I need help on EAD and SSN

[TRYNK 0]

Greetings fellow VJers,

My Wife's Employment Authorization Card just arrived via mail yesterday. (wohooo happy day)

Before i start rambling on... here are some information about our case process....

(not that you guys are interested but this may serve as an estimate for people curious about how long this process took us)

OK so, I petitioned her under the K-3 Visa Classification.

She arrived here on October 31, 2007.

After a month of dilly-dally we filed for an EAD early December.

We received our first Notice of Action (NOA) on December 13, 2007 and thus the long wait started.

On January 14 we obtained our second NOA that ascertained my wife's biometric appointment!

She was scheduled to appear on the 28th of the same month.

We went early thinking it might take long but all it took was a measly 5 minutes and we were outta there.

We were happy that the appointment was fast and that we didnt have any problems but our smiles and celebration

was premature... i dont know about my wife but all i could remember from the words that came out of that clerk's mouth was

"......90 days... days... days... days... " it echoed in my brain as i was falling in my very own proverbial black hole. haha

The clear blue sky then suddenly turned pitch black.

waaaa another long wait...!!!

I think you guys have pretty much an idea to what happened with us in between that day and this day. haha

I will sum it up with some smileys >>> ............ ............. ........... haha

As we played it cool and forgot all about it ... heaven opened its gates on February 25th and

an angel handed us an unexpected letter.. (Angel is the name of our mailwoman)..

when i got a hold of it, the letter felt weird. like it had some kinda card inside that made

the letter tough so it couldnt be bent. The envelope didnt have the usual USCIS heading on it so i didnt start to assume anything.

It was addressed to my wife so i didnt open it and gave it to her. I asked her wondering what

it could be and that if she was expecting something. She said no and right then and there i did what anybody in that situation would do...

I was praying so hard wishing it wasnt one of those CREDIT CARD offers you get in the mail like every week with a hard card inside

that said <YOUR NAME HERE> YOU ARE PRE-APPROVED!!! haha

*tear* *tear* letter was opened and on the middle of the letter i saw my wife's face printed on a white card.

"Hey, thats you", i said. "You applied for something?"

I'll let the smileys tell what happened next (since i love using em.. i guess you guys know that by now)

WIFE: ................a moment of silence................ also a hint of confusion marked on her face due to my idiocy

WIFE to ME: ...................... ...........she then helps me out as my neurons were firing a bit slow

ME: ........... .............. .............. slaps me own forehead "DUH" ................ haha

WIFE: ............. ..............

HAHAHA! Lets Celebrate! wheres a bottle of Coor's Light when you need one!

and that sums up my story.. and also wasted roughly a few minutes of your time. haha

We've been waiting intently for this time to come thus we cannot express how much excitement thrives within us.

Right now, we are in high spirits and very hungry!

We want to get to the buffet line as fast as we can so my wife could..........

Apply for a job (thats been waiting for her before she even arrived in the US),

then

Acquire an SS number,

then

Earn a Driver's License,

then

Secure a Bank Account,

then

I can finally file for my Tax Return as it requires my wife to bear an SS#

then

Use my return to buy my wife some pweeety stuff and what not haha

and also

Use that Tax Return so i can include that in my Affidavit of Support when we file for Adjustment of Status.

Yep! we are hungry alright! hungry for all that GOOD STUFF!

I wish all the best for my Wife! She's a very good Nurse, a great person with a very warm heart.

Such wasted talent sitting on the sofa all day long watching HBO and eating popcorn. and NO shes not a fatty! haha

OK, i think ive expressed enough

I just have a couple of questions that i need clarification on..

(Long intro for such a simple question haha)

~Does having a EAD in hand mean that my wife can start applying/working already? or do we still need to apply for a SSN and

wait to acquire one before applying for jobs? It states here in the letter we received that we may show the EAD to

the employer to indicate that my wife is already authorized to work in the US but someone told me that we should get a SSN first

before applying for the job. so i am a bit confused right now? i just wanted to make sure before we go out humiliating ourselves. haha

I hope someone can shed some light on my concern. thank you so much for reading!

