Good News but could be bad...

[ACGeiger 0]

For the sake of extra viewers, I have reposted here. It was originally posted to the work forum but this is a K1 issue as well. Original Post:

So, let me preface this by saying I am very appreciative of any help I may find for my questions and wish the best of luck to all people who are going through this long and tedious process.

To help you understand our situation, I'll give a bit of background information. Linnéa and I are both recent graduates with myself entering Law School and she actively looking for jobs. Currently, Linnéa is working at Svenska Handelsbanken in Stockholm but her employment will end at the end of August as it was a "trainee-summer position." Like most couples, we are actively searching for positions where we can start our careers, (my career starter job will come in a few years... hopefully).

A few days ago, Linnéa got into contact with the HR department at the same undergrad University we met at 2 years ago. Linnéa studied abroad for a year there and developed some really good relationships with some staff and faculty, including that of the VP and Provost. She was informed of a position that has recently opened up at that University for a new International Study Abroad / Exchange Student Coordinator. What better person to occupy such a position than an individual who has studied abroad herself to China, and has experienced what international students face when they arrive to the University. Moreover, a majority of the international students who come to this University are either from China, or Sweden. Since she knows both cultures and speaks both languages, it would be a perfect fit.

Naturally, we applied.

However, here is where our situation becomes intriguing and where I could use the advice from this forum.

Currently, we are in the processing time for our K1 visa, about 1 month since we received our first NOA. We have booked a ticket for Linnéa to come visit form the 28th of August to the 2nd of November. The University states that the position will remain open until filled but, with the hard economics times, I don't think it would remain open until around January when Linnéa should arrive with the K1 and work authorization.

We have contemplated the idea of having her work during her time she is here to visit as a trainee and not pay her, should the University go for that. If they do, how does that affect her K1 status? From my understanding, should immigration find that she has worked in the US before receiving the K1, it could be detrimental to our petition. Is this correct?

Is there any way that the University could hire her before the K1 and, if so, does this provide a situation that would allow the K1 to be expedited? (not that I am trying to jump ahead of you fine people, just looking at options).

Another option we are considering is, should she receive the position and the University will pay for the work visa (does anyone know the approximate cost of work visa's by the way?), would it be possible, and possibly the most logical decision, to abandon the petition for a K1 and, after our marriage, apply for a K3? The most difficult part of this whole process is the waiting and if she was here by other means, the petitioning for green cards and AOS could wait, especially if she has employment.

So, as I said in the subject line, it was exciting news we received. The person making the hire Linnéa knows well and stopped just short of saying she was the leading candidate but praised her fully. It also helps that we have support from the VP and Provost. However, there concerns were the same as mine and they are the ones voiced above. How does this affect our petition?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and replying with any advice you may have. I hope it is understandable and if you would like more info I will do my best to answer.

Casey och Linnéa

[Thai family 0]

You might want to call the Dept of State's visa information line and talk with a specialist to find out what visa would be best for her in this situation. Just be prepared to wait on hold for a long time. You don't have to provide your identifying information. We read up on volunteering while waiting for employment authorization, I don't remember all of the specifics, but tread very carefully. Read the directions for all of the applications that will have to be filled out in the future, as it gives you an idea of what you can and cannot do.

-Thai Mom

[Philosykos 0]

This is a tricky situation. I think it looks pretty difficult for her to take that job. The K-1 visa doesn't seem to allow it, unless they want to wait at least until next April to fill the position. Remember that if she enters on a K-1, she doesn't have work authorization immediately, because (as has been discussed elsewhere on this forum) the temporary work authorization stamp that JFK still provides is essentially useless. So you'd have to get married and then apply for EAD/AOS before she can work. Volunteering on the VWP while the K-1 is pending sounds extremely fishy, and I highly doubt she will be allowed to do this. I would not risk it (I didn't even risk visiting my fiancé while the K-1 was pending, although that would have been perfectly legal). What is she going to tell the CBP officers at the airport? If she is honest (which she should be) and admits she plans to work, even for free, she will likely be sent straight back to Europe. I'm sure there is a different visa she would need in order to volunteer. The VWP is not meant for that.

