My now wife came over on a K1 visa. According to the guide, you should wait a couple weeks after entry into the US before applying for a Social Security (SS) card. Well, due to circumstances that was difficult to change, we had the wedding about two weeks after she came here.

No, problem, I thought, we would just go to the SS office after the wedding and apply for a number. Well, the officer there told us that since we were married, the K1 visa was no longer valid and that we would have to wait until after she got her work authorization documentation to ally for the SS card. I was not amused.

I've since filed for the AOS and work authorization (and she has even had her biometrics done), but her not having a SS card is causing problems. She can't get a driver's license, and I can't file my taxes jointly.

Any advice? Was I told wrong? Should I expect the work authorization docs soon?

Thanks

-ZG

EAD takes about three months and the SSN a couple weeks after that.

You can file joint taxes by filing a W7 form for her to get an ITIN. You must file by mail though.

The Social Security office is correct. A fiancé(e) is work authorised incident to status, but once the alien marries he or she is no longer a fiancé/fiancée.

We went thru the same thing when my husband got here. We got married in October and filed for everything in Nov. By the end of January we had his Ead and he now has his ssn. I have filed my taxes to be amended. Which is something you may want to consider doing.

I'd go to a different SSA office. This time just hand over the form, the passport , the birth certificate, and say "I'm on a K1 visa and I'm applying for a SSN number" then say nothing else. Don't volunteer any further information

it worked for me - I was married and I'd filed to adjust status

Thats total fruad and they will see in the system that you are married. There is no way you can do it.

Not fraudulent but cleverly done to save weeks/months on end of people screwing around with your paperwork.


Clever!! At the end of the day you had a K1 visa so nothing should make any difference. Congratulations on your marriage

How will they see in the system you are married?? Only if you gave your SSN on your marriage license and since he had none, no way to track it. Don't make blanket statements that "There is no way you can do it." Clearly this poster did.

Tom G - well done. I wish more people on this board used a little common sense and did what they need to do to get things done rather just moaning and complaining after not following the K1 flow chart and things don't go their way.

why would that be fraud? you are not lying, just not telling everything! and how would they see that you are married?

As you can see from my timeline, I got married Oct-12 and applied for a SSN Nov-7. I showed them my passport with K-1 Visa & I-94 and my marriage certificate. My application was processed with my married name and I received my card within 2 weeks - NO FUSS. I'm of the understanding that it is the I-94 that drives eligibility up to 2 weeks prior to expiry.

I tried applying in my married name but the system wouldn't accept it so they filed my SSN in my maiden name. The only problem is I can't work with this SSN, it states on it that I have to have EAD approval. So they told me when I get my EAD to go back with that and my marriage certificate to remove the conditions and put it in my married name on it.

That's exactly right. You should apply for a SSN in maiden name, then change the name when the EAD or GC arrives.
BTW, we did the same thing with her state ID card. No problem.

so why was I allowed to apply for my SSN and receive it AFTER I was married, and BEFORE I even applied for AOS/EAD/AP ??

Sorry, DM, but your statement is incorrect. I, also, applied for, and received, my SSN after marriage and prior to filing for AOS.

ZG, search for posts by member name I_Quit. You'll be able to find correct SSA information and suggestions from him.

One would have to question when the K-1 expires. On the 90th day or when you get married. To me, I think it expires on the 90th day. There is nothing on the K1 or I94 stating that it expires on the day of your marriage.

We have a totally different issue with the SS Card (because of her birth date being wrong at INS..and I might add ONLY at INS for some strange reason) However, when we were at the SS administration office...we could have gotten a SS Card whether married or not. EAD or not at this time in our process. This is what WE were told.

Hello Everybody,

My fiancee just had his interview and got the visa. He will be coming to LA in 2 weeks and I want to get going on his AOS. I had read somewhere in these forums that upon entering the US, he could ask the customs agent for some EAD stamp which would allow him to work for 90 days until the AOS goes through. Anyone know about this?