My wife is gonna shake her head from side to side so bad when she reads my post..

shes a frank, very straight forward person..

while i on the other hand am a bit of a storyteller..

if she could edit my post it'll state: Greetings Fellow VJers, then "bammm".. <QUESTIONS>.. Thank you! thats it! haha

P.S. dont count how many "haha's" i put in this post. i am somewhat of a comedy-sitcom-director-wannabe and these hahas in my post are just

some "QUEUEs" if you may, for you guys, on when i think my audience is to LAUGH! "haha"

ChEeRs!

-TRYNK

Edited February 26, 2008 by TRYNK

[David-and-Mae 15]

First, congratulations on the EAD. Second, you are such a good story-teller and I really enjoyed your post. Hahaha! Now on your question, I believe she'll need to apply for SSN before she could apply on that job. With her EAD, it won't be hard for her to obtain a SSN, although it can take at least 1-2 weeks (or longer) since SSA will have to verify everything with DHS (your wife's status...etc.) before they'll issue the number. I suggest going to the SSA now and bring her EAD and other pertinent documents.

--Mae

[I'm Gone 60]

Next time, as they said on Dragnet "Nothing but the facts, ma'am"

The EAD card is proof of authorization to work, which meets the requirements for the Form I-9 the employer must complete and in theoryyou can be hired and paid without an SSN if you have authorization to work, but it might be hard to find an employer that will hire/pay you without your having been assigned an SSN.

You can find SSN and employment information on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Website at:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/intern...=129227,00.html

An individual that entered the United States with K-3 status applying for a work authorized SSN must present evidence at one of our offices to establish his or her age, identity and current lawful employment authorized status.

An individual needs to provide at least two documents as evidence to establish age, identity and current lawful employment authorized status.

From day one of entry into the United States, individuals that have entered the United States with K-3 status must present an I-766 or I-551 to establish current lawful employment authorized status.

RM 00203.500 Employment Authorization for Nonimmigrants:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203500#C1

RM 00203.410 Evidence of Alien Status for an SSN Card for an Alien Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203410

When requesting an SSN card, the documents presented, as evidence must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. SSA cannot accept uncertified or notarized photocopies as evidence.

“If a foreign-born person has the foreign birth certificate (BC) in his/her possession or can easily obtain a copy, he or she must submit it as proof of age. When a person is foreign-born, a BC may not exist, may not have been recorded shortly after birth, or the probative value of the document may not be high. In these situations, we can accept alternative evidence of age in order of probative value. The alternative evidence of age may be less than a year old, e.g., a DHS document or passport.”

You can find detailed information regarding evidence that establishes age on the SSA Website at:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203110

The documents acceptable as evidence of identity are now based on three factors: (1) the applicant’s age, (2) the applicant’s citizenship/alien status, and (3) the relative probative value of documents.

Primary Identity Evidence for an alien:

-- Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (includes temporary I-551 Stamp in combination with an

unexpired foreign passport when the I-551 Permanent Resident Card has not yet been issued)

-- Form I-94, Arrival/departure Record in combination with an unexpired foreign passport

-- Form I-766, Employment Authorization card

Note: Document must be unexpired

You can find detailed information regarding evidence that establishes identity on the SSA Website at:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203200

Take the required documents to the nearest Social Security office and

you can obtain the address and directions to the nearest Social Security office from the Social Security Office Locator, which is available on the Internet at:

http://www.ssa.gov/locator

Note: Applicants who live or receive mail in the Brooklyn, NY, Queens, NY, Phoenix, AZ or Las Vegas, NV area MUST apply in person at one of the Social Security Card Centers.

Card Center Information:

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cf...hp?p_faqid=1412

Normally, an SSN card should be received in the mail within two weeks after the application and document(s) have been received and verified.

However, when an alien requests an SSN or replacement card, SSA must verify his or her documents/current status with the appropriate Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security. If the initial online verification is not possible through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, SSA may need to send a Form G-845 to the appropriate Bureau of the Department of Homeland Security for manual verification.

Since 01/06/2007 Social Security field offices can submit an additional electronic online verification, which in the majority of applications eliminates the need to send a Form G-845 along with copies of the applicant’s immigration documents.

However, some applications still require a copy of the immigration document(s) being verified to be sent at the request of the Department of Homeland Security along with the Form G-845 for manual verification.

The Social Security field office should follow up on G-845 and additional electronic verification requests after 20 federal work days.

However, the Social Security Administration has no jurisdiction over immigration laws, procedures or the workload of Bureaus of the Department of Homeland Security.

Suggest that you return to the Social Security office where your application was submitted.

