Unauthorized work after graduation and before applying for PGWP

[sidcome]

I cannot give you a legal advice on what you should do but I have seen many ppl who disclosed during their PR app got their applications approved. Honestly, you can just write a LOE explaining the reason behind ur unauthorized work and usually the officer over looks this issue. Since you have been working legally and there has been no red flags since, they are likely going approve.

Thanks for this- but what if you were working for an essential business? I was working as a billing clerk for a pest control company- I remember that the government did announce that students could work up to 40 hours. Now I know I wasn’t supposed to work at all, but do you think they would just forget about it ?

 

[jase3708]

Thanks for this- but what if you were working for an essential business? I was working as a billing clerk for a pest control company- I remember that the government did announce that students could work up to 40 hours. Now I know I wasn’t supposed to work at all, but do you think they would just forget about it ?

I’m not sure if this would matter but you can just explain the situation truthfully. Like you just told me the reason why u thought u could work 40 hours. So just put that as ur reason and just be apologetic. Hope this helps.

 

[Anyw]

Yes, the same as me. I did not describe in my form too. However, I submitted a letter and described everything point by point and let them know it was Unintentional. However, its your choice to submit a letter or not, I cannot give any advice on that part.
I know other friends of mine got their work permit.

Hi Sarasrh. Just want to know, at what point did you submit your letter of explanation - was it before you submitted your application or after you have submitted your application? Thank you for your reply.

 

[Anyw]

Yes, my pgwp has been approved and I’m in the process of waiting for my PR now. As long as you come straight forward with your mistake and write an LOE, the chance are they will overlook this mistake. As for myself and others this is a very common mistake and as long as you are honest you should be alright. I haven’t seen anyone who got rejected as of yet when they wrote this on their LOE.

I did see people getting rejected because they tried to flag-poling and ended up getting caught about working unauthorized without intention.

Hi Jase3708. May I know at what point did you submit your letter of explanation for your unauthorized work - was it before or after you submitted your application? Thank you for your reply.

 

[sidcome]

I’m not sure if this would matter but you can just explain the situation truthfully. Like you just told me the reason why u thought u could work 40 hours. So just put that as ur reason and just be apologetic. Hope this helps.

I wasn’t just aware of the rule and since I had already graduated with my study permit still active - I thought I could work after I graduated. By the time I realised this my application was in 5 months

 

[jase3708]

Hi Jase3708. May I know at what point did you submit your letter of explanation for your unauthorized work - was it before or after you submitted your application? Thank you for your reply.

I submitted after I sent in my application. So it was like 3 or 4 days after I sent in the original application.

 

[jase3708]

I wasn’t just aware of the rule and since I had already graduated with my study permit still active - I thought I could work after I graduated. By the time I realised this my application was in 5 months

It is a common mistake that most international students make after they graduate. Although I would like to say that it is still your responsibility to know, most officers are understanding of the current situation. What the officers like to see is whether you are making a genuine innocent mistake and whether you have taken any action to prove that you are taking the law seriously.

 

[Anyw]

I submitted after I sent in my application. So it was like 3 or 4 days after I sent in the original application.

Thank you for this reply Jase3708

 

[sidcome]

It is a common mistake that most international students make after they graduate. Although I would like to say that it is still your responsibility to know, most officers are understanding of the current situation. What the officers like to see is whether you are making a genuine innocent mistake and whether you have taken any action to prove that you are taking the law seriously.

Hi,
The moment I got to know about the rule I immediately applied for my pgwp. I have applied for tr to pr policy. Do you think I should disclose it them?

 

[jase3708]

Hi,
The moment I got to know about the rule I immediately applied for my pgwp. I have applied for tr to pr policy. Do you think I should disclose it them?

It depends on your situation. For some people, they do not disclose it and they get the PGWP fine, but they do worry about this again when they need to apply for the PR. Honestly, I would disclose everything when you apply for PGWP because once you get the PGWP approved, you do not need to worry about it when you apply for PR because the officer has already granted your PGWP which means they basically got the unauthorized work to let it slide.

Also, in this forum and with the people I have talked to so far, they all disclosed this using letter of explanation and got the PGWP approved. General consensus is that this is a common mistake, and officers do understand in most cases. Only ones who got rejected went to do a flag poling and the CBSA caught them that they worked unauthorized. Hope this helps.