Thanks in advance,
Sonia

Only given at JFK and it is only good for 90 days. If your AOS takes longer than 90 days, you are supposed to stop working, leaving a gap. I don't know if any one has successfully managed to work continuously. You would have to get married and file AOS almost immediately upon entry for a chance.

I should learn to look, before opening my mouth, and I can't find Mike's dissertation on this because it was on the former VisaJourney forum (before the switch). Maybe things have changed...

The SSA office should have accepted the application if they outright turned you away. It's not their call to say you are work authorized or not after getting married. If you didn't submit an application you have the option of trying another office and either applying in the maiden name and keeping quiet about being married or try again with the married name and take your chances. Send the e-mail too.

SSA has no iway of knowing you are married unless you open your big mouth.

Had a woman recently that the local office said she no longer had K-1 after getting married and the office wanted to send the G-845 to verify her status before even entering the application into the system. The Regional Office intervened and she had her SSN the next day.

What throws the people in the SSA offices due to not having processed many if any applications for people with K-1 status is that it's labeled as K-1- fiancé of U.S. citizen in POMS, so now that you are married you aren't a fiancé and the K-1 status must not be valid. The other good one is that POMS has K-3 -- spouse of U.S. citizen and they tell people to go apply for a K-3 visa now that they are married.

There was one case of immigration sending the G-845 back to say a K-1 wasn't valid after getting married, but the woman that wrote EM-00154 got it straightened out with immigration and this was a couple years ago. Haven't heard of immigration saying a person with K-1 status wasn't a K-1 after getting married in a while.

Not fraud, because the SSA office was wrong for turning them away. The only way the SSA office should turn you away is if your I-94 is within 14 days of expiring when you try to apply.

Not going to be issued an SSN card with the conditions removed until you have an I-551 stamp or card. With an EAD card you will still be issued a card with "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION"

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html#types

Thanks! I was hoping you'd chime in and put us all straight.



Yikes!

Interesting, however I didn't volunteer the information, the person there explicitly asked if we were already married when I simply asked to apply for a CC number. Sorry, but I am not programmed to lie when asked a direct question.

I thank everyone for the responses. Based on the information I've read, she should get her work authorization fairly soon.

I wonder if the Visa Journey guide should be updated to warn against what happened to me?

-ZG

The K1 flow chart clearly states to get the SSN around two weeks after the POE and BEFORE getting married. If you had applied then, you wouldn't have had any issues at all.

Not true. The work authorized status is based on class of entry and has nothing to do with whether you got married. The clerk at the SSA office gave us the same urban myth response when we went to apply. We educated the clerk with facts and received the SSN based on K1 entry, after marriage, in married name.

Yes. Which the initial work authorization pretty useless.

Hello? Not fraud at all......I begin to wonder if folks cause their own trouble and complicate things. Sorry to be blunt, but go read through this VISA JOURNEY page, print it off as they suggest and go apply for the SSN. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...om&page=ssn

I came on my K1 in Nov, married, applied a few weeks later for my SSN in my married name no less and the lady at the office didn't blink an eye. She understood it and didn't even want to see the info I had printed from here (but glad I was prepared) (John& marlene's post indicates this as well)

There is a huge range of understanding amongst the SSN office employees, some seem very familiar with what is allowable, some do not. I have no idea whether thats in part due to some areas may experience more immigrant traffic and this come across these siyuations more often or what. You may need to be insistent or try a different tact, politely of course.

While it might appear to be untrue to you, check out the comments from "I Quit", who is the best source of inside information for the protocol within SSA. The problem of determining that a K-1 fiancé, upon marriage, ceased to be eligible had occured in the past, but happily, from his contribution to this conversation, it looks like the SSA has resolved that in recent years.

to the original poster: go to a different SSA office and try again. They are all over the place. I went to the Reno office because I happened to be in lake tahoe, but i was more than prepared to try every office all the way back to the bay area (and beyond)