I haven't really been reading this site for a while and I was just noticing that it says in quite a few places that your fiance should get their SSN before you get married. We didn't do this! His POE was in Newark, NJ and he didn't get any SSN info there and we just assumed getting married ASAP was the best way. I'm confused at what my next step should be....

Jomo got his SSN only after his AOS was approved and he got his green card.

Has he worked in the USA before? He may have one already. If not, from what I've been reading, he could apply for a SSN# 2 weeks after arriving in the USA. Hopefully, there will be more information for you from other posters to this thread.

His marital status has nothing to do with whether or not he can get a SSN. In fact, some counties require an SSN before issuing a marriage license (go figure how that'd work for K1ers depending on how slow the SSA can be).

(I know you said you've been here a while, but for others - at least in Texas if it's different elsewhere - have to wait 10 days after arrival to apply - can apply on the 10th day.)

To prove your U.S. immigration status, you must show us the current U.S. immigration document, I-94, Arrival/Departure Record, issued to you when you arrived in the United States.

If you are an F-1 or M-1 student, you also must show us your I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Non-immigrant Student Status. If you are a J-1 or J-2 exchange visitor, you must show us your DS-2019, Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status.

source

My fiance arrived on 3/18 at 7 p.m. and was able to apply for his SSN on 3/26 at noon. There was no problem - it was really fast and he was told he'll have his card in the mail in 2 weeks
We're not getting married for another month but I wanted him to have his SSN already. In Florida you do not need a SSN to get married but he'll need it eventually to work, among other things.

I think the reason people say to get your SSN before marriage is there is a lot of confusion on this subject at the Social Security office. We went through this, unfortunately. SS office said that K1 wasn't valid after marriage (which is a lie). As long as his K1 Visa is not expired (and is more than 2 weeks away from expiring), you will be fine. Do not mention marriage status on the application or otherwise in the office, and bring this part of their website with you just in case they give you grief:

https://s044a90.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/36f...b4?OpenDocument

Another VJer showed me this link and it confused us both...the following sentence is copied and pasted, and then when you go down, you see that a K1 is under this category.

The following lists nonimmigrants, by alien classification, who are authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from INS. The alien’s I-94 will not have the INS employment authorization stamp and the alien will not have an EAD.

So it confuses me how everyone talks about applying for the EAD and how long it takes, when the SS site says it's not necessary.

Any ideas about this discrepancy?

I applied for my SSN a month after I was married. Not a problem for me.

My husband didn't apply for his SSN until after we were married and got his green card. Took about 2 weeks and now he has one

Quite correct about bringing Social Security Administration's own notice to any local SS office. We did and it cut off any issues at the start. Marriage DOES NOT change your K-1 visa status and K-1's are legally allowed to work in the USA and therefore entitled to a SSN. K-3s, K-2s and K-4s are a different matter. We did the SSN application at the local office 3 weeks after POE to be sure info was in the government data bases. The application ran through the local terminal and Maria's K-1 status (post-marriage) allowed for an authorization for a SSN. We tried our boy's K-2s to see what would happen and the computer system returned a message to the local office that K-2s were not allowed.

Hello. The Social Security Administration does say that an EAD is not necessary, BUT it does not go on to state that this situation is only good for 90 days. Too bad - they should be more specific. You should apply for the EAD as soon as possible if looking for longterm employment - as a K-1 applicant, we are. Good luck.