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JustAMom

Nannies want to be paid under the table, but my spouse is GC holder

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I'm totally flustered by my current situation -- maybe this community can help? My spouse is a green card holder (K1 visa originally, then a successful AOS). We have a new baby. I guess I was totally naive about this, but I've really been surprised to find that nearly every potential nanny we talk to wants to be paid under the table. Many are undocumented and don't want to alert anyone after overstaying. A few are U.S. citizens but just don't want to pay the IRS. But given my spouse's own immigration status, I went into this recruitment process opposed to doing anything illegal. It's too big of a risk, right? Or is everyone hiring nannies this way? Because of Covid we've been pretty isolated from the community of parents in our area -- but I know that there are tons of foreign-born folks here who hire nannies. So are lots of folks just risking their future citizenship by hiring off-the-books childcare? Is this the kind of thing that doesn't actually end up mattering to the U.S. government when it comes time for my spouse to apply for citizenship? Or is it as serious a risk as I think it is?

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9 minutes ago, JustAMom said:

So are lots of folks just risking their future citizenship by hiring off-the-books childcare? Is this the kind of thing that doesn't actually end up mattering to the U.S. government when it comes time for my spouse to apply for citizenship? Or is it as serious a risk as I think it is?

https://gtm.com/household/form-i-9-audits/

All U.S. employers – including families that hire household help like a nanny – must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 for people they hire to work in the United States. This includes citizens and noncitizens. Form I-9 is used for verifying their identity and employment authorization.

 

Penalties for Hiring Unauthorized Workers and Form I-9 Mistakes

Hiring employees without complying with employment eligibility verification requirements is a violation of the law. If you fail to properly complete or retain Form I-9, you could be subject to civil money penalties.

A first-time offense for knowingly hiring and continuing to employ unauthorized workers will cost you at least $538 and up to $4,133. Subsequent violations can cost you as much as $21,563.

Something as simple as failing to confirm an employee dated their Form I-9, for example, can result in a penalty of up to $2,156.

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline

**One post removed fro TOS violation. It is against the TOS to instruct others to break the law.**

 

VJ Moderation

🇷🇺 CR-1 via DCF (Dec 2016-Jun 2017) & I-751 ROC (Apr 2019-Oct 2019)🌹

Spoiler

Info about my DCF Moscow* experience here and here

26-Jul-2016: Married abroad in Russia 👩‍❤️‍👨 See guide here
21-Dec-2016: I-130 filed at Moscow USCIS field office*
29-Dec-2016: I-130 approved! Yay! 🎊 

17-Jan-2017: Case number received

21-Mar-2017: Medical Exam completed

24-Mar-2017: Interview at Embassy - approved! 🎉

29-Mar-2017: CR-1 Visa received (via mail)

02-Apr-2017: USCIS Immigrant (GC) Fee paid

28-Jun-2017: Port of Entry @ PDX 🛩️

21-Jul-2017: No SSN after three weeks; applied in person at the SSA

22-Jul-2017: GC arrived in the mail 📬

31-Jul-2017: SSN arrived via mail, hurrah!

 

*NOTE: The USCIS Field Office in Moscow is now CLOSED as of February 28th, 2019.

 

Removal of Conditions - MSC Service Center

 28-Jun-2019: Conditional GC expires

30-Mar-2019: Eligible to apply for ROC

01-Apr-2019: ROC in the mail to Phoenix AZ lockbox! 📫

03-Apr-2019: ROC packet delivered to lockbox

09-Apr-2019: USCIS cashed check

09-Apr-2019: Case number received via text - MSC 📲

12-Apr-2019: Extension letter arrives via mail

19-Apr-2019: Biometrics letter arrives via mail

30-Apr-2019: Biometrics appointment at local office

26-Jun-2019: Case ready to be scheduled for interview 

04-Sep-2019: Interview was scheduled - letter to arrive in mail

09-Sep-2019: Interview letter arrived in the mail! ✉️

17-Oct-2019: Interview scheduled @ local USCIS  

18-Oct-2019: Interview cancelled & notice ordered*

18-Oct-2019: Case was approved! 🎉

22-Oct-2019: Card was mailed to me 📨

23-Oct-2019: Card was picked by USPS 

25-Oct-2019: 10 year GC Card received in mail 📬

 

*I don't understand this status because we DID have an interview!

 

🇺🇸 N-400 Application for Naturalization (Apr 2020-Jun 2021) 🛂

Spoiler

Filed during Covid-19 & moved states 1 month after filing

30-Mar-2020: N-400 early filing window opens!

01-Apr-2020: Filed N-400 online 💻 

02-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received online 📃

07-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received via mail

05-May-2020: Moved to another state, filed AR-11 online

05-May-2020: Application transferred to another USCIS field office for review ➡️

15-May-2020: AR-11 request to change address completed

16-Jul-2020: Filed non-receipt inquiry due to never getting confirmation that case was transferred to new field office

15-Oct-2020: Received generic response to non-receipt inquiry, see full response here

10-Feb-2021: Contacted senator's office for help with USCIS

12-Feb-2021: Received canned response from senator's office that case is within processing time 😡

16-Feb-2021: Contacted other senator's office for help with USCIS - still no biometrics

19-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice - canned response from other senator's office 🌐

23-Feb-2021: Interview scheduled - notice to come in the mail

25-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice arrives via mail

01-Mar-2021: Interview notice letter arrives via mail  ✉️ 

29-Mar-2021: Passed interview at local office! Oath Ceremony to be scheduled

13-Apr-2021: Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

04-May-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 Unable to attend due to illness

04-May-2021: Mailed request to reschedule Oath to local office

05-May-2021: "You did not attend your Oath Ceremony" - notice to come in the mail

06-May-2021: Oath Ceremony will be scheduled, date TBA

12-May-2021: Oath Ceremony re-scheduled for June 3rd, then de-scheduled same day 😡 

25-May-2021: New Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

16-Jun-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 - DONE!!

17-Jun-2021: Certificate of Naturalization issued

 

🎆 Members new and old: don't forget to fill in your VJ timeline! 🎇 https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
Timeline

~~Moved to Taxes and Finances, from US citizenship General Discussion - as a better forum to discussed taxes~~

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Met Playing Everquest in 2005
Engaged 9-15-2006
K-1 & 4 K-2'S
Filed 05-09-07
Interview 03-12-08
Visa received 04-21-08
Entry 05-06-08
Married 06-21-08
AOS X5
Filed 07-08-08
Cards Received01-22-09
Roc X5
Filed 10-17-10
Cards Received02-22-11
Citizenship
Filed 10-17-11
Interview 01-12-12
Oath 06-29-12

Citizenship for older 2 boys

Filed 03/08/2014

NOA/fee waiver 03/19/2014

Biometrics 04/15/14

Interview 05/29/14

In line for Oath 06/20/14

Oath 09/19/2014 We are all done! All USC no more USCIS

 

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More than just the I-9, you need to pay the nanny taxes and issue payments properly for both your protection and the protection of your nanny. It’s not just illegal but also exploitative of the nanny(and house cleaners, and other domestic staff) for you not to do so, as it deprives them of legal protections now and critical social benefits like Medicare and Social Security later in life. 

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