You can request that the office:

-- Submit an additional electronic verification

-- Follow up on any G-845 or additional electronic verification previously submitted

-- Submit a G-845 request if original documents were requested by DHS

-- Issue an SSA-L676 if the application has been denied.

Be sure to take your evidence documents whenever going into one an SSA office to inquiry about the status of your application.

SSA offices can also assist applicants by issuing a notice acknowledging the SSN application while documents are being verified.

RM 00202.307 Acknowledgement for Form SS-5:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100202307

All cards are mailed from Social Security Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland to the postal address provided on the Form SS-5.

When am I legally required to provide my Social Security number:

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cf....php?p_faqid=78

[tom_g 3]

Well this is a thread full of contrasts... one poster hides the pertinent facts in a sitcom story, another hides the pertinent facts in full-on SSA legalese.

I think I prefered the sitcom

Edited February 26, 2008 by tom_g

[I'm Gone 60]

Well this is a thread full of contrasts... one poster hides the pertinent facts in a sitcom story, another hides the pertinent facts in full-on SSA legalese.

I think I prefered the sitcom

Yeah, but the "SSA legalese" will get you an SSN, the other won't get you anything. Plus you have be here a whole 15 days. After you have been here a while you will like it better when people cut to the chase.

Edited February 27, 2008 by I Quit

[I'm Gone 60]

Well this is a thread full of contrasts... one poster hides the pertinent facts in a sitcom story, another hides the pertinent facts in full-on SSA legalese.

I think I prefered the sitcom

Yeah, but the "SSA legalese" will get you an SSN, the other won't get you anything. Plus you have be here a whole 15 days. After you have been here a while you will like it better when people cut to the chase.

Sorry, year and 15 days, but still stand by what I say about it being better to just state the facts and not cloud things unnecessary info. SSA SSN procedure is good to know to make sure the people in the SSA office aren't feeding you a bunch of BS.

[tom_g 3]

Well this is a thread full of contrasts... one poster hides the pertinent facts in a sitcom story, another hides the pertinent facts in full-on SSA legalese.

I think I prefered the sitcom

Yeah, but the "SSA legalese" will get you an SSN, the other won't get you anything. Plus you have be here a whole 15 days. After you have been here a while you will like it better when people cut to the chase.

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, there's more to life than cutting to the chase

And I think, personally, that being nice, and human, and humourous and empathatic towards an SSA officer has at least an equal chance of getting an SS number as taking the approach of bashing them over the head with spock language. For a power-tripping SSA Officer, a printed-out sheet of paper telling them they're wrong is the last thing thats going to convince them to give you anything.

as I said, a thread of contrasts

[David-and-Mae 15]

Apply for a job (thats been waiting for her before she even arrived in the US),

then

Acquire an SS number,

then

Earn a Driver's License,

then

Secure a Bank Account,

then

I can finally file for my Tax Return as it requires my wife to bear an SS#

then

Use my return to buy my wife some pweeety stuff and what not haha

and also

Use that Tax Return so i can include that in my Affidavit of Support when we file for Adjustment of Status.

Yep! we are hungry alright! hungry for all that GOOD STUFF!

I wish all the best for my Wife! She's a very good Nurse, a great person with a very warm heart.

Such wasted talent sitting on the sofa all day long watching HBO and eating popcorn. and NO shes not a fatty! haha

Since the OP enumerated the things that they wanted to do now, I think it's still best that his wife apply for social security number. And also, I bet you a dollar, if she's applying for a nursing position, the hospital will need her SSN.

Edited February 27, 2008 by David-Mae Forever

[I'm Gone 60]

Nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, there's more to life than cutting to the chase

And I think, personally, that being nice, and human, and humourous and empathatic towards an SSA officer has at least an equal chance of getting an SS number as taking the approach of bashing them over the head with spock language. For a power-tripping SSA Officer, a printed-out sheet of paper telling them they're wrong is the last thing thats going to convince them to give you anything.

as I said, a thread of contrasts

You don't want to beat anyone over the head, but you want to be able to know when someone is blowing smoke and at SSA offices if the low level service rep is not going by the rules you can ask to speak with the office manager and sometimes pointing out that their employee isn't following procedure will get you what you want.

My wife got her K-1 visa in 2002, so I have seen quite a few people pass by this way looking for an SSN, so I somewhat know what works and what doesn't with SSA and SSNs.