As far as a work visa goes, I could be wrong, but I am skeptical that an international student coordinator is the kind of highly skilled job for which H-1Bs are issued. I've worked in academia and in academic management, and I know that there are countless people qualified for the job your fiancée applied for, even if she might indeed be a particularly good fit. That would be a question her potential employer should be able to answer -- will they do this for this kind of position, and do they think they will be successful?

As for the spouse visa, I am not sure if you can have the application going while your spouse is already in the country on another visa. I really have no idea if that's possible -- something tells me it isn't, but maybe I'm wrong. Someone else will have better insight into this. If she indeed came on a work visa, it would make sense if you could simply get married and then adjust status, but unfortunately since you already have plans for her to get married and immigrate, the government will consider it fraud to do so under a non-immigrant work visa.

I wish you best of luck. You might just have to wait for the K-1, and then for another job opportunity to come along.

[thongd4me 69]

"You might want to call the Dept of State's visa information line and talk with a specialist to find out what visa would be best for her in this situation. "

"Volunteering on the VWP while the K-1 is pending sounds extremely fishy, and I highly doubt she will be allowed to do this."

"...I am skeptical that an international student coordinator is the kind of highly skilled job for which H-1Bs are issued."

I second all of the above comments, but my gut feeling is that if you encounter an uncooperative immigration

official, it will be easy for him or her to spin your innocent attempt to do what's best for you into some kind of

conspiracy to obtain immigration rights at any cost (ah ha! she can't get in the front door so she thinks she

can sneak in the back door!).

Stranger things have happened. As long as your K-1 is on track and you have good documentation, that

would seem to be the best route to take. Good luck with the Department of State, as they may be quicker

to point out the fine print in a disqualification scenario than in a "what are my options" scenario.

I think a better route would be to make an "information courtesy call" where you applied for the HR post

and explain your dilemma. See if they can't accelerate their decision or at least tell you if you are on

the short list and will your travel plans work against you.

You might get more of a straight answer than from the State Dept.

[Philosykos 0]

"You might want to call the Dept of State's visa information line and talk with a specialist to find out what visa would be best for her in this situation. "

"Volunteering on the VWP while the K-1 is pending sounds extremely fishy, and I highly doubt she will be allowed to do this."

"...I am skeptical that an international student coordinator is the kind of highly skilled job for which H-1Bs are issued."

I second all of the above comments, but my gut feeling is that if you encounter an uncooperative immigration

official, it will be easy for him or her to spin your innocent attempt to do what's best for you into some kind of

conspiracy to obtain immigration rights at any cost (ah ha! she can't get in the front door so she thinks she

can sneak in the back door!).

Stranger things have happened. As long as your K-1 is on track and you have good documentation, that

would seem to be the best route to take. Good luck with the Department of State, as they may be quicker

to point out the fine print in a disqualification scenario than in a "what are my options" scenario.

I think a better route would be to make an "information courtesy call" where you applied for the HR post

and explain your dilemma. See if they can't accelerate their decision or at least tell you if you are on

the short list and will your travel plans work against you.

You might get more of a straight answer than from the State Dept.

I agree that you should be very careful about how you phrase your request to the State Department. You must make it very clear that the primary objective is for you two to be united, and not for her to get a job.

I am not sure what is meant by the second paragraph I bolded in the quote above. Whom are you suggesting to call and ask for an expedite? All I can say is that a job offer will be no grounds for USCIS to expedite the I-129F. The basis for that petition is the desire to marry a US citizen, not to get a particular job. The only expedite ever granted in this context is for military people about to be deployed.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Philosykos

[Carlawarla 1]

I have nothing to add to the above information about work visas, or calling the information line. I would be concerned however about the "volunteer" job. While volunteering while your EAD, AOS is pending AFTER arriving on a K-1, before employment is obtained, it is not advisable, and would be highly suspicious of any volunteer work that would be paid, after a visa is obtained. I was doing volunteer work prior to getting my GC, and a lot of specific questions were asked me during my AOS interview to suggest to me that any paid employment where I was volunteering would be unexceptable, after obtaining my GC. Naturally, Immigration officials would think, and in this case rightly so, that they were "holding" a position that might otherwise be filled with someone who was legally in the U.S.

From my limited knowledge of work visas, and given the economy here in the U.S., I would also suggest that this is a job, that while she may be an excellent candidate for, could very well be filled by someone already here with the authorization to take that job.

