Is A K1 authorized to work without an EAD?

[moroccogirlny 100]

If he is working now without EAD card he is working illegally.

He has the EAD stamp in his passport and is good for 90 days, however once we file for AOS I beleive he will have to stop working until he gets the EAD card. Question is can he work until the EAD expires from the k1 visa or does he have to stop once we marry which will be before the temporary EAD expires?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

The JFK entry stamp is NOT good for employment. You need to file for an EAD and wait until you get it. IT will cost you $340 and will take about 60 days and will expire with the I-94. If he works before he has the EAD that you pay for he is working illegally. Do you think the only one airport in the US has the authority to grant employment authorization. They are using a stamp they should not be using anymore. Unless he passes the E verify he is not authorized. The rules about the stamp like JFK gives out about a year ago and clearly defined that it is NOT good for seeking employment. If your fiance/husband uses it to gain employment both he and the employer can face criminal charges and fines. Not the way you want to start out married life I am sure.

[Rito 28]

The JFK entry stamp is NOT good for employment. You need to file for an EAD and wait until you get it. IT will cost you $340 and will take about 60 days and will expire with the I-94. If he works before he has the EAD that you pay for he is working illegally. Do you think the only one airport in the US has the authority to grant employment authorization. They are using a stamp they should not be using anymore. Unless he passes the E verify he is not authorized. The rules about the stamp like JFK gives out about a year ago and clearly defined that it is NOT good for seeking employment. If your fiance/husband uses it to gain employment both he and the employer can face criminal charges and fines. Not the way you want to start out married life I am sure.

Please note that EAD and Advance Parole are free if filed with Adjustment of Status ($1010)

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Please note that EAD and Advance Parole are free if filed with Adjustment of Status ($1010)

Yes they are.

But an EAD application can also be filed separately while the K1 entrant is still within their original period of authorized stay. It will cost $340, will only be valid for the original period of authorized stay, will probably expire before the K1 entrant gets it, but USCIS will still be happy to take your money for it.

[magmay06 0]

Although, on this link for a memo to aid K-1 holders getting a SSN card RM 00203.500 found in the 'Step by Step guides" it says; "1. Aliens Work Authorized Without Specific DHS Authorization

The following sections list nonimmigrants, by alien class of admission codes, who are 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."

and at #25 on that list is K-1

DISCUSS!!

I'm totally befudled by the whole thing. I firmly believed all that was previously written here. i.e. that is against the law for holders of K-1 to work without an EAD and that the chances of that arriving prior to you applying for you AOS was slim to none so why bother, just have a month or two off and plan the wedding and apply for your work authorization once married. Sorry if I am going over old ground but the confusion extends from above document contradicting everything else.

Andy

U'r right! that was what I saw too the memo to aid K-1 holders getting SSN card the RM 00203.500. In there in the 6th paragraph it says that Some I-94s issued to K-1s are stamped or annotated "EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED" and some are not. Either way, the I-94 is proof a K-1 alien is authorized to work.

So I want to set the record straight. I saw too the link above and it also says that K-1 are permitted to work once they have applied for and have been issued an EAD from USCINS.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

U'r right! that was what I saw too the memo to aid K-1 holders getting SSN card the RM 00203.500. In there in the 6th paragraph it says that Some I-94s issued to K-1s are stamped or annotated "EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZED" and some are not. Either way, the I-94 is proof a K-1 alien is authorized to work.

So I want to set the record straight. I saw too the link above and it also says that K-1 are permitted to work once they have applied for and have been issued an EAD from USCINS.

Please read this whole thread from the beginning for an explanation of why POMS isn't the final word.

[Nik+Heather 121]

So a lot of people have said this over and over, but people keep getting hung up on what the SSA says, or if JFK hands out stamps, or if they see any wiggle room in the I-9. The only way a K-1 can work as a K-1 (and not an adjustment applicant after marriage) is by applying for an EAD and paying the $340. It will arrive in ~60 days, and be valid until the I-94 expires. So, for all practical purposes it is just about useless because you'll have it, at BEST for 3 weeks before it expires and you have to stop working again.

Other helpful tips before proceeding to read below: DHS (Department of Homeland Security) is the encompassing body for CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) CBP and USCIS are two different departments, and one cannot do the job of the other - so when a CBP official puts a stamp claiming to "authorize work" on to your passport, that is not the same as USCIS issuing an employment authorization document.

