Looking for confirmation

[Tillan 0]

Hi there, me and my fiance have been married for a few months now, and I want confirmation on a few things. We want to get married and live in the USA, and it seems the "best" option is the K1 (fiance) license, I think ive got a decent idea how this will work, mainly through this site, but I just want confirmation on a few points. I live in the UK, and she lives in the USA, and is a full citizen etc

1) Will I (the immigrant) be able to look for work immediately after getting married (assuming the K1 is granted)

2) Would I be able to work for a company in the UK remotely from the USA during this process? Its possible my current employer would be ok with this so long as the USA are.

3) How have other people supported themselves financially during this process, it seems that the US citizen has to support the immigrant completely, which will not be an option for us over the timescale I think we are looking at (a few months potentially, plus time spent looking for work after being approved.)

4) What would the steps typically be after getting married. Apply for a work permit while a full citizen application is processed? I realise that getting married would allow me to stay there for 2 years, what should i be doing during this time?

Thanks for any help

[Otto 83]

K-1 is a Fiance Visa - If you're married - you can't be each other's fiancés. K-1 is not an option for married people.

For married folks - living apart (one in their home country, the other in the US) the CR-1/IR-1 is the path to take.

To get a better/solid idea of how things would go - check here. Once granted - the foreign spouse will be able to work shortly after entering the US.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Otto und Karin

[VanessaTony 3,567]

First issue. You said you've been MARRIED for a few months. I assume this was a typo and you meant "engaged".. if it wasn't and you ARE married then the K1 is not the route for you and you will need to apply for a CR-1.

To answer your questions assuming you are NOT married:

1. No. Once you get the K1 approved (you wait in the UK before then) you come to the USA, get married then pay $1010 to adjust status. That takes around 3-6 months (time varies greatly). At the same time as applying for AOS, you can apply for EAD (employment authorisation). Once that's approved THEN you can work (once you have an SSN of course which you apply for 14 days after entry).

2. You can work for an overseas company but you cannot work in the USA. If the company allows you to work online then that's fine.

3. Myself for example, I saved and saved before i came here. Now my savings have run out because I've been here so long but my husband supports us.

4. It appears from this question that you have not read the guides and really don't know what each visa does (no offence). As I said, after getting married you apply for AOS (and the work permit). once you have the greencard the work permit isn't needed as the greencard is your work permit.

My first piece of advice though is which is up the top under the VisaJourney title.

Best of luck.

[Tillan 0]

First issue. You said you've been MARRIED for a few months. I assume this was a typo and you meant "engaged".. if it wasn't and you ARE married then the K1 is not the route for you and you will need to apply for a CR-1.

To answer your questions assuming you are NOT married:

1. No. Once you get the K1 approved (you wait in the UK before then) you come to the USA, get married then pay $1010 to adjust status. That takes around 3-6 months (time varies greatly). At the same time as applying for AOS, you can apply for EAD (employment authorisation). Once that's approved THEN you can work (once you have an SSN of course which you apply for 14 days after entry).

2. You can work for an overseas company but you cannot work in the USA. If the company allows you to work online then that's fine.

3. Myself for example, I saved and saved before i came here. Now my savings have run out because I've been here so long but my husband supports us.

4. It appears from this question that you have not read the guides and really don't know what each visa does (no offence). As I said, after getting married you apply for AOS (and the work permit). once you have the greencard the work permit isn't needed as the greencard is your work permit.

My first piece of advice though is which is up the top under the VisaJourney title.

Best of luck.

Yep, a typo, my apologies. I did mean engaged.

1. Huh, could have sworn I had read that you could work when you got married, apparently not. Thanks for the clarification

2. Thats what I thought, but couldnt find anything official confirming it one way or another.

3. Save save save, Im doing the same thing right now, but the costs are daunting

4. Not all of them, but some. No offense taken, i work in IT and frequently tell people to Read The Manual. I guess Ill go do that.

[bluenoser77 0]

Hi Tillian,

I'm nearing a final step in the process and am happy to share my experiences (my interview is in a few weeks!) However, I don't know some of the answers completely, I can tell you what I decided to do along the way based on what I could figure out. I'll respond below each of your questions.

Hi there, me and my fiance have been married for a few months now (I assume you mean engaged, because if you're married I believe that changes things) and I want confirmation on a few things. We want to get married and live in the USA, and it seems the "best" option is the K1 (fiance) license, I think ive got a decent idea how this will work, mainly through this site, but I just want confirmation on a few points. I live in the UK, and she lives in the USA, and is a full citizen etc

1) Will I (the immigrant) be able to look for work immediately after getting married (assuming the K1 is granted)

Although it's ideal to work right away, apparently it takes a bit longer. From what I understand, upon entering with a K-1, you're supposed to be able to apply for and receive immediately a work permit to last the K-1 visa period (90 days); however, only the immigration at JFK airport in New York are known for doing this and it is not even guaranteed. Alternatively, once you enter with a K-1, you apply right away for an adjustment of status and employment authorization. I've been skimming a few time lines of other VJ members, and it seems that process could take around 2 months or so.

2) Would I be able to work for a company in the UK remotely from the USA during this process? Its possible my current employer would be ok with this so long as the USA are.

