This doesn’t seem remotely suspicious to me. I’m in the process of trying to get a letter from my current employer required by the state medical program my daughter is part of. They are refusing to include all the details the state requires. That’s my current employer where my manager can advocate for me and escalate it up the corporate ladder. If I no longer worked there I would have no chance (it’s difficult enough to get W2s from former employers)
As for former landlords I have zero expectation of getting anything from then. Hell I don’t have much expectation of them providing the things they are legally required to by law, let alone stuff like this
I agree with other posters as long as you are saying something that is 100% true and you have personal knowledge that it was, there is very little risk here. Nothing about this seems sketchy but even if it is there is no legal exposure to you by providing truthful information.
I’d also add that if the guy actually reported to you as his manager (the OP doesn’t say that) then you have a professional responsibility to provide this kind of thing IMO
Even this is pretty low risk IMO. Unless it turns out this guy is a high profile (non-white) critic of the Trump administration or something, your letter will be one of many in the case which is one of countless cases the immigration official in question has on their desk that morning. Even the most vindictive Trump minion is not going to have an enemies list that long.
The way to deal with the government keeping The List isn’t to try to stay off of The List. It’s to make The List so long that there’s no way the government can possibly “deal with” them all, and that if they even tried, they’d get so much popular opposition they’d be overthrown.
This isn’t the sort of thing that is likely to get anyone on any “list.” All the man is asking for is evidence of a certain period of physical presence, which is indeed a requirement to pass US citizenship onto a child born overseas where only one parent is a citizen.
No need to agonize. Just tell the truth and help a former colleague out. IMHO.
I just thought of one little wrinkle: before you tell your version of the truth, make sure it matches John’s version exactly.
Do you both remember exactly what the situation of his employment was?-Not just the dates of work and what the address of the office was. But also which floor and which room number he occupied. Did he work from home on certain days, who did he report to, which team he was a member of, which projects he worked on,.
You shouldn’t include all these details in your letter, but make sure there are no contradictions with whatever information he has already sent to the US embassy, and make sure there are no missing bits of info either.
You might write “john was my full time co-worker at company X for 5 years” but maybe John already stated that he worked part time from home for the first year. or in a different department than you.
And here is an example of a different issue which may not be at all relevant, but shows how important the details can be:. During the five year period , did John make trips back to his home country? If so, for how long?
I’m guessing that this will not affect John’s citizenship request…but I know that for me, as an American citizen with residence overseas, it does affect my tax status. The IRS demands that each trip has to be listed on the 1040 Form documents, and the number of days counted.. One of the IRS rules is that in order to establish legal residency in a country, you must be physically present in that country for 330 days in a given year.. That leaves 35 days per year for vacation time. If you left the country for more than 35 days of travel, then you might not be considered a resident of that foreign country. during that specific year. (This applies to residency for the tax purposes of the IRS, not necessarily citizenship issues.). . (And there are additional IRS rules that can replace the 330 day requirement, and still let you claim status as a “bona fide resident”..)
My point is not to scare you–but just to show you how detailed the government regulations can be from different agencies for different reasons.. .
Since you are being truthful, you should have nothing to worry about, and I would recommend that you write the letter and help your friend. But make sure you coordinate with him and that the information you provide shows zero contradictions with info which he provides… .
Better yet, don’t, just provide the facts that you independently know to be true. If not sure don’t volunteer it. DO NOT say something you are not sure is true because “John” said so. You don’t remember exact dates yourself then do not state any, including ones that John provides.
For the record, even if you’re not sticking it to the man, it’s worthwhile to you to be able to say you did the right, honest thing in a world where that’s been sadly devalued.
It’s worth it for that alone. The tiny acts of doing the right thing, even if you don’t have to is something that occasionally gives me hope. And reduces my disgust at the species.
So keep doing it - of course, if there was a non-trivial risk to you or yours (which I don’t think there is in this case), that’s a different, much more difficult choice.
And, back to “stickin’ it to the man” - the more we do the random acts of kindness, the more we DO stick it to the man. They’re actively working to get us to hate and hurt each other - reminding ourselves and others we don’t have to go along with their agenda is one of the greatest counters to the hate they peddle.
The reactions of some in this thread illustrate how fascism prevails. The idea that providing truthful corroborative documentation of an applicant’s claims is a dangerous act, that doing such is an act of bravery, that some number of people would self censor themselves from being a corroborative witness out of imagined fear of retaliation? There need not be any list. There need not be any retaliation. People just self censor. Paranoid fantasies the fascists stoke are much more effective than any actual actions they actually can take.
Well, the facists really are kicking innocent people outof this country, and focusing particular attention on specific, otherwise not noteworthy individuals. The idea that one might end up on a list is no longer a paranoid, far fetched idea.
But you do only live once; and one should follow one’s gut (conscience).
This is how fascism takes over. At every step you have people saying that the next step is just a paranoid fantasy. Put a Magen David outside your house. No one will mess with a Jewish German born DOCTOR. It’s unthinkable.
I suggest writing the letter, getting it notarized yourself and personally mailing the letter without John’s involvement, other than to provide you details of what info the Embassy requires.
A follow up on this: I got a message from John today that he successfully got his kid citizenship, with my letter a helpful part of his supporting documentation.
He sent me a picture of his family, which I cropped to share the important part.
I hope this brightens your day almost as much as it did mine.
