Hey does anyone here know what you have to do so your fiancee can work when she gets to the USA? What does she have to do to be able to work? I know the fiancee visa is work authorized, and she is flying through jfk and getting the stamp! So my question is what does she have to do when she gets her to work, and how long does this normally take?
Much thanks everyone, you guys are always really helpful

Apply for SSN, most employers will requite it.

K-1 Can work with EAD, most employers will not hire a person unless they provide proof of work authorization, that is EAD stamp or card.

NOTE: K-1 is not a work visa, it is a fiancee visa for entry to the USA and marriage, K-1 is "Work Auth" primarily to be able to get the SSN, some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have SSN, this can cause a problem with marriage license if only one person has SSN and the other (the K-1 holder) does not.

Best thing to do is marry, and file for adjustment of status along with EAD. EAD costs nothing when applied for with AOS, based on pending I-485.

You will probably run into ignorance and people being afraid to hire her because they dont know what the rules are. Most people think if you dont have a green card that you are not employable, which could be incorrect in some circumstances, like having the EAD stamp in the passport. But that stamp is only good for 90 days and when it expires, she will not be able to legally work unless she has her green card by then, which she wont. So, not only will you run into finding people who understand the rules, you will also run into people who dont want to go thru the trouble of hiring only for 90 days.

You will have better luck once she gets the Green card, but I wouldnt expect her to be much of a contributer until then.

Maybe she can just get a steady baby-sitting job? It pays pretty well.

House keeping pays well too. And if she has other abilities working for cash never hurts. There are something like 12 million undocumented folks doing just fine here.

But look at things from this perspective. According to the immigration law, all unlawful employment and overstays are forgiven at the AOS interview due to adjustment based on marriage to a US citizen.

For once, Satellite and I agree. Our mission will be for Alla to secure some cash basis work too to help cover the added expenses.

One of the great advantages of the CR-1 visa is getting a green card immediately upon arrival in the USA. This allows finding legitimate work quickly and there's no $1000 AOS fee.

If sometime chooses K-1, then they can't complain about work issues...the rules are clear. The EAD solution takes time and is limited.

Cheating the government out of taxes and taking a job from a legit worker is a dubious solution to earning income. And I wouldn't allow my wife to be a motel maid or scrub floors at some office building regardless of the situation. If someone can't support their wife for a few months, why bring her here? Save some money and/or borrow enough to get by until she (he) can legally work.

And let's be realistic, how quickly can a Russian woman with little to moderate understanding of English find a decent job? I think it could take up to 6 months to one year to adapt and settle into the life here in the US. The only exception might be if she works for or with other Russians here. In some cities this might be a real possibility but others remote.

Well, she's coming in through JFK and getting the stamp, so she won't be working illegally. The issue is that if she found a legitimate job, she'd have to give it up while waiting for adjustment of status.

Re: the maid thing... that's why I suggested baby-sitting for her. Remember, the OP and his girl are 20 years old. A 20-year-old girl baby-sitting is perfectly normal. In the summer, especially if you have a driver's license and can shuttle kids around, you can easily find a job baby-sitting for the same family every day. I've done it several times. A lot of families would probably like having a Russian baby-sitter, because then she could teach their kids Russian and make them sooo smart.

Who said anything about cheating their tax obligations. Ever heard of the Individual Tax Identification Number. The IRS has received tax returns from illegal immigrants through this system for over a decade.
See source below:
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/feat...onessb_illegal/

Who said anything about scrubbing floors. If your lady has other abilities such as say tutoring math, performing as a musician at weddings, parties, etc., teaching ballet lessons, or even doing freelance translations there are more jobs available to her.

Very quickly, if you live in a place with a large Russian speaking community. In San Francisco you can get hired in just about any business that caters exclusively to Russian speakers. Check out the classifieds at http://baraban.com/

I thought you needed an SSN to file taxes. I don't have a problem with odd jobs but that takes time to plug in to and is hit an miss. I already agreed with you about finding jobs in cities with Russian communities. I know a Russian couple who came over on a tourist visa for 6 months and have worked the whole time...and they don't know a word of English. Of course, they're probably working for less than minimum wages...but it is money.

