Folks I would also like to add that, if you want to maintain TPS you MUST get AP to travel OR your TPS renewal will be DENIED. Regardless of your status if you have a TPS and chose to leave the country you have to get AP.

Regarding having a different degree than the work fields. YES/NO in your case ME or anything engineering will be closely related to Programming which is also a form of engineering. You might want to prepare a smooth answer on how you transitioned your knowledge from ME to the programmer.