Rete

Why in heaven's name would you do such an assinine thing? The AOS fee includes the fee for the EAD. If you apply separately you have to pay again for something you were entitled to apply for when you submitted the I-485.

Absolutely false. Plus there is nothing technical about it. A K-1 visaholder is not entitled to Advance Parole. Nor is a K-1 visaholder entitled to an EAD. The K-1 visaholder has the inherent right to work for the 90 days of the validity of the K-1 visa but a 90 day EAD/Card is no longer an entitlement.

One does not need to have all the vaccines completed at the time of the submission of the AOS or for the submission for an Employment Authorization Document and/or Advance Parole. It is necessary that the vaccinations be complete at the time of the AOS interview.

However, for the OP, since she is near to the age of 27 where the requirement is no longer manadory, even if she does not complete the series, she should not have a problem with adjusting status.

Rete

I believe you need to reword your reply. An I-485 is not acceptable without the medical. It would be rejected if the medical were not submitted along with the petition or as noted an RFE issued.

TracyTN

I wasn't saying you should do it, nor did I do it myself. I have heard of people who have, for whatever reasons. Possibly they didn't think they need to/wanted to work when first applying, but then their circumstances changed?

I have also been told by people who did it that you do not have to pay another fee if you do apply for it after the fact. They sent in the NOA1 from their I 485 and did not have to pay anymore fees.

I have no personal experience of this, however, as my husband applied before the fee increase.

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. First of all, a K1 visa is no longer valid after entry into the US; status is derived at that moment from the I 94. They then have 90 days in which to marry the petitioner.

After the I 94 has expired (generally 90 days after entry), status is derived off the pending I 485 application. The way it was explained to me (by a former CBP officer) is that they are in a "Period of Stay authorized by the Attorney General" and are determined to be in the country legally while waiting for a determination of their status.

If for some reason they have not yet applied for AOS, then they are no different than anyone else who has overstayed their period of authorized stay...meaning they could be subject to removal.

http://www.familybasedimmigration.co...?p=11333#11333


You're right; on it's own merit, a person who simply holds a K1 visa is not 'entitled' to AP or EAD. They may only apply for these benefits after they have entered the country using their visa and have married the petitioner within 90 days.

I'm not following your logic about an 'inherent right to work' and the 90 days. If a K1 visa holder gets the temp EAD stamp at the POE, that stamp is good for 90 days (presumably the same time period that the I 94 is valid). Once that has passed, then they need an EAD card to legally continue working.

And yes - it is true that the vaccinations would not need to be up to date until the interview (when the determination would be made about the green card). But what about people who do not interview? Presumably part of the reason they were approved without interview is because everything in their AOS packet was complete - including the vaccination information.

Personally, I'd rather send in a complete AOS packet (including vaccination record) and give myself the best chance possible that I won't be interviewed. I may still be, but even if I am, I know that I still do not have to worry about completing any vaccination requirements.

Knight

Sorry, where I said "medical" I meant to say "vaccination", and that it would be possible to submit the I-485 without the vaccination supplement if the vaccination record was not complete, and then supply the supplement following any subsequent RFE.

Rete

The K-1 is a one time USE visa which allows you to enter the US for the sake of marrying your sponsoring USC finacee. You cannot leave the US and return on that visa. You cannot apply for advance parole on that visa. Because the K-1 is activated does not mean it is not valid. If it was invalid you would not have the right to work for the 90 days noted on the I-94. This 90 day period is the activation period of the K-1 in which you must marry and which allows you the right to apply for and obtain a social security card and the apply for and work in the US.

The problem is that employers are not educated about this and that the dingbats who made up the I-9 aren't any smarter.

The CBP officer was correct. After the 90 day validity of the I-94 which indicates that you activated your K-1 is up, you are out of status until you have filed for AOS. Once AOS is filed for, you are again in status, as "pending" adjustment.


The K-1 visaholder is allowed to work without a formal EAD in their possession. The problem is that employers do not understand that the K-1 visa includes USCIS authorization to work for the 90 day period of its validity (as marked on the I-94). This is the inherent right to work.

At one time all POE's gave the EAD. It was generally phased out during the last ten years at both land crossings between Canada and the US and Mexico and the US and at airport terminals. The EAD is only paper proof of the right to work. The right to work is part of the K-1 itself.

The granting of AOS status without interview is only a small percentage. While the percentage has been slowly increasing over the years, it is still not a large base and one cannot do anything but hope that they will be lucky enough to be chosen to take part in this windfall.

If they are chosen and their supplements are not complete, they will:

1. Be issued an RFE for the completed supplement and/or
2. Be forwarded to the DO for an interview.

Knight

Doesn't CFR 8.274a.12 say they need to apply for an EAD to take up employment, even though they are authorized to work?

Any alien who is within a class of aliens described in paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6)-(a)(8), (a)(10)-(a)(15), or (a)(20) of this section, and who seeks to be employed in the United States, must apply to U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a document evidencing such employment authorization.

(a)(6) being a K1 or K2 holder.

