jackieblack

Ok, so I've been reading through posts all afternoon and am still a little fuzzy on the work situation. When my fiance comes over, will he be able to work immediately or will he have to wait a few months or how does it work? Also, do we have to be married for him to work? I'm very confused..
We'll be living in Northern California, if that makes any difference.

LucyMO

well, it depends on what kind of visa your fiance will arrive on. You need to be more specific.

wesleygolf

My fiancee started working already even without EAD. She came over on a K-1 visa. We have applied for EAD anyway because i am sure the need will arise eventually. It helps them adjust to the culture and people, but even then it is difficult for awhile. We are going through that right now. Things have improved since she started her job and thats a very good thing for us.

We did get married before she obtained the position though. It probably helped that she can speak 3 languages too. Good Luck!!

mcjimbo

Take a look at some of the help guides over at Visajourney:

http://www.visajourney.com/sitemap/

In particular, check out this one for a step by step account of the K1 process, which I assume is the visa you filing as you mentioned bringing your fiancee to the U.S.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?pg=k1flow&

This guide is also useful:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/in...?pg=k1k3ead#k1

James

Bluegrass Lass

Wesley, I don't see how this is legal to do regardless of whether you were married before she started working. Everything that I've read says that she must have her EAD in order to legally work! I suppose if the company she works for doesn't mind that it is illegal, that's one thing, but I wonder if there are any repercussions for non-authorized immigrants to work? On the I-9 form that the employer has to fill out, it specifically requests proof of work authorization if you are a non-USC (I'm pretty sure it does anyway) so I wonder how this company gets around not having that proof for your wife? You may want to consult an attorney to see if you are at risk of having violated some immigration laws.

Jackie, in order to legally work right away, your fiance (assuming he/she enters on a K1) should try to obtain a 90 temporary EAD stamp in his/her passport at the airport. Currently, the only known airport issuing these stamps is JFK. Otherwise, he/she may be able to get the same 90 temp stamp from the local office, if the local office will allow him/her to apply for it (btw, it should be free). However, once that 90 day stamp expires, your fiance is not legal to work, and will need to have the 1 yr (or longer perhaps) EAD in order to continue working. The only way to get the 1 yr is to file the I-485 (after getting married) and the I-765 (EAD form).

Apparently there are employers out there willing to take the risk and hire someone without the proper documents, but I don't know if I'd be willing to take the chance

scrubbedexpat099

I think technically the Temp EAD is the one you can apply for after 91 days waiting for the EAD.

I suppose you could come in through JFK, get the work authorisation stamp, get married immediately, file papers immediately and then only have a week or so gap in work authoriisation.

But then do not most employers also want your SSN?, which takes a month or so.

Bob

After coming to the US, your fiancee CAN legally work until either of these
two things happens: the two of you get married, or 90 days pass from the
date of entry.
The K-1 Visa holder is allowed to work until the K-1 status changes, either
through marriage, or the expiration of the visa(90 days from entry). Now,
here's the problem: in applying for the EAD, you have 2 choices being a K-1
holder. You can apply based on eligibility of a K-1(before you get married
you must use this class(c)(6)) or, you can apply based on marriage to a US
citizen(you must use this class after you're married(c)(9)). See the catch
here? no way to legally work after you get married and before you get the
EAD! Even if you get the temp EAD based on k-1 status, it expires the day
you get married and you have to reapply based on your new status after
you're married. Don't apply for an EAD based on the (C)(6) fiancee
classification. I made this mistake, the INS took my $120 and sent me a
letter 4 months later saying"sorry, you picked (c)(6), fiancee via holder,
and now your fiancee visa has expired, so NO EAD for you based on this
classification, and there are no refunds, nor does the INS allow you to
change your classification after you submit it.
    :-(.
just remember this, as this is what my wife and I did.:
get a job before you get married, the K-1 Visa alone IS authorization to
work, most people don't realize it, but you don't need anything other than
the unexpired visa in your passport. I have a letter from somebody in the
state dept, or the INS somwhere saying exactly that, it's also posted on a
couple of the K-1 visa FAQ websites.
After you're working, get married and file for an EAD and AOS the same day
or day after based on the (c)(9) class"adjustment applicant" It's expensive
to do AOS and EAD at the same time, but it's the way to go. technically,
you'll be working illegally from the day you marry until the day you get
your EAD in the mail, but as long as your office doesn't get raided by INS
(lol, hope you don't go to work in a sweatshop) the it should be a non-issue
at your AOS interview. We told the officer exactly what happened to us, that
I applied for the EAD on the (c)(6) class and got denied, but my wife was
working before we were married and we filed for EAD with AOS. He said,
"don't worry about it, it happens all the time and it's not a big deal, you
tried to do the right thing, so don't worry about it" hope this helps.
Justin
"jackieblack" <member26927@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected] m...
    > Ok, so I've been reading through posts all afternoon and am still a
    > little fuzzy on the work situation. When my fiance comes over, will he
    > be able to work immediately or will he have to wait a few months or how
    > does it work? Also, do we have to be married for him to work? I'm very
    > confused..
    > We'll be living in Northern California, if that makes any difference.
    > --
    > jacqueline blackPosted via http://britishexpats.com

