What If Unsure Whether Violated Visa Many Years Ago?

[resonantfigure 0]

I'm beginning the IR-1 process - I am the beneficiary, my spouse is the USC petitioner, and will be applying for the visa via consular processing.

 

Over 20 years ago,  I was a college student in the US, applied for Optional Practical Training and received an Employment Authorization Document from the INS. I remained for a few months after graduation (certainly no longer than 180 days for what that is worth) and did a month or two of OPT, plus some travelling, before leaving the US permanently. That much I recall. But my records from those days are long gone, and I have it at the back of my mind that possibly my EAD had expired by the time I did OPT. I had already done OPT the prior summer and now looking at the legislation back then it's unclear whether they would have granted more than 12 months of EAD. I certainly wouldn't have knowingly tried to work in violation of status, and I'm pretty sure I followed the guidelines my colleague provided and would have checked to see that my documents would have been valid, and I think the employer went through my papers at the time and I have no reason to believe I wasn't open about this when discussing at the border. But it's a lingering doubt, and I can't be SURE I didn't. It's never come up w US authorities, I have visited the US many many times since then (no visa, as Canadian citizen) with no questions asked, and have never been in any sort of proceedings etc. Honestly hadn't even thought about it until starting this process now.

 

Reading through the many helpful posts on this board, I understand that unauthorized employment is unlikely to be an obstacle to getting IR-1 but I want to be completely honest in the process of course. Answering "no" to the question of whether I have ever been in violation of a US visa is not to my mind a wilful misrepresentation, as I don't think that I have, but there is still that lingering doubt in my mind. Answering "yes" seems like a "safer" answer if they do find something in their checks, but wouldn't it be a misrepresentation if it turns out I hadn't committed a violation? Another option I've considered is to FOIA all of my immigration documents to be sure. This was in the INS days, before the days of Homeland Security / USCIS, etc. Any advice welcomed.

 

(And if you have time for a secondary question, I had a SSN issued at that time, and presumably an Alien number on my EAD - I still know my SSN from the time, which I presume is still my SSN, but lost the EAD card decades ago, so how should I respond to those questions?)

[pushbrk 12,884]

39 minutes ago, resonantfigure said:

I'm beginning the IR-1 process - I am the beneficiary, my spouse is the USC petitioner, and will be applying for the visa via consular processing.

 

Over 20 years ago,  I was a college student in the US, applied for Optional Practical Training and received an Employment Authorization Document from the INS. I remained for a few months after graduation (certainly no longer than 180 days for what that is worth) and did a month or two of OPT, plus some travelling, before leaving the US permanently. That much I recall. But my records from those days are long gone, and I have it at the back of my mind that possibly my EAD had expired by the time I did OPT. I had already done OPT the prior summer and now looking at the legislation back then it's unclear whether they would have granted more than 12 months of EAD. I certainly wouldn't have knowingly tried to work in violation of status, and I'm pretty sure I followed the guidelines my colleague provided and would have checked to see that my documents would have been valid, and I think the employer went through my papers at the time and I have no reason to believe I wasn't open about this when discussing at the border. But it's a lingering doubt, and I can't be SURE I didn't. It's never come up w US authorities, I have visited the US many many times since then (no visa, as Canadian citizen) with no questions asked, and have never been in any sort of proceedings etc. Honestly hadn't even thought about it until starting this process now.

 

Reading through the many helpful posts on this board, I understand that unauthorized employment is unlikely to be an obstacle to getting IR-1 but I want to be completely honest in the process of course. Answering "no" to the question of whether I have ever been in violation of a US visa is not to my mind a wilful misrepresentation, as I don't think that I have, but there is still that lingering doubt in my mind. Answering "yes" seems like a "safer" answer if they do find something in their checks, but wouldn't it be a misrepresentation if it turns out I hadn't committed a violation? Another option I've considered is to FOIA all of my immigration documents to be sure. This was in the INS days, before the days of Homeland Security / USCIS, etc. Any advice welcomed.

 

(And if you have time for a secondary question, I had a SSN issued at that time, and presumably an Alien number on my EAD - I still know my SSN from the time, which I presume is still my SSN, but lost the EAD card decades ago, so how should I respond to those questions?)

Where did you see the question, "Have you ever been in violation of a US visa?"  Read questions carefully.  Interpret them literally, and answer as accurately as you can.

[illidanx 19]

I can't answer yes or no for you but here are some theoretical probabilities:

- If your EAD had expired and your employer had used e-verify: you would have failed verification and would be not allowed to work, which apparently didn't happen.

- If your EAD had expired and your employer had not used e-verify: your employment status would only be sent IRS for tax purpose, not USCIS. IRS would probably have destroyed the record by now. If not, I don't think USCIS or embassy has direct access to IRS, otherwise they wouldn't have to ask your to provide your tax transcript.

- If your EAD had not expired, then you are good.

 

I also did FOIA for myself, the only thing they had related to my OPT as a picture of my EAD card with zero employment history even though my employer used e-verify.

[resonantfigure 0]

Thanks for the replies. @illidanx, was it pretty straightforward to do the FOIA request? Is there any downside to doing an FOIA? Did you just get your whole A-File? At this point just having a pic of the EAD card would be very helpful though getting all my records from those days might be helpful.

[illidanx 19]

11 minutes ago, resonantfigure said:

Thanks for the replies. @illidanx, was it pretty straightforward to do the FOIA request? Is there any downside to doing an FOIA? Did you just get your whole A-File? At this point just having a pic of the EAD card would be very helpful though getting all my records from those days might be helpful.

