Hi,
Thanks for advance for answering these 3 not very interesting questions! :-)
1) in the process of creating a CR-1 visa for Russian woman, is it necessary to submit the DS-156 form?

2) when the DS-230 form is submitted for the same CR-1 visa, should I check the "YES" box at the end of the form which says:
"Do you want the Social Security Administration to assign you an SSN (and issue a card) or issue you a new card (if you have an SSN)? You must answer "Yes" to this question and to the "Consent To Disclosure" in order to receive an SSN and/or card."

My wife wishes to work in the United States soon after she arrives. So, the SSN would be good in this way.
However, my wife's name was changed to my last name in Russia when we were married. Also, as usual the transliteration of the English by the Russian government was very poor.
So, I am thinking that if I go myself to the local Social Security office with my wife where I live after she arrives in the United States with a Russian marriage certificate which reads the English name correctly and an official and correct English translation made in Russia of the Russian marriage certificate, perhaps, the local Social Security office will issue a Social Security card using the correct name from the Russian marriage certificate and its official English translation.
Is this use of the local Social Security office really possible or will they simply look at her Russian passport and CR-1 stamps inside it and use the badly incorrect English name?

3) will the lack of a request for a SSN on the DS-230 form cause any problems with the visa being issued with the 1 year EAD stamp inside her Russian visa?

Again, thank you for responding! :-)
LLJ45

I assume the spelling is wrong in her passport? SSA, unfortunately, looks primarily at the spelling of the immigrant's name in her passport, visa, and I-94 - all of which have to match the passport spelling. You can try it with the marriage certificate - but in my case, this trick did not work. I applied for SS card with my lame passport spelling and then filed AOS with the correct spelling. After EAD arrives, I'll have to make another trip to SSA and change the name. I think that's what you'll have to do, eventually.

No - that is the application form used for K-1 and K-3 visas, not CR-1/IR-1.


I say, yes, that will make it possible to get the SSN card as soon as possible (although it will be a special social security number beginning with 729 thru 733, if that matters to you). However, that being said, do not sit at home waiting for the SS card for very long after arriving in the U.S. Go into the SS office 5-10 days after you arrive with her passport and birth & marriage certificates (with translations), fill out Form SS-5, and for the question "Have you ever applied for or received a social security number before?", check "I Don't Know." They will check the computer to see if the SS card has already been processed, and if not, process your SS-5 number application then and there.



Social security usually wants to see a translated birth certificate in addition to your marriage certificate and passport. They will probably spell the name the way you get it translated on the birth certificate and marriage certificate, but don't be so sure that is the way you want it to be. A bigger name issue usually is the passport being still in the premarried name, and so the visa is issued in the premarried name too, and the permanent resident card too! The way the name is spelled on the visa will likely be the way your State will want it spelled on the driver's license/state ID card, which will be her primary identification in the U.S. of course. If you do get a SS card automatically through the visa application, those two spellings will match since both documents came from the same application (the DS-230). Spouses do not have to legally have the same last name. You will be able to fix that eventually if don't like it, but it will take time and money and be a hassle.


None at all. In fact, there is not necessarily a special I-551 stamp given anymore. The CR-1/IR-1 visa contains a special message on it that once you enter the U.S. with it, the visa itself shall serve as a temporary I-551 stamp. For employment purposes, however, the social security card together with state photo ID can also prove employment authorization the same as they do for you today.

Hi, Chris Parker and Blues Fairy
Thank you for helpful information on these questions!
With Respect, LLJ45

This is exactly what we had to do as well. (After about the sixth trip to the SSA office!)