Kudo's to you both for looking at all options to best suit your needs for starting careers while looking at visa options. I'm sure something will work out in the long term.

Edited July 29, 2009 by Carlawarla

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

For the sake of extra viewers, I have reposted here. It was originally posted to the work forum but this is a K1 issue as well. Original Post:

So, let me preface this by saying I am very appreciative of any help I may find for my questions and wish the best of luck to all people who are going through this long and tedious process.

To help you understand our situation, I'll give a bit of background information. Linnéa and I are both recent graduates with myself entering Law School and she actively looking for jobs. Currently, Linnéa is working at Svenska Handelsbanken in Stockholm but her employment will end at the end of August as it was a "trainee-summer position." Like most couples, we are actively searching for positions where we can start our careers, (my career starter job will come in a few years... hopefully).

A few days ago, Linnéa got into contact with the HR department at the same undergrad University we met at 2 years ago. Linnéa studied abroad for a year there and developed some really good relationships with some staff and faculty, including that of the VP and Provost. She was informed of a position that has recently opened up at that University for a new International Study Abroad / Exchange Student Coordinator. What better person to occupy such a position than an individual who has studied abroad herself to China, and has experienced what international students face when they arrive to the University. Moreover, a majority of the international students who come to this University are either from China, or Sweden. Since she knows both cultures and speaks both languages, it would be a perfect fit.

Naturally, we applied.

However, here is where our situation becomes intriguing and where I could use the advice from this forum.

Currently, we are in the processing time for our K1 visa, about 1 month since we received our first NOA. We have booked a ticket for Linnéa to come visit form the 28th of August to the 2nd of November. The University states that the position will remain open until filled but, with the hard economics times, I don't think it would remain open until around January when Linnéa should arrive with the K1 and work authorization.

We have contemplated the idea of having her work during her time she is here to visit as a trainee and not pay her, should the University go for that. If they do, how does that affect her K1 status? From my understanding, should immigration find that she has worked in the US before receiving the K1, it could be detrimental to our petition. Is this correct?

Is there any way that the University could hire her before the K1 and, if so, does this provide a situation that would allow the K1 to be expedited? (not that I am trying to jump ahead of you fine people, just looking at options).

Another option we are considering is, should she receive the position and the University will pay for the work visa (does anyone know the approximate cost of work visa's by the way?), would it be possible, and possibly the most logical decision, to abandon the petition for a K1 and, after our marriage, apply for a K3? The most difficult part of this whole process is the waiting and if she was here by other means, the petitioning for green cards and AOS could wait, especially if she has employment.

So, as I said in the subject line, it was exciting news we received. The person making the hire Linnéa knows well and stopped just short of saying she was the leading candidate but praised her fully. It also helps that we have support from the VP and Provost. However, there concerns were the same as mine and they are the ones voiced above. How does this affect our petition?

Thanks for taking the time to read this and replying with any advice you may have. I hope it is understandable and if you would like more info I will do my best to answer.

Casey och Linnéa

First, the K-1 is NOT a work visa and she will not be able to legally work in the USA until she has an EAD or green card. Anything you have heard to the contrary is wrong. The "employment authorization" stamp issued at JFK airport (STILL as of two weeks ago) is worthless without another valid work visa. DOES NOT matter the outdated information the SS office gives. (The clarification for K-1s was made effective in April of this year, and the SS office does not determine work eligibility anyway) She will not have the documentation needed for the new I-9 form required by all employers and will not be cleared by the automated "e-verify" system which is no doubt used by the University. She can apply for an EAD with the AOS filing and it normally takes 2-4 months after filing to receive. This filing will occur after you are married. In practice it is 4-6 months after arrival before a K-1 can work. Depends how quickly you get married and file the necessary papers.

If she needs to continue working in her home country and then work immediately here, the CR-1 would have been the correct choice. There IS a price for the "faster" K-1...you are only half done when she gets here. In my opinion the K-1 is a poor choice for a fiancee in a VWP country who needs or wants to work very soon after arriving, but it is certainly your decision and you pays your nickle and takes your choices.

That said...volunteers are not employee's in the legal sense. There is no restriction against volunteering. Applying for another form of visa, a work visa, will have no affect on the K-1. The K-1 MAY have an affect on the work visa.