It is very straightforward. I dont think there is any downside. They have an online portal at https://first.uscis.gov/#/ . Just login or create an account then make a request. Choose "alien file" as the record you want as it's supposed to contain everything about you. 

[iwannaplay54 985]

On 2/17/2022 at 2:30 AM, resonantfigure said:

I'm beginning the IR-1 process - I am the beneficiary, my spouse is the USC petitioner, and will be applying for the visa via consular processing.

 

Over 20 years ago,  I was a college student in the US, applied for Optional Practical Training and received an Employment Authorization Document from the INS. I remained for a few months after graduation (certainly no longer than 180 days for what that is worth) and did a month or two of OPT, plus some travelling, before leaving the US permanently. That much I recall. But my records from those days are long gone, and I have it at the back of my mind that possibly my EAD had expired by the time I did OPT. I had already done OPT the prior summer and now looking at the legislation back then it's unclear whether they would have granted more than 12 months of EAD. I certainly wouldn't have knowingly tried to work in violation of status, and I'm pretty sure I followed the guidelines my colleague provided and would have checked to see that my documents would have been valid, and I think the employer went through my papers at the time and I have no reason to believe I wasn't open about this when discussing at the border. But it's a lingering doubt, and I can't be SURE I didn't. It's never come up w US authorities, I have visited the US many many times since then (no visa, as Canadian citizen) with no questions asked, and have never been in any sort of proceedings etc. Honestly hadn't even thought about it until starting this process now.

 

Reading through the many helpful posts on this board, I understand that unauthorized employment is unlikely to be an obstacle to getting IR-1 but I want to be completely honest in the process of course. Answering "no" to the question of whether I have ever been in violation of a US visa is not to my mind a wilful misrepresentation, as I don't think that I have, but there is still that lingering doubt in my mind. Answering "yes" seems like a "safer" answer if they do find something in their checks, but wouldn't it be a misrepresentation if it turns out I hadn't committed a violation? Another option I've considered is to FOIA all of my immigration documents to be sure. This was in the INS days, before the days of Homeland Security / USCIS, etc. Any advice welcomed.

 

(And if you have time for a secondary question, I had a SSN issued at that time, and presumably an Alien number on my EAD - I still know my SSN from the time, which I presume is still my SSN, but lost the EAD card decades ago, so how should I respond to those questions?)

Fill it out the best way you remember and make sure you disclose it at the interview exactly as you laid it out here.  If you don’t know you don’t know and if you never received and cannot access any record of it there is no way to tell.

If you are up front and honest to the IO what you filled out, if incorrect, can be corrected.  Many mistakes are made on applications and there is a huge! difference between “willful” and inadvertent.

Edited March 20, 2022 by iwannaplay54

[resonantfigure 0]

I requested my entire Alien File through FOIA and all I got back was a censored copy of the I-130 application. No EAD, etc, or entry/exit info etc. Would it be more likely that I would get info if I make a more specific request, or is it just blank since I've never had an immigrant visa/status? Maybe they couldn't find it since I didn't include my A-number in the request (which should theoretically be on the EAD right?), but I don't know what it is unless I can get the info. 

[illidanx 19]

1 hour ago, resonantfigure said:

I requested my entire Alien File through FOIA and all I got back was a censored copy of the I-130 application. No EAD, etc, or entry/exit info etc. Would it be more likely that I would get info if I make a more specific request, or is it just blank since I've never had an immigrant visa/status? Maybe they couldn't find it since I didn't include my A-number in the request (which should theoretically be on the EAD right?), but I don't know what it is unless I can get the info. 

I got a few pages on my EAD for F1 OPT visa but no entry/exit info, no info on my previous J1 via. Im not sure what happened in your case. Could be that USCIS record keeping sucks or the person who fulfilled the FOIA request didnt look carefully enough. 

[Chancy 6,241]

14 hours ago, illidanx said:

I got a few pages on my EAD for F1 OPT visa but no entry/exit info, no info on my previous J1 via. Im not sure what happened in your case. Could be that USCIS record keeping sucks or the person who fulfilled the FOIA request didnt look carefully enough. 

 

US entry/exit records are with CBP.  Did you file a FOIA request with CBP?  https://www.cbp.gov/site-policy-notices/foia/records

 

[illidanx 19]

Just now, Chancy said:

 

US entry/exit records are with CBP.  Did you file a FOIA request with CBP?  https://www.cbp.gov/site-policy-notices/foia/records

 

No, I didnt know that. I thought I could get everything thru USCIS.

[nastra30 2,287]

On 2/17/2022 at 3:30 AM, resonantfigure said:

Answering "no" to the question of whether I have ever been in violation of a US visa...

Where did you see this question about violation of visa?

[resonantfigure 0]

3 hours ago, nastra30 said:

Where did you see this question about violation of visa?

I'm applying via consular processing. In the DS-260, if you answer ‘Yes’ to ‘Have you ever been to the U.S.?’, it asks  "Have you ever been unlawfully present, overstayed the amount of time granted by an immigration official or otherwise violated the terms of a U.S. visa?". See page 83 of the sample application PDF. (https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260-Exemplar.pdf)

[nastra30 2,287]

48 minutes ago, resonantfigure said:

I'm applying via consular processing. In the DS-260, if you answer ‘Yes’ to ‘Have you ever been to the U.S.?’, it asks  "Have you ever been unlawfully present, overstayed the amount of time granted by an immigration official or otherwise violated the terms of a U.S. visa?". See page 83 of the sample application PDF. (https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/DS-260-Exemplar.pdf)

Since you said I'm beginning the IR1 process so I thought you were referring to the I-130 or I-130A. Looks like you just doing a general discovery exercise to understand the entire process. If so good call on your part.