Unemployment interview

[ABAB 0]

I am a green card holder since April 2019. I received work authorization on 1/15/2019.

Due to Covid 19 I was temporarily laid off and applied to unemployment. I was approved and started receiving benefits.

My company finally reopened and I was able to get back to work after 6 weeks.

Yesterday, I received an interview letter from unemployment office that they want to see my work permit prior to 1/15/2019. Well,  I don't have one. I came here in 2004 and overstayed my J1 visa and worked without proper authorization.

Can they deny my benefits and order a full payback? I have 2 kids that I have to feed.

[SalishSea 17,828]

Did you receive unemployment compensation during a timeframe when you were not eligible to receive it?  If so, then yes, they can require you to pay it back.

[ABAB 0]

10 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Did you receive unemployment compensation during a timeframe when you were not eligible to receive it?  If so, then yes, they can require you to pay it back.

I received my benefits this year after almost 18 months of legal work. Do I even have a case here?

[user555 196]

Did you work illegaly before Jan 2019? If so, for how long?  

[ABAB 0]

4 minutes ago, user555 said:

Did you work illegaly before Jan 2019? If so, for how long?  

I did, since 2004. Last 7 years in the same place, always on payroll. I am aware that it doesn't matter. Illegal work is illegal and there are no excuse.

I filled my claim not knowing they will check my 2018 records. I was under the impression that after almost 18mos of legal work I am entitled to the benefits. Especially know, that even self employed people can get just like that.

it If they deny my benefits, am I required to pay it back in one lump sum? is there a waiver I can file?

[SalishSea 17,828]

5 minutes ago, ABAB said:

I did, since 2004. Last 7 years in the same place, always on payroll. I am aware that it doesn't matter. Illegal work is illegal and there are no excuse.

I filled my claim not knowing they will check my 2018 records. I was under the impression that after almost 18mos of legal work I am entitled to the benefits. Especially know, that even self employed people can get just like that.

it If they deny my benefits, am I required to pay it back in one lump sum? is there a waiver I can file?

A waiver for what?  If you were overpaid or paid incorrectly for unemployment compensation, the state will get their money back.  

[Calicolom 266]

18 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

A waiver for what?  If you were overpaid or paid incorrectly for unemployment compensation, the state will get their money back.  

The problem is, in the eyes of the unemployment office, you have not worked. Therefore you are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

[ABAB 0]

15 minutes ago, Calicolom said:

The problem is, in the eyes of the unemployment office, you have not worked. Therefore you are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

I legally worked since 1/15/2019.

 

[Loren Y 2,755]

Most states base unemployment off your last 5 quarters of work, so about 15 months. They base your benefits off the most you made in any of those 5 quarters. If any of your work in those quarters was illegal, then I believe it will make the entire claim invalid. Sounds like you just missed the 5th quarter. It is going to be a really close call, down to the day it looks like. I think from your post only your last 4 quarters were legal earnings, so they might have you. Worst case you will need to pay back all the money you collected on unemployment. I have heard they usually will let you do a repayment plan, but definitely don't so nothing as it is usually considered a felony in most states to illegally obtain unemployment. Go to the interview and see what they say. If you can work something out with them it is better than it turning into a criminal case. You have a good case for not knowing you didn't qualify because you have been working legally for over a year before you claimed unemployment. You may not owe the whole amount back. Not sure if they have attorneys that specializes in unemployment, but I'm sure they do. You might want to meet with an attorney on this one as you could end up in serious legal trouble.

 

I am trying to figure out the math. If you worked legally since 1/15/2019, you would have completed 4 quarters of legal work before you claimed, the issue is I think they base it off 5 quarters, where you only worked legally for 4. It's based on when they start quarters, usually Jan 1st begins the first quarter of the year, so you missed that first quarter, so in their eyes you didn't start a legal quarter until March 1st 2019. I have a bad feeling you missed being eligible by about 15 days, and some ####### retentive number cruncher caught it. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by Loren Y

[SalishSea 17,828]

6 hours ago, Calicolom said:

The problem is, in the eyes of the unemployment office, you have not worked. Therefore you are not eligible for unemployment benefits.

Not sure why you quoted me for this.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Another warning for those who Constantly  say illegal work is forgiven for spouses of US citizens- this can happen. Never chance it and always follow the law.

[Marimar04 22]

I live in New Jersey and applied for unemployment benefits on March 17 so my based year was from Oct 2018-Sept 2019.

Check the Division of Unemployment website of your state.

Your regular base year period consists of 52 weeks and is determined by the date you apply for Unemployment Insurance benefits, as outlined in the chart below:

If your claim is dated in:	Your claim is based on employment from:
January 2020 February 2020 March 2020	October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019
April 2020 May 2020 June 2020	January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019
July 2020 August 2020 September 2020	April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020
October 2020 November 2020 December 2020	July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020

 

To be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in 2020, you must have earned at least $200 per week during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year

[geowrian 22,337]

Sounds like income from your unauthorized work was listed for a quarter in which you were not authorized for work.

How exactly this is handled is not clear to me and likely varies by state. They may just revise the application to exclude that quarter from calculations as you were not eligible. If that results in a change in benefits that you were eligible for, you would be responsible for any overpayment. If zeroing that quarter does not change your eligible benefits, I would presume nothing would happen as a result. There is a risk that if you provided deliberately wrong information that your application as a whole can be deemed invalid...although I think this needs to be material, which is not something clear here.

Either way, your best options are to either go to the interview and find out, or lawyer up and see what they say.

Edited May 20, 2020 by geowrian