I'm not sure about this. From what I understand, if you are making money on US soil, you are required to pay US taxes (even if it's not a US based company) and therefore would need work authorization to do this. i wanted to do some teaching for online courses from a uni in Canada, but opted not to. However, I would wait to hear from others if they did this or not. Are you planning on visiting your fiancee while waiting for the K-1? That's the situation I'm in now and when I have my K-1 if I do not get granted a work permit upon entry, I will continue not do any work until authorized. But I wasn't going to make very much, so it wasn't worth the risk, and therefore after meeting a couple of potential obstacles decided against it. not sure what your situation is.

3) How have other people supported themselves financially during this process, it seems that the US citizen has to support the immigrant completely, which will not be an option for us over the timescale I think we are looking at (a few months potentially, plus time spent looking for work after being approved.)

I was separated from my fiance for about 6 months while I continued to work abroad (we were both abroad but he came back to go to school). We knew we were going to do this and so I saved up enough money to be unemployed for 8 months for sure (and possibly longer). This was easy for me to do because I was making a foreign salary while living in Vietnam. He receives a stipend for school and we basically live (very cheaply!) off that. My savings will come into the picture to pay for our wedding. It's not so hard for us since we hang with grad students so our social group doesn't tend to do expensive things.

4) What would the steps typically be after getting married. Apply for a work permit while a full citizen application is processed? I realise that getting married would allow me to stay there for 2 years, what should i be doing during this time?

I haven't got there yet. I'm just learning myself. I'm like you, after reviewing options at the beginning stages, we decided that K-1 was the best option for getting me working right away. But basically, I have to keep refreshing myself as I go along. I assume you've seen the guides and the flow charts? They seem to be pretty accurate. I also follow other people's time lines who are dealing with the same regional embassey and US immigration service units.

Thanks for any help

Hope it is helpful and I hope you get more responses in order to get a clearer picture. It's a long process that is expensive, but people tend to do it and make it work somehow. I wish you luck in making your decision.

[Otto 83]

Yep, a typo, my apologies. I did mean engaged. Be mindful how you word things - especially on forms etc - if they get an idea you guys are married, it could be a deal killer or delay the process.

1. Huh, could have sworn I had read that you could work when you got married, apparently not. Thanks for the clarification

When a person comes to the US on a K-1, they need to get married within 90 days (you may already know that). Once they're married, they can file what is called AOS (Adjustment of Status) which is a petition asking for a PR/Green Card. "Hey... I'm here and I'm married now, can I have my PR/Green Card?" kind of thing. This card will be the one that lets you do everything a Permanent Resident can do (work, travel, etc), but it can take 90 days, 6-months or longer.

Along with the AOS, you may file what is called EAD (Employment Authorization Document). This is an ID-type card that allows you to work when you don't have your PR/Green Card.

The EAD usually ends up getting approved faster than the PR/Green Card (anywhere from 30-90 days usually, and usually in the 60+day range) - so this is the time frame you can anticipate not being able to work in the US once you arrive.

The sooner you get married here and file AOS + EAD, the sooner that clock starts ticking

The how-to's are available in the link above and/or in the Guides (also above) and in some of the pinned threads in individual forums.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

1) Will I (the immigrant) be able to look for work immediately after getting married (assuming the K1 is granted)

Although it's ideal to work right away, apparently it takes a bit longer. From what I understand, upon entering with a K-1, you're supposed to be able to apply for and receive immediately a work permit to last the K-1 visa period (90 days); however, only the immigration at JFK airport in New York are known for doing this and it is not even guaranteed. Alternatively, once you enter with a K-1, you apply right away for an adjustment of status and employment authorization. I've been skimming a few time lines of other VJ members, and it seems that process could take around 2 months or so.

Just to clarify this. EAD stamps are no longer given at the POE so this does not apply. You MUST apply for an EAD during the AOS process.

OP, please see the AOS thread mentioned in my signature. it's a rundown of what to expect. The K1 differs for your country so check out the regional forum for the UK.

[SunDrop 59]

If being able to work as soon as you land is a priority for affordability reasons, you might want to consider getting married and then filing for a CR1. Successfully completing that process would mean you are issued your conditional green card before you enter the US. You would have a couple of weeks' wait for your Social Security number to be issued, but you wouldn't need to adjust or wait for an EAD. It's also a cheaper process and these days, seems to take only a little longer than the K1 visa process start to finish.

One thing that comes to mind that I don't think others have mentioned - apologies if so - but for both the K1 and the CR1 visas, your fiancee/ wife would need to demonstrate that she meets the minimum income level to sponsor you and her (and any other dependents she may have). For either visa being processed through London, you can use a co-sponsor if required. The figure required is calculated at 125% of the poverty line for the household members (plus you) for which your sponsor/ co-sponsor is dependent. The 2010 levels are due to be announced very shortly, but to give you an idea, 2009's 125% for 2 people was $18,212.

There have been several interesting discussions on VJ about working and the EAD/ working issue. From what I remember, the general consensus was that if you are working for UK registered company and paid through the UK payroll, paying UK taxes but happen to be sitting on a computer in the US doing it, then you do not need your EAD. Of course, if you do decide to go the CR1 route, then this would be a moot point. You would need to declare your foreign earned income, but unless you're raking in a small fortune, the US/UK tax treaties would prevent you from being double-taxed. Again, there is a very helpful thread all about filing taxes as a new immigrant that's well worth a read. Also do a search about the working, but this very question was posed on a recent thread in the UK regional forum and the answer seemed to be positive.