Without revealing my sources I too know a Russian couple that came over on a 3 months tourist visa and found jobs in San Francisco as a personal assistant to a 90 year old man for $1400 a month and the lady found a job cleaning homes for two ladies at $10 an hour. Well above minimum wage in both cases.

My fiancee is both fluent in ENGLISH and RUSSIAN as weel as a few other languages we met in the USA!

Whatever you do, do not allow your fiancee to fall into the trap of working for Russian firms or Russian people when she arrives.

Why not?

I am sure groovlstk has his reasons but here are the common problems I have seen:
1. Russians continue to operate and treat their fellow employees as if they were in Russia.
2. They might not pay all or some of the agreed upon salary.
3. You learn English at a slower pace.

You forgot one...the boss may want sexual favors.

not again!!!!!!!!!!

men are men. вот и все.

Realistically, she's going to be hard pressed to find a job other than working in a restaurant or light retail/customer service setting, and that's if they'll even hire her. If you guys live in a metro area, it's possible that she can find a decent job doing something, but as said above, most places are pretty aprehensive to hire new immigrants. If she can speak English well that will really help her out.

The other problem you may run into is how to get her to/from work everyday. Mull that one over for a while too.


And since no one else has said it yet, SAVE YOUR MONEY RIGHT NOW!!!! You're going to need it. It's extremely hard to be young and make it. My wife and I are just now (a year and a half after her arrival) starting to get where we're comfortable financially, and she hates her job but works it just to keep some money coming in. She wasn't able to work for the first nine or ten months, so that really took a toll. Keep whatever money you have or pay off whatever bills you can. Trust me, she's not going to "pull her own weight" for quite a while, even if she is working.

I know a good number of Russian people in the NYC area. All who work for Russians or Russian firms are paid a pittance and treated poorly. The managers of such firms know that most expats come to work for them because their English is not up to snuff or they don't yet have the confidence to leave their comfort zones, which gives them wide lattitude for abuse. (And this is not a knock against Russians - many immigrants are subject to this if they are reluctant to integrate yet want to work).

We have friends who've been in the US for 8+ years, and those working for Russian firms can't speak a lick of English - and they probably never will because they never leave their protective Russian enclaves. I've noticed that those Russians who never integrated are, in general, unhappy with their lives here and very critical of the US. I've also noted exactly the opposite in those who learned English, have American friends, etc.

On a separate note, I'd encourage guys who have fiancees planning to work in the US when they arrive to be protective but not cloying. My wife accepted her first two job offers yet quit after a single day at each. There are companies out there, small firms in particular, that will see her immigrant status and lack of perfect English as an opportunity to exploit her. Be it for something as heinous as requiring sex or simpler abuses like no vacation time and long hours, involve yourself in her job search and be patient. If she hates her work it's bound to carry over into her personal life; a little patience and understanding while she finds a job she enjoys can go a long way.

a holder of a K-1 visa is eligible for work regardless of a Employment Authorization stamp on his K-1 visa in the passport, or an Employment Authorization card.

Here is a relevant page from the Social Security Administration Manual. Please refer to Section C, Paragraph 1 that states that
a holder of a K-1 visa is "authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The person’s I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD. "

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/010020350

Don't listen to lawyers or anyone else---this information is directly from social security.

Got a 404 error on the link

The problem isnt the legality, the problem is finding an employer that understands the legality. Try telling a potential employer that they are wrong, dont understand the law, and by the way, heres the relevant documentation that I printed from the SSA website.

The employer doesnt have to hire her, and they are probably not going to take what they percieve as a risk in hiring a foreigner without a greencard. Regardless of what proof you show them otherwise. It is just easier and safer just to say 'NO thanks' than to research it to find out the real deal.

^what bobalouie said. The best thing to do might be to find someone you or your family already know well who can employ her, if it's possible.