What's in the law is the ultimate source, the I-9 etc. is an interpretation of that. Here's what the law says http://ecfr.gpoacces...&idno=8#PartTop:

(9) Employment authorization. An alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Act shall be authorized to work incident to status for the period of authorized stay. K–1/K–2 aliens seeking work authorization must apply, with fee, to the Service for work authorization pursuant to §274a.12(a)(6) of this chapter. K–3/K–4 aliens must apply to the Service for a document evidencing employment authorization pursuant to §274a.12(a)(9) of this chapter. Employment authorization documents issued to K–3/K–4 aliens may be renewed only upon a showing that the applicant has an application or petition awaiting approval, equivalent to the showing required for an extension of stay pursuant to §214.2(k)(10).

I would love to strain my eyes and try to follow the proper nested references for you to quote it to you properly, but It's so much easier if you just go to the eCFR and do a find on the words. I used the classification - you can see a lot about what the law actually has to say about your class of admission on a K visa there....It is clear here that no POE stamp makes a K-1 eligible to work. You need to apply for an EAD with the accompanying fee of $340.

You can use that same resource to go here and read: http://ecfr.gpoacces...54.2.1.1&idno=8 which supports the notion that CBP is not able to grant work authorization, rather the USCIS does.

Remember, (a)(6) is for fiance's, as in the above paragraph....

§ 274a.12 Classes of aliens authorized to accept employment.

(a) Aliens authorized employment incident to status. Pursuant to the statutory or regulatory reference cited, the following classes of aliens are authorized to be employed in the United States without restrictions as to location or type of employment as a condition of their admission or subsequent change to one of the indicated classes. Any alien who is within a class of aliens described in paragraphs (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6)–(a)(8), (a)(10)–(a)(15), or (a)(20) of this section, and who seeks to be employed in the United States,must apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for a document evidencing such employment authorization. USCIS may, in its discretion, determine the validity period assigned to any document issued evidencing an alien's authorization to work in the United States.

[snip]

(6) An alien admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant fiancé or fiancée pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(K)(i) of the Act, or an alien admitted as a child of such alien, for the period of admission in that status, as evidenced by an employment authorization document issued by the Service;

You can find it yourself if you google "ecfr" (for electronic Code of Federal Regulations) and then go under Title 8 for Aliens (&DHS) and then look under part 214 (Non-immigrants)

The discussion about what the SSA says in their memos (again, the SSA is not the USCIS, they are not under the USCIS, they are completely different part of the government, so they can't authorize work EITHER!) doesn't override federal law. The SSA gives SSNs to K-1 holders because of the above parts of the law which allows K-1s to apply for an EAD for $340. They are allowed to be issued a number without showing an EAD because someone tried to do "the right thing" by trying to streamline the process and allow K-1s to get their SSN in parallel with the EAD instead of having to wait for the EAD, and then go get the SSN in series, which took even LONGER to get working. You can read that in this OIG report which explains the whole thing here: http://www.ssa.gov/o...08-07-17044.pdf (Thanks I Quit!!)

[K and L 27]

^That's also why even though the SSA will check "eligible for work" on the application, the card comes with the notice that the holder is not eligible to work without authorization. Shaves a week or two off of the whole working thing, depending on the speed of your local SSA and how quickly USCIS amends the eVerify system to indicate work eligibility.

Edited October 26, 2010 by K and L

[wagonmaker 7]

Well, we checked with a well-respected NYC immigration lawyer - one who came highly recommended, not one out of the yellow pages - whose practice is exclusively immigration and she said that you folks are not right. She looked at my friend's fiancee's I-94 and the POE stamp from JFK is indeed temporary work authorization for her K-1 visa. The stamp expires after three months, so it is temporary work authorization, and meanwhile she is applying for AoS and EAD, and paying the fees, and has applied for a social security number. But this attorney is crystal clear that the POE stamp on the visa is authorization to work on a short-term basis, and that the I-9 that everyone has to file would be valid as completed with the expiration date indicated. The photo ID will come when the EAD is issued, yes, and that is the long-term authorization needed before green card, but the stamp on the visa is valid work authorization for three months. I know this is not what you all believe to be the case, so I recommend that folks talk to an attorney, rather than trying to interpret the law on your own. I read the same section that Heather & Nik referred to, and it can be interpreted differently from how they are readfing it - their way sounds reasonable, but it may not be the only reading. The preposterous suggestion is that JFK blithely continues to issue work authorization stamps, complete with expiration date written in, and that they are not what they say they are. JFK employees don't work in a vacuum of their own creation - CIS would have stopped them from issuing such stamps if the stamps were meaningless. It makes no sense the way the folks here are portraying it, and this attorney says the same thing. The stamp on th e I-94 is good until the EAD arrives, or three months from arrival, whichever is sooner. K-1 visa is a class of non-immigrant visa that allows work.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Well, we checked with a well-respected NYC immigration lawyer - one who came highly recommended, not one out of the yellow pages - whose practice is exclusively immigration and she said that you folks are not right. She looked at my friend's fiancee's I-94 and the POE stamp from JFK is indeed temporary work authorization for her K-1 visa. The stamp expires after three months, so it is temporary work authorization, and meanwhile she is applying for AoS and EAD, and paying the fees, and has applied for a social security number. But this attorney is crystal clear that the POE stamp on the visa is authorization to work on a short-term basis, and that the I-9 that everyone has to file would be valid as completed with the expiration date indicated. The photo ID will come when the EAD is issued, yes, and that is the long-term authorization needed before green card, but the stamp on the visa is valid work authorization for three months. I know this is not what you all believe to be the case, so I recommend that folks talk to an attorney, rather than trying to interpret the law on your own. I read the same section that Heather & Nik referred to, and it can be interpreted differently from how they are readfing it - their way sounds reasonable, but it may not be the only reading. The preposterous suggestion is that JFK blithely continues to issue work authorization stamps, complete with expiration date written in, and that they are not what they say they are. JFK employees don't work in a vacuum of their own creation - CIS would have stopped them from issuing such stamps if the stamps were meaningless. It makes no sense the way the folks here are portraying it, and this attorney says the same thing. The stamp on th e I-94 is good until the EAD arrives, or three months from arrival, whichever is sooner. K-1 visa is a class of non-immigrant visa that allows work.

