work authorization

[Gman]

I'm confused about whether and when my fiancee' will be able to work legally.  

My understanding is that she is temporarily work authorized based on the K-1 visa.  Does it automatically extend pending AOS filing?  How long does it take to get back the initial AOS that is filed right after the marriage?

She is very anxious about how she will spend her time while i am at work.  She is already fluent in english so that's not an issue.

thanks,

Gman

[Charles]

... in response to work authorization, posted by Gman on Dec 6, 2003

While the SS Office is supposed to issue a card based on the K-1 Visa, it doesn't always happen that way.  I would suggest filing for the EAD at your earliest convenience.

[Ray]

... in response to work authorization, posted by Gman on Dec 6, 2003

A K-1 visa holder is automatically authorized to work during the 90-day validity period of the visa, but you will need a Social Security Number. Go to any SSA Office with passport, birth certificate, and I-94.

After the 90-day K-1 visa expires, you will need an EAD from USCIS to work or continue working legally. You can apply for the EAD at the same time you submit the AOS application. Don’t bother to apply for an EAD before you apply for AOS because it isn’t required and many local CIS offices take 90 days or longer to issue the EAD, so by that time your K-1 will be expired and you will just be wasting your money. You cannot renew an EAD based on K-1 status, but will have to apply for a new EAD based on the AOS application.

Here’s a link for SSA policy on the subject:

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=15Ohhh-g&p_lva=92&p_faqid=576&p_created=994785335&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTEwJnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9JnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9MyZwX2NhdF9sdmwxPTE2JnBfY2F0X2x2bDI9MzAmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

As RickM noted, some SSA offices don’t know the correct procedure for K-1’s, so you may have to print out the page and educate them :-)

Ray

[Dan]

... in response to work authorization, posted by Gman on Dec 6, 2003

Sounds like a LOT of confusion. Maybe this will clear up a little of it.

Your wife *is* eligible to work while here on the K-1 visa, prior to marriage.

However, to work she will need a Social Security card *and* an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).

You get the SS card by applying at your local social security office. It will arrive with a statement on the face of it that says something like "Not valid for work without work authorization document" (which is the EAD).

In our case, we applied for the SS card BEFORE we were married, then applied for EAD a few weeks later AFTER we were married and at the same time as the application for Adjustment of Status (AOS).

I saw someone post that the POE (Port of Entry) will sometimes offer an EAD to a K-1 visa holder. To the best of my knowledge, that practice was stopped at ALL POE's about 2 years ago (unfortunately).

I hope this helps.

- Dan

[Gman]

... in response to Re: work authorization, posted by Dan on Dec 7, 2003

i'll continue to research.

My concern is how she will spend her time.  She wants to hit the ground running, but she acknowledges she may need to get a degree here. so knowing whether its legally possible for her to work may just make some of our decisions for us.

Gman

[tfcrew]

... in response to work authorization, posted by Gman on Dec 6, 2003

No one is "'authorized' to work (at all) based on the K-1 visa".
Authorization to work is based on "Permanent Residency".
This is granted after marriage and a trip to your local office with these documents in hand...including the spouse's passport to HAVE STAMPED WITH '551 APPROVED'!
If everyone would go to 'search' on the USCIS website, all these questions are answered quite well.
Karl

[RickM]

... in response to No..see all the stuff on this page below, posted by tfcrew on Dec 7, 2003

(Points Of Entry) do things differently...I've heard that at "some" POE's you have to "ask" for the 90 day EAD(work authorization and at others they do it automatically...

My wife arrived through JFK New York and they stamped her K-1 with the 90 day temporary I-551 "Work Authorized" stamp right on her white card stapeled to her passport."That enabled her to be able to get a SS# when she arrived...

They took that white paper and kept it after the I-551 AOS interview.

Read www.k-1faq.com and it's links thoroughly and it'll explain just about everything except for some of the recent timelines delays for everything since 911...

[tfcrew]

... in response to Not True Karl...Different Airport POE Cu..., posted by RickM on Dec 7, 2003

Technically you're right.
An I-765 (90 day EAD) can be requested. Is there a charge? Didn't say. How long does it take? Didn't say.
Does the right hand know what the left is doing at BCIS?
Who knows?
By the time it's all said and done, there's a marriage and an AOS interview anyway.
We landed in Chicago in Aug 2000. All I got was a blank stare when I asked about an employment stamp for Svetlana's passport.

[RickM]

... in response to work authorization, posted by Gman on Dec 6, 2003

A few years back and dealing in Massachusettes through the Vermont Service center...(Back then it was INS and now it is Homeland Security)

(timeline)The K-1 applied for Feb.14 and she was here May.25 same year...sent in AOS application August after marraige and before 90 days expired on the k-1...interview set and approved in December same year with special trip to another office to be fingerprinted...2 year green card arrived following Feburary...

***She "could" have re-applied for $120.00 for another 1 year EAD authorization along with or at the AOS interview but she was pregnant,wasn't planning on working and we felt it was a waste of money...***I believe it is possible to get the EAD 1 year extension even "before" the AOS interview if you arrive seperately "before" the AOS interview and apply for it because it is a seperate office...You'll need to ask by calling or arriving to your nearest Service Center for that question...It's been so many recent changes but at least she'll "already" have her SS# for processing...

***With her "EAD Authorized Stamp" already approved with her K-1 when she arrived,we immediately went to our local Social Security Office when she arrived and applied for her SS#.
(This turned out to be one of the best thngs we did because from that point on she was referred to for "everything" by her SS# instead of "only" her A#...

The SS office we went to origionally gave us a difficult time when we first arrived for the SS# so I asked to speak with a supervisor and had to wait an hour or so.The super didn't even know the correct procedure but I told her INS Vermont Service Center told us she "was" entitled to receive a SS# because she was already EAD approved and it said it right in her stapeled portion of her K-1 onher passport...
The super made a quick phone call and then proceeded to fill the forms.The SS card arrived by mail days later.

*** "After" the 90 days the origional K-1 EAD(work authorization) becomes invalid and when you apply for the AOS after marraige and "before" the 90 days expire,she will need to apply for another EAD (1 year work authorization)in order to continue legally working.I think it will cost $120.00
IT IS "ILLEGAL" FOR HER TO WORK WITH-OUT "EAD" (EMPLOYMENT WORK AUTHORIZATION)AFTER HER ORIGIONAL K-1 90 DAY ORIGIONAL AUTHORIZATION EXPIRES....

[f12phantom]

... in response to Re: work authorization...Gman FWIW...., posted by RickM on Dec 7, 2003

Hi Gman - I too am from MA and perhaps you saw my Green Card posting yesterday. As I stated, we had our interview last June 17th and have been waiting ever since then to even get both my wife's and her daughter's visas stamped which, as I understand it, happens before the 2-year green card is issued. It looks to me like you had your interview in December that year and then your wife received her 2-year green card two months later. This was all before 9-11 - have you heard anything with anyone else who resides in our area in recent times? My wife and her daughter are from Kiev - heard anything about the list of 29-countries which require more FBI background checks? We're trying to get a "fix" on this timeline as it's really traumatic being in limbo - not knowing if it will in the end be approved or not!  THX!

[RickM]

... in response to Re: Re: work authorization...Gman FWIW....., posted by f12phantom on Dec 7, 2003

Yes,it "was" before 911...

At "that" time she had previously gone through the Moscow Embassy which represents Kyrgyzstan for the K-1 approval...

It's my understanding now that the backround checks for "both" the K-1 and the "adjustment of statuses" (both I-551 and I-751) are subjected to a much more investigation than before resulting in approvimately a year or more to accomplish what normally used to only takea mater of a few months...

see world wide web k-1 faq dot com

The I-551 (2 year temporary "conditional-residency" adjustment of status to her from k-1 to "being married to a USA citizen") was stamped to her passport "right there" "at" the AOS interview.In the same building same day at JFK Goverment Center in Boston was the seperate office for getting the EAD (work authorization approval).The green-card arrived by mail 2 months later.The fingerprint appointment was done about a week earlier to the AOS interview at another seperate goverment building downtown Boston.

She's due now to send in the I-751 "removal of conditional status" application,90 days "before" her 2 year greencard expires.It should be interesting...I've read that this process is now taking upwards of over a year to have happen and to receive the 10 year greencard afterward...

I don't know anybody personally from "this" area that gone through the process lately other than a Russian Jewish Refugee that arrived here to USA from Russia little over 5 years ago.She just recently got her 10 year greencard in the mail since applying for it little over 2 years ago...

[f12phantom]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: work authorization...Gman FW..., posted by RickM on Dec 7, 2003

Thanks! Your reply was of tremendous help!