

Sorry to keep this thread alive and keep beating the same dead horse that has been beaten on various threads before, but this is the most recent thread on this topic and is of interest to me. Anyway, so after giving this much thought, my understanding is that the rules I quoted above from the SSA web site are somewhat internally inconsistent with other SSA rules (namely, what conditions the SSA will or will not stamp on the SS card it issues) and are clearly inconsistent with the USCIS rules embodied in Form I-9 ("Employment Eligibility Verification").

In other words, it is true that: (a) from the SSA's quoted rules above, the SSA indeed considers K-1 aliens to be persons "authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS"; and (b ) the SSA will issue K-1 aliens a SS card. But paradoxically, despite being willing to issue a SS card to K-1 aliens AND despite considering K-1 aliens to be persons "authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS," the SS card will nevertheless be stamped something along the lines of "work not authorized without DHS permission." This seems bizarre but is apparently the way it works. Paradoxically, it seems, the SSA's rules reflect the official position that a K-1 alien is authorized to work, yet the SSA only issues a card bearing the condition that work isn't authorized without DHS permission.

The missing piece of information in the puzzle appears to be the USCIS's rules on what items of identification are permissible for employers to accept as proof of eligibility to work, as reflected in the instructions accompanying the USCIS Form I-9. Form I-9 is what a prospective employer asks a prospective employee to sign at the time of hire. Form I-9 requires the employer to ask the employee to produce certain items that prove the employee is authorized to work and enumerates what items or combination of items are acceptable:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf

So, as someone else on this thread phrased it, the I-9 form effectively "trumps" the SSA's position that K-1 status IS sufficient for work authorization.

If an employer is to follow the letter of the law, the employer cannot employ a person without seeing that the prospective employee is able to produce the items of identification indicated on Form I-9. If the prospective employee cannot show the employer the required items, then the employer cannot legally hire the person. If the employer goes ahead and hires the person anyway, even though the person couldn't produce the required items, the employer could be fined by the government.

A tangled web for sure.

Edited by Lorenzoid

12/31/2009 Married in the U.S. on K-1 visa

01/28/2010 received copy of marriage certificate (what a delay!)

02/01/2010 AOS (I-485/I-765/I-131/I-1145) package sent to USCIS via FedEx (Day 0)

02/02/2010 AOS package received at USCIS confirmed by FedEx (Day 1)

02/08/2010 NOA1 for I-485/I-765/I-131, noting Date of Receipt 02/02/2010 (Day 7)

02/10/2010 Biometrics Letter date, noting appointment on 02/26/2010 (Day 9)

02/23/2010 Notice of Transfer to CSC (Day 22)

02/26/2010 Completed Biometrics Appointment (Day 25)

03/01/2010 I-765 status first available on-line (Touch) (Day 28)

03/03/2010 I-485 status first available on-line (Touch) (Day 30)

04/12/2010 EAD Card Production Ordered (via text message and on-line) (Day 70)

04/12/2010 AP approved and mailed (status shown on-line) (Day 70)

04/17/2010 AP received in mail (Day 75)

04/19/2010 EAD Card received in mail (Day 77)

07/28/2010 AOS Card Production Ordered (via text message and on-line) (Day 177)

08/03/2010 Welcome Letter received in mail (Day 183)

08/06/2010 Green Card received in mail (Day 186)

04/30/2012 Remove Conditions (I-751) sent to USCIS

06/25/2012 Completed Biometrics Appointment

01/30/2013 Card Production Ordered

02/07/2013 Green Card received in mail

 
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