Fiance arrives tomorrow

[NikLR 13,220]

The reason why many people choose to get the SSN before marriage is because the SSA will be able to see that your fiancee is here based on their maiden name. Many people have had issues after marriage and end up getting the SSN when the EAD comes in and the US government finally has that married name on file.

So the choice is yours, but I suggest SSN in maiden name then change it afterward with the marriage certificate or EAD.

Most states require some sort of legal presence document for a DL or state ID so generally it's best to wait for the EAD. That gives you at least a year before it expires anyhow if your state is one that bases it off of the length of the legal presence document.

File the I-765 and I-131 with the rest of the AOS forms. EAD allows her to work, and get a driver's license, and the AP allows for travel outside of the USA. Lots of people have not gotten AP and later regretted it.

[staffnurse 0]

The reason why many people choose to get the SSN before marriage is because the SSA will be able to see that your fiancee is here based on their maiden name. Many people have had issues after marriage and end up getting the SSN when the EAD comes in and the US government finally has that married name on file.

So the choice is yours, but I suggest SSN in maiden name then change it afterward with the marriage certificate or EAD.

Most states require some sort of legal presence document for a DL or state ID so generally it's best to wait for the EAD. That gives you at least a year before it expires anyhow if your state is one that bases it off of the length of the legal presence document.

File the I-765 and I-131 with the rest of the AOS forms. EAD allows her to work, and get a driver's license, and the AP allows for travel outside of the USA. Lots of people have not gotten AP and later regretted it.

Thanks. We're definitely planning on the AP. We're already planning to make a trip back there later this year. That's why we're trying to get things done right the first time around to avoid possible delays.

[NikLR 13,220]

When you get an SSN right away, after marriage you can do a joint bank account, add to health insurance (marriage is a qualifying event), add to car insurance, etc... all things that are great to send with the AOS as evidence of a bona fide relationship.

[phaedra 5]

Hey there, first of all, congratulations!

Just a few things I learned as part of the process that I wanted to share.

- There might be another cost - medical exam/vaccination sheet filled in by a civil surgeon. It is something we were not initially calculating with, and there was a lot of confusing information about it everywhere on the internet. If your fiance received a full medical exam as part of the K1 procedure, and got all the required vaccines, USCIS should have her records on file, as she will hand them over to the immigration officer at the PoE. If you have a copy of the vaccination sheet from her overseas medical, you can send that with your AoS application. Otherwise, you might need a transcript from a civil surgeon in your area. The cost of it depends on where you live and what the civil surgeon charges, where we live they were insisting on redoing the full medical for 400 dollars. So in the end we sent in our AoS without a vaccination sheet, hoping USCIS will look for the records from my overseas medical and not send an RFE, and it seems to have worked