*sigh*

Please go back to the first post in this thread. Read the document linked, which was issued in 2006 way before the 2009 changes to the I-9. K1 is not and never has been authorized to work without a document issued by USCIS. Customs and Border Patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport is not USCIS. And the employees there are not working in a "vacuum". The K1 visa category IS work authorized and they are stamping the I-9's as such. It's simply that the stamped I-9 is not the document that PROVES work authorization.

I bet your respected attorney is not an expert in the family based categories. I bet he/she is a practitioner of immigration law for business. It's a simple mistake, really. But a mistake nonetheless.

At any rate, if an employer will accept the stamped EAD from JFK as work authorization, the risk is on them and not the immigrant. They are the one subject to fine. The immigrant could be questioned or detained by ICE, if caught.

[Crissie 0]

I'm really confused and concerned. I know someone who was recently given a temp job by an E_Verify employer who had the JFK temp EAD. I work for the government myself and have had some involvement with E-Verify. As far as I can see, all staff must go through the system. You can't skip one or look the other way out of fear that someone won't be approved. He even had to wait several days before he could start work while they completed all checks, This employer regularly hires immigrants of all different backgrounds, so I feel like their HR staff would be fairly competent. They were very clear with him that he has to stop working once the temp EAD expires until the new document comes in the mail (probably the next few weeks). At the biometrics appointment he told a senior level member of staff that he was working with the stamp and had been hired by an E Verify employer. The staff member never questioned it and talked to him at some length about what to do if it was getting close to the expiration date and he hadn't received the card yet. This man also mentioned that he had worked for USCIS for many years.

If this was all illegal, surely we would have been told by now?

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

I'm really confused and concerned. I know someone who was recently given a temp job by an E_Verify employer who had the JFK temp EAD. I work for the government myself and have had some involvement with E-Verify. As far as I can see, all staff must go through the system. You can't skip one or look the other way out of fear that someone won't be approved. He even had to wait several days before he could start work while they completed all checks, This employer regularly hires immigrants of all different backgrounds, so I feel like their HR staff would be fairly competent. They were very clear with him that he has to stop working once the temp EAD expires until the new document comes in the mail (probably the next few weeks). At the biometrics appointment he told a senior level member of staff that he was working with the stamp and had been hired by an E Verify employer. The staff member never questioned it and talked to him at some length about what to do if it was getting close to the expiration date and he hadn't received the card yet. This man also mentioned that he had worked for USCIS for many years.

If this was all illegal, surely we would have been told by now?

Was that person a K1 entrant?

[Crissie 0]

Was that person a K1 entrant?

Yes

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Well, Crissie, I don't know how it could have happened. E-Verify supposedly has problems giving improper authorizations, just as it has problems with pronouncing a person unauthorized when they are legal to work.

Here's the link to the I-9. Go to the last page.

I don't see how a K1 entrant can match up what they need to prove work authorization. I don't see how an employer could misinterpret what is needed.

[Crissie 0]

Is there some loop hole in the law that is stopping them from enforcing it? Like I said, he spoke to senior level USCIS staff about this, and they were trying to help him and give him advice about getting the EAD card before the current one expires. Like I said, I am really confused and concerned. None of this adds up to me. I'm not trying to say I think I'm right and your wrong blah, blah, blah. I'm just trying to make sense of a very concerning situation. I mean, you got a piece of paper saying your authorized to work, you pass E-Verify, you talk with USCIS officials. Of course you're going to assume you're doing the right thing.