 

[sidcome]

It depends on your situation. For some people, they do not disclose it and they get the PGWP fine, but they do worry about this again when they need to apply for the PR. Honestly, I would disclose everything when you apply for PGWP because once you get the PGWP approved, you do not need to worry about it when you apply for PR because the officer has already granted your PGWP which means they basically got the unauthorized work to let it slide.

Also, in this forum and with the people I have talked to so far, they all disclosed this using letter of explanation and got the PGWP approved. General consensus is that this is a common mistake, and officers do understand in most cases. Only ones who got rejected went to do a flag poling and the CBSA caught them that they worked unauthorized. Hope this helps.

thanks for replying, i did get my pgwp approved and i was worried about it again now because i m going to be applying for pr.

 

[LlAmour]

I am in the same situation as you are in. I applied on June 25th and I started working full time from the period between May 1st until June 25th. So practically, I did unauthorized work and I have violated the visa condition. In my case, I hired a lawyer to write a letter for me and stated my mistake. Honestly, this decision is up to you. You can either be honest or just hope that the officer overlooks it. In my case, I chose the honest option because there is a possibility for misrepresentation if you have indicated "no" for unauthorized work in your application.

I also think that flagpolling is a bad idea. On this forum, most people who are rejected from unauthorized work are from flagpolling. Most people who were approved even after their unauthorized work is through online app.

I am still waiting my decision. But it's entirely your decision to disclose your mistake or not.

Hi, I’ve been following this thread, and I could really use some advise. I just completed my masters (thesis based) in September 2021. My issue is that I took a summer job (may-August 2021) full time (40hrs/week), not knowing that thesis based masters don’t have summer breaks or any breaks throughout the year (can only work upto 20hrs/week). I applied for PGWP a few days ago, did not disclose this as I just realized my mistake now. Please, what can I do, I am terrified that I might get rejected from unauthorized works and misrepresentation. Please help. A referral to a lawyer would also be appreciated

 

[jase3708]

Hi, I’ve been following this thread, and I could really use some advise. I just completed my masters (thesis based) in September 2021. My issue is that I took a summer job (may-August 2021) full time (40hrs/week), not knowing that thesis based masters don’t have summer breaks or any breaks throughout the year (can only work upto 20hrs/week). I applied for PGWP a few days ago, did not disclose this as I just realized my mistake now. Please, what can I do, I am terrified that I might get rejected from unauthorized works and misrepresentation. Please help. A referral to a lawyer would also be appreciated
[/QUOTE

Hi, I’ve been following this thread, and I could really use some advise. I just completed my masters (thesis based) in September 2021. My issue is that I took a summer job (may-August 2021) full time (40hrs/week), not knowing that thesis based masters don’t have summer breaks or any breaks throughout the year (can only work upto 20hrs/week). I applied for PGWP a few days ago, did not disclose this as I just realized my mistake now. Please, what can I do, I am terrified that I might get rejected from unauthorized works and misrepresentation. Please help. A referral to a lawyer would also be appreciated

If you didn’t disclose the information when you sent in PGWP, you are likely going to get the PGWP since they don’t check the application and find this unless you have declared it on your work history.
If you have declared the work experience in your application, you could just send a web form and explain your situation. That’s pretty much what I did and usually if you are sincere, they are likely to let it go.
If you are reallly worried, you could reach out to Bellissimo law group. Honestly tho, I would just send a web form as the fee for hiring a lawyer is like 5 K. But this is ultimately up to you, and the decision is solely yours.

 

[Emmanel]

did you got your pgwp?

Yes I did. Like people are saying, the officers are actually lenient so don’t worry too much.

 

[Emmanel]

Hi, I’ve been following this thread, and I could really use some advise. I just completed my masters (thesis based) in September 2021. My issue is that I took a summer job (may-August 2021) full time (40hrs/week), not knowing that thesis based masters don’t have summer breaks or any breaks throughout the year (can only work upto 20hrs/week). I applied for PGWP a few days ago, did not disclose this as I just realized my mistake now. Please, what can I do, I am terrified that I might get rejected from unauthorized works and misrepresentation. Please help. A referral to a lawyer would also be appreciated

Did you disclose the fact that you worked all summer? I’m guessing you didn’t so you should be fine. If you did then you might write a follow up letter to clarify the situation.