EAD technicality

[Caladan 19]

Yeah, I know. Eye on the prize. I'm just worried he's going to be bored out of his mind here in June. We've had to move his entry date back by a month so we can meet with the priest, which means he's quitting his job and moving down here a whole month sooner than we had anticipated. But the wedding date's not moving, so it's meaning more time sitting around.

Maybe I can have him make wedding favors or something.

[Dr_LHA 3]

Bottom line is work without an employment authorization is forgiven at AOS via to marriage to a USC. Only the employer can face serious problems by hiring someone without an EAD.

Here is the whole issue nicely summed up in a nutshell in this short post. There may be niggly side issues, but really this is what matters: If you're able to find an employer who's willing to break the law, you can work without an EAD.

[Caladan 19]

Sure, if it's a gray area. That's what I'm not convinced of, and why I'm asking questions. It should be pretty obvious at this point that we're committed to doing this above board, given that we filed and received a K-1 instead of just getting married on the VWP.

Your statement would imply that doing AOS from VWP is not above board???? can you show me any evidence for your statement....

Kez

There's whole threads on this matter. In our case, dating three years, engaged for nine months, notice at work, reserved church date = definite immigrant intent. Last I checked, that's a no-no.

If you need to find something to feel offended about, be my guest, but really, um, get over it.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Then maybe your statement should have said "Getting married on a VWP with prior planning and intent is a no-no".... there are thousands of people come to the USA each and every year to get married... so getting married on a VWP is not a no-no and is legal... also people who get married on the spur of the moment can do AOS and remain and again this is a legal way to do things...

Kez

[rebeccajo 14]

Bottom line is work without an employment authorization is forgiven at AOS via to marriage to a USC. Only the employer can face serious problems by hiring someone without an EAD.

Here is the whole issue nicely summed up in a nutshell in this short post. There may be niggly side issues, but really this is what matters: If you're able to find an employer who's willing to break the law, you can work without an EAD.

Doc, it's the niggly side issues that bother me. We've posted up enough links here in the past two weeks that show a K1 is work authorized. We get varying opinions on what 'appropriate documents' are to satisfy this authorization. And we've posted links that show working without authorization is 'forgiven' by marriage to a USC.

This is the way I see it. You have people wondering about possibly violating their K1 visa status by working - hinging upon a SECOND immigrant category - Permanent Resident - that they HOPE to get.

Given the political environment regarding immigration in this country and the fact that immigration law will be changed this year - I'm just very uncomfortable with doing ANYTHING that could be looked at as 'niggly'.

[John & Annie 0]

oh dear, here we go again.

To the OP, I think if you look through the various posts that have taken place so far, it has pretty much been proven that immigrant could work if the employer wants to take responsibility for it.

If I may make a suggestion, given your situation and knowing what I know now, If I were you I would:

Enter US

apply for SSN

Get Legally Married

Take the job

File AOS and EAD ASAP

This way there would be the potential for to remain within the letter of the law, if to processing times you stray a bit, it is forgivable as a Marriage Based AOS.

That being said, it could very well go against you during the removal of the conditions and/or naturalization.

IMHO

Edited February 26, 2007 by John & Annie

[zyggy 9]

It isn't hire.. it's employ... they are not permitted to employ him unless he has authorization to work. WHen they employ him, he must meed the identification requirements on the I_9. Without an EAD, he will not be able to meet those requirements...

Now working without an EAD goed into the good conduct provisions of permanent residency... but per the INA, illegal employment is forgiven once is admitted as a PR..

[John & Annie 0]

It isn't hire.. it's employ... they are not permitted to employ him unless he has authorization to work. WHen they employ him, he must meed the identification requirements on the I_9. Without an EAD, he will not be able to meet those requirements...

Now working without an EAD goed into the good conduct provisions of permanent residency... but per the INA, illegal employment is forgiven once is admitted as a PR..

Main Entry: 1hire

Pronunciation: 'hI(-&)r

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English hyr; akin to Old Saxon huria hire

1 a : payment for the temporary use of something b : payment for labor or personal services : WAGES

2 a : the act or an instance of hiring b : the state of being hired : EMPLOYMENT

3 British : RENTAL -- often used attributively

4 : one who is hired <starting wage for the new hires>

- for hire also on hire : available for use or service in return for payment

Main Entry: 2hire

Function: verb

Inflected Form(s): hired; hir·ing

transitive verb

1 a : to engage the personal services of for a set sum <hire a crew> b : to engage the temporary use of for a fixed sum <hire a hall>

2 : to grant the personal services of or temporary use of for a fixed sum <hire themselves out>

3 : to get done for pay <hire the mowing done>

intransitive verb : to take employment <hire out as a guide during the tourist season>

- hir·er noun

synonyms HIRE, LET, LEASE, RENT, CHARTER mean to engage or grant for use at a price. HIRE and LET, strictly speaking, are complementary terms, HIRE implying the act of engaging or taking for use and LET the granting of use <we hired a car for the summer> <decided to let the cottage to a young couple>. LEASE strictly implies a letting under the terms of a contract but is often applied to hiring on a lease <the diplomat leased an apartment for a year>. RENT stresses the payment of money for the full use of property and may imply either hiring or letting <instead of buying a house, they decided to rent> <will not rent to families with children>. CHARTER applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use <charter a bus to go to the game>.

[Yodrak 7]

Caladan,

Excellent subject line, I congratulate you for 'getting it'.

A K1 is employment authorized (EA) for the 90 day stay that their I-94 gives them. They are legal to work during that period.

But, it is not legal for an employer to employ them unless they can show an acceptable employment authorization document (EAD). A stamp stating 'employment authorized' placed on the I-94 by a CBP officer at the POE or a USCIS-issued EA card are acceptable EADs.

The land crossings from Canada into Detroit have been known to give the EA stamp.

Yodrak

C.'s employer is expanding operations into the United States and is just drooling at the thought that he'll be able to work for them, as it will be nice to have someone they know and trust helping to coordinate things on the American side of the enterprise.

He will enter on a K-1. The K-1 is work authorized, but it's usually next to impossible to get the EAD stamp through a Canadian airport or land crossing, and we're not flying him to the UK on the off-chance he'll get the stamp at JFK. I am reasonably certain, however, that his employer would cheerfully ignore the I-9 requirements.

So here's my question (apropos of another thread):

Is it illegal for him to work without an EAD, or is it just illegal for the company to hire him?

It's probably a moot point, as we'd need to get him a social security number; but our timetable is looking like he'll have to enter about sixty days before we get married so we can meet with the priest and do the pre-marriage counselling. He will be quite bored as there is only so much Playstation a man can play.

I'm unclear as to where the work authorization attaches, so to speak, to the K-1 or the EAD, and I'm looking for an external cite and not coming up with much.

Edited February 28, 2007 by Yodrak