Gaspar1234

This is exactly this situation, thanks so much! It would be egregious if taking medical leave was counted against you for immigration purposes, good to know that's not the case.

After some research I'm not so sure. Any third opinions on this? According to the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs, unemployment insurance is not "cash assistance for income maintenance" for the purpose of a public charge determination because "family leave and workers’ compensation are all considered earned employment benefits." and therefore "receiving these benefits cannot be counted against you in a future immigration application." Seems like the distinction is between benefits that become available through employment, and public benefits generally.

In the process of filling out an I-485 as a part of a marriage based green card AOS package. Question 63 on the form asks "Have you ever received supplemental security income, temporary assistance for needy families (TANF), or state, tribal territorial, or local cash benefit program for income maintenance (often called "general assistance" in the state context, but which also exist under other names)?" My spouse has taken medical leave from her H1-B employer an received assistance from the state to cover her salary during this time. I understand that the state paid part of her paycheck, and not her employer. Do we need to disclose this on question 63 (or anywhere else)? Thanks!

I am a us citizen, and my wife from chile is currently on an h1b visa. We've filed for a greencard through marriage, including AOS through 1-485 and work authorization through I-765. She urgently wants to change her job. Once she receives her EAD, can she quit her h1b job, and begin employment with a new job that is not sponsoring her on her h1b? Will she loose legal status if she does this? I read elsewhere that the risk to this is that if the I-485 AOS is denied, she will be not be able to work and subject to removal. Our case is pretty straightforward and I'm confident it will eventually be approved. any insight would be really helpful! thanks!