Q: what is considered unauthorized work
Hi. I applied for US Permanent Resident in October 2019 and I received the card in April 2020. I am a relative of a US citizen. If someone wants to pay me for a voluntary work i did in January 2020, will that be considered illegal? what are the exceptions USCIS provides? Thanks
A:
The question poses two issues: unpaid wages by an employer (regardless of immigration status), which I won't discuss, and the impact of work without authorization on a family-based petition. I will assume that you were granted lawful permanent resident status through marriage to a US citizen or a US citizen son/daughter.
If you worked without authorization before filing your application, the issue is whether you reported income to the IRS.
Although working without authorization does not make you ineligible to apply for a green card based on the relationships mentioned above, the issue becomes whether you have good moral character. If you failed to report your income to the IRS regardless of whether you had work authorization or not, USCIS/DHS/DOJ could make a finding that you lack good moral character.
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