TracyTN

Yep and yep. I think we are just having a slight breakdown on semantics - but now I believe we are in agreement on these points.

Reading what Knight has just posted....I gotta think on this a bit more.

I'm not sure anymore about 'small percentage'. From the three boards I frequent, it seems to be more and more commonplace. Of course, the boards themselves are only a small cross section of the population actually in the AOS phase. I wish we had more concrete numbers on it - it'd be nice for the USCIS to pass along that information, but alas!

And I agree about the two courses of action if the vaccination supplement is not complete. All I was saying is it was worth it to my husband and I to go through a little bit of effort to get the vaccination supplement completed if there was even a remote chance of not being interviewed for his green card. That's a decision each applicant must make for themselves.

Rete

Yes and no. The document could be a stamp. A stamp authorizing the K-1 holder to work can be obtained at the POE, i.e. JFK Airport in New York. In years pass, you sometimes were able to obtain that stamp at the DO and/or get the EAD card itself there the same day as applying. Of you can apply through the online services of USCIS and hope that it is obtained before the end of the 90 day period.

Also a bone of contention is the fact that the receipt of filing for the EAD should be sufficient proof to begin work as you have x number of days in which to provide the actual card. I want to say 90 days but I would have to go back and check it again and it has been a while since I've done that.

So if the K-1 applied the day after entry online and has a receipt, there they go. But again, make an employer understand that.

Knight

Yeah, I understand that the stamp is an official EAD in the same way that an I-551 stamp is just like a green card. K1 holders who don't get the stamp need to apply for an EAD to work though. They can't just work based on their status as a K1 holder.

The 90 day period associated with receipts doesn't cover K1 applicants, based on the wording of the rules in the associated handbook to the I-9:

"In certain circumstances, employers, recruiters and referrers for a fee must accept a receipt in lieu of a List A, List B, or a List C document if one is presented by an employee. A receipt indicating that an individual has applied for initial work authorization or for an extension of expiring work authorization is NOT acceptable proof of employment eligibility on the Form I-9. Receipts are never acceptable if employment lasts less than 3 business days.
Receipts and other documents that serve as proof of temporary employment eligibility that employers can accept are:
1. Receipts for the application of a replacement document where the document was lost, stolen, or destroyed, which can be a List A, List B, or List C document. The employee must present the replacement document within 90 days from the date of hire."

ian-mstm

The key word here is "evidencing". The K-1 is authorized to work upon entry... but the EAD provides proof of that authorization. Regardless, the K-1 is still authorized to work... although you'd be hard pressed to prove that to an employer.

Ian

Knight

Yes, they are authorized to work, but to be employed, they need an authorization document. The fact they are authorized to work I assume is only to allow them to obtain an SSN, because because authorized to work without an EAD does them no good when trying to get a job/filing out an I-9.

TracyTN

To my knowledge, the SSA's rules for 'work authorized' and immigration's rules for 'work authorized' are two different things.

The only time they really 'cross paths' is that the SSN of a K1 holder will say 'Valid for work only with DHS authorization' (paraphrasing). And of course, that demarkation will be removed upon receipt of the green card (provided the alien goes to the SSA and informs them of the GC).

Rete

Not true or at the very least it was not true in the past. I don't know when the cite you are quoting from was established.

Now I'm assuming that both you and TracyTN are thinking that the K-1's right to work is relatively new. It is not. The K-1 has always had the right to work since its inception. In the beginning the actual card was issued at the POE. Later when the machines broken down and were not replaced, the stamp was issued. Then for whatever reason (and I can assume a few good ones here), even that stopped at the POE. Just because the card and/or stamp is not given, does not mean that the right to work is not there as part of the visa. SSN's were given to people whenever they went in to apply for one before. You did not need work authorization in order to receive it. This is a new development.

Rules, procedures, etc. change over the years and Congress does not necessarily issue these changes with thought to the complete process of the visa they are changing. Such is the case of the 90 day EAD. At one time it was issued instanteously at the DO. Then it changed to having to apply by mail. Then it changed to online application. And then the wait times changed.

You will never find anything in the USCIS rules and regulations that is not a patchwork quilt. EAD's is just one of many other quilts the agency has fabricated over the years.

TracyTN

Actually, I'm not thinking that. The only way you and I got off track on that at all is you were talking about the actual 'right' to work simply by having a K1; I was talking about getting the proof (EAD stamp or card) which is the only way that an employer will see a K1er as work authorized.

As far as K1ers and SSN's are concerned, you do NOT need the EAD card in order to get an SSN. The SSA sees you as work authorized simply by the fact that you arrived here on a K1.

If you arrive here on a K3, you will need the EAD card from USCIS in order to receive an SSN.

Knight

Which part is not true, or at very least was not true in the past? The fact that K1s need an EAD to work, or they are work authorized to allow them to get an SSN?

I've read that K1s used to be able to get a card from a DO or that the stamp was always given out, but these things have been phased out.

I don't assume that you need an EAD to get an SSN, you either need to be in a visa class that is work authorized or that you have an EAD. The K1 would be the former of the two.