whistlestop01

Ignore Wesleygolf!!! It is illegal for any company to hire you without an EAD.

You are able to get a temp EAD on the POE but I think only JFK (New York) are giving these out. This expires in 90 days.

Otherwise, once you marry you will have to mail in the EAD/AOS forms and wait till you get the card in the mail. With these forms you will get NOA's and if you don't get your card within 90 days after that notice date you can walk in to your local office and get an interim card. You will have to go in for your fingerprinting/biometrics appointment in this time.

It will take time unfortunately.

Good Luck xx

Alistair

I see a lot of advice dispensed on here about people not working for months after arriving, and I know that when I arrived we wanted to get straight on with life, buy a house etc. rather than struggling by on one income for 6 months.

I understood that a K1 visa entitled me to work from day 1, but when I arrived in January this year, I waited a month for everything to be entered into the various databases, then went to my local USCIS office (Newark, NJ) and applied for an EAD card. It was a long and boring day, but eventually they gave me a 90 day card - This card was valid for a full 90 days, which was about a month after the K1 expired.

As soon as we got married, I applied for a renewal, and last week I got a 1 year card, which was dated from the day my 90 day card expired. From this, it looks to me like you should be okay to work as long as you get a 90 day card at the local office before you get married, and apply for renewal before it expires. I am not a lawyer or anything - this is just my personal experience.

By the way, getting the 90 day card also seemed to speed up the Social Security process too - I got my SS card about 10 days after the EAD card.

wesleygolf

Regardless of what you say or think my wife is working. As a matter of fact she is working today. You may think you know it all but you dont. You can say all you want about NO company will hire you without EAD but you are totally wrong. As I stated earlier, she is working and no matter what you say or anyone else says, she has a job, ss#, State issued ID, and having taxes taken out of her salary just like everyone else in this country. When the EAD comes we will have it of course, but she is working right now.

Note: The company that she works for is a fortune 200 company as well. I guess YOU know more than they do. !! As for myself, I own my own company and you have no idea who you are talking to.

sibsie

So why does USCIS say this...

Taken from

http://uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/ins...-8cfrsec274a12

Ray

Perhaps your wife's employer woukd care to read INA: ACT 274A
The act of working without an EAD will not effect your AOS but may result in a fine .. I seem to remember the last one was for $1000

http://uscis.gov/lpBin/lpext.dll/ins...=templates&2.0

wesleygolf

Thanks for your reply. When my wife began her job search we both thought the same thing. We were convinced that she would need EAD to actually get the job, but she wanted to interview with a few companies. She figured they would tell her that as soon as she recieved EAD then she could come back with it and maybe start to work then. But, a Major company told her that if she had a ss# and a state issued picture ID, drivers license etc... then she could be hired now. Keep in mind that her employer is a worldwide company and has offices everywhere. It makes sense to us that a company who has thousands of employees across the world would know whether or not to hire without EAD. Anyway, she is working and paying taxes now. If the situation should come up later in the process then we will deal with it then. We will tell the simple truth. My wife is a very intelligent woman with various skills in computers and languages. It was very easy for her to find a good job when the search began, we just didnt think she would be hired at that time. She wanted to get a feel for a few good companies before the EAD came. Who knew she would be hired? It suprised us for sure.

wesleygolf

That may be true. But, even if it is it will be worth it to have a job of this magnitude. She is working very hard, pays taxes, and will have a nice future. So if a fine is imposed then so be it. We will simply tell them that she was offered a position and took it. The truth is all that matters in this case or any other.

Leslie

Is this the same wife that hates this country, is not adjusting at all, and is leaving you to go back home?