Sonny

Just arrived in the US on a Fiance (K1 Visa). Arrival/Departure card stamped- Class
Until: June 23, 02 and on the reverse- Employment Authorized: June 23, 02. So happy
and relieved!! What I'm wondering about is this -:

1)Am I authorized to take up employment?
2)The next stage is that we get married and apply for adjustment of status, right?
3)How much longer before I get my provisional green card?

Thanks everyone! You've all been such a wonderful resource and such great friends!

Sonny.

Marie

hi sonny,

Can i ask you something ? what airport did you land on when you entered with your K1?
because most INS officers dont give you work authorization but some INS officers
do... seems like you got lucky because you got what they call the "EAD" ! I would
like to know what airport that is because i will land there too then! well i will try
to that is! You just have to fall on the right officer!: )

yep i really think that you are allowed to work....but wait for a few more answers
because i am not a specialist....

Franko

I'd have to guess that you have a temporary EAD which is good for 90 days. Now you
have to apply for a social security number, get married, then file for AOS and your 1
year EAD (correct me if I'm wrong anyone ). You can file your AOS and the 1 year
EAD at the same time at your local INS office (same for ss#).

Hope this helps (and I hope I'm correct cause this is what is in store for me
next ).

Jeff

Marie,

My fiancee will be arriving in California April 4th on a K-1 so we're also aware of
the issues with the EAD. I was just over visiting her in Italy, and on my way back
(my POE was JFK), I went in the INS office to see if I could find out about them
giving the EAD for K-1's. When I asked, the INS woman looked at me very nonchalantly,
and said "Yes". I said "Always?....do they always get the EAD stamp?", and she said
"Yes, always". I was pretty surprised, and afterwards I wondered if she just said
that to get rid of me or what. Well, take it for what it's worth. Maybe JFK is the
place to make your POE.

I've been reading up on the employment issue, and I've found that K-1 visa holders
are entitled to get the 90 work permit (I guess everyone on this newsgroup knows
this). It seems that the percieved difficulty is getting a SSN if they don't give you
the 90-day EAD card or stamp at the POE. But reading the "emergency memo" from the
SSA (EM-00154), it clearly states that K-1 visa holders are entitled to get a SSN
immediately. Here's what it says:

"A nonimmigrant alien in K-1 alien status is authorized to work based on that status
and is no longer required to show an employment authorization document (EAD) as proof
of employment authorization when applying for a Social Security Number (SSN) card"
"When an alien in k-1 status applies for an original or replacement SSN card, accept
as proof of employment authorization either an unexpired
- I-94 showing the alien is admitted as a K-1 for a 90-day period; OR
- EAD (Form I-688B showing "274A.12(A)(6)" on the face of the card under
Provision of Law or Form I-766 showing "A-6" on the face of the card under
Category). "Some I-94s issued to K-1s are stamped or annotated "EMPLOYMENT
AUTHORIZED," and some are not. EITHER WAY, the I-94 is proof a K-1 alien is
authorized to work."

From what I read of peoples personal experiences (in California anyway, since that's
where we'll be living), it was a relatively painless process to get the SSN card:
Walk into the SSA office, fill out the form and submit it with proper ID. It sounded
like most people hade the card in 2 weeks or less. If it's taking too long to get the
SS card, apparently you can call in a few days after submitting the paperwork for the
card and they'll give you the number over the phone. I hope that what I've read is
correct, because after we read all this, we decided to quit worrying about which POE
she'd have the best chance of getting the EAD stamp/card.

Here's a link to "Social Security Number Experiences" : www.kamya.com/ssn for more
info. If you want a copy of the EM-00154, just do a google search and you should get
several hits. One more thing, there's a SSA FAQ at http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov. Go
there and click on "Find an answer to your question". Do a search for "K-1", and
there's an answer to this question of a K-1 getting a SSN.

Good luck, Jeff

"marie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > hi sonny,
    >
    > Can i ask you something ? what airport did you land on when you entered
with
    > your K1? because most INS officers dont give you work authorization but some INS
    > officers do... seems like you got lucky because you got what they call the "EAD" !
    > I would like to know what airport that is because i will land there too
then!
    > well i will try to that is! You just have to fall on the right officer!: )
    >
    > yep i really think that you are allowed to work....but wait for a few more answers
    > because i am not a specialist....

Shelley

see answers below

"Sonny" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Just arrived in the US on a Fiance (K1 Visa). Arrival/Departure card stamped- Class
    > Until: June 23, 02 and on the reverse- Employment Authorized: June 23, 02. So happy
    > and relieved!! What I'm wondering about is this -:
    >
    > 1)Am I authorized to take up employment?

Yes, but you will need a Social Security Card before you can work. Once you have that
you can work until June 23rd.

    > 2)The next stage is that we get married and apply for adjustment of status, right?

That's right. You will need to file the I-485 with I-864 for AOS, I-131 for advance
parole if you wish to travel outside the US, and the I-765 for the 1 year EAD card so
you can keep working. see www.k1faq.com for all the details

    > 3)How much longer before I get my provisional green card?

Depends on what office you are filing at - it could be anywhere from 5 months to 4
years from the day you file. For current local office timelines see
http://members.aol.com/MDUdall/instimes.htm