Work for no pay without an EAD card

[FrancoBegbie 4]

Hi, 

 

So, I have a Bachelor's of Mechanical Engineering from Ireland. I've about 3 years experience under my belt right now. I previously worked in a HVAC design company for a year with a company in Massachusetts, on a J1 Internship Visa. It's how I met my now wife. I returned to Ireland and worked for two years as a Mechanical Design Engineer in a forklift company. It was in a high volume manufacturing environment and I loved it. 

 

So, despite now having my EAD card, a couple of recruiters on LinkedIn have contacted me. I've explained I'm legally married now, my I-90 and K1 visa has expired and I've filed for AOS in August of 2019. Understandably, they can't continue with the job application. 

 

I did get offered a job interview and it went very well. They are interested in me and they want me to reconnected when I have either my EAD or Greencard. I'm assuming the EAD will arrive first. However, I did pitch to them I'd work for no pay just to keep my experience up. They declined the offer. 

 

My main question is can I apply for internships or jobs with no pay until I receive my EAD card? Another person also suggested working on engineering project that are posted for money on online. I'd be working as a third party consultant.

 

Any thoughts on this? Also, if any of you are mechanical engineers how long did it take to get employment?

[aaron2020 11,651]

You can not work in any capacity.  You will have to wait for your EAD in order to legally work in any capacity.   

You can not work for free for a potential employer.  You can not work for free in a position that is usually paid.  You can not work as a third party consultant.

 

You can volunteer with a charity.  

Edited November 10, 2019 by aaron2020

[Boiler 43,433]

Being a mechanical engineer or anything else makes no difference to the processing time.

[Marieke H 2,303]

Would the company that's interested in you be willing to provide a letter offering you a job? If they are, you can try requesting an expedite for your EAD.

[JFH 12,189]

You have two options: request an expedite of your EAD based on the job offer (employer will need to cooperate with that) or get used to not being able to work in your field and potentially lose out on experience and being “left behind” by the industry for several months. The latter is the exact reason why a K-1 was of no interest to us and why I’m surprised it’s still so popular with people who have worked hard and studied hard to get where they are in their careers only to throw it away to get into the US a few months faster. 

 

If you want to do something productive to fill your time whilst you wait (if the expedited EAD is not successful), you can volunteer in places where people work completely altruistically such as soup kitchens, animal shelters, church groups, etc. That’s all. 

 

I’m not surprised the company did not entertain the idea of you working there for nothing as this would be considered “working off the clock” and can have serious implications for them legally and in terms of insurance, etc. It’s also illegal for anyone to undertake work for which one would ordinarily be paid without any form of work authorization. 

[FrancoBegbie 4]

4 hours ago, Boiler said:

Being a mechanical engineer or anything else makes no difference to the processing time.

I understand that. We're all in the same boat, regardless of our working backgrounds.

[FrancoBegbie 4]

4 hours ago, Marieke H said:

Would the company that's interested in you be willing to provide a letter offering you a job? If they are, you can try requesting an expedite for your EAD.

Yes they might be. I'll have to contact them soon and see what they say.

[geowrian 22,335]

No employment - paid or unpaid - without employment authorization.

You can use a job offer as a basis to request an expedite.

Good luck.

[Catalyst2020 4]

9 hours ago, geowrian said:

You can use a job offer as a basis to request an expedite.

Is that actually true? And does it work?

[Redheadguy03 505]

1 hour ago, Catalyst2020 said:

Is that actually true? And does it work?

Yes it's true otherwise they wouldn't have said it. As for working it depends on the situation. Some get approved and some don't, but you can try. 

[Catalyst2020 4]

 

2 hours ago, Redheadguy03 said:

Yes it's true otherwise they wouldn't have said it. As for working it depends on the situation. Some get approved and some don't, but you can try. 

 

So instead of it taking 5-6 months to receive the EAD, how long would it take if it gets expedited?

[Dashinka 23,242]

24 minutes ago, Catalyst2020 said:

 

 

So instead of it taking 5-6 months to receive the EAD, how long would it take if it gets expedited?

If you have a job offer and the expedite gets approved, you may have the EAD in a month or so, or maybe even sooner.

 

Good Luck!

[debbiedoo 2,339]

If you can get a written job offer you can expedite the EAD card. Its a simple process and from beginning to end, took us (and others I have known) about a month from start to finish.

[gramercygreen 34]

I have the vague impression that you can't be barred from adjusting status if you work unauthorized as long as you're married to a US citizen.

 

That being said, I would definitely prefer to play it safe and either wait or expedite the EAD.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  The problem is for the company.  It is illegal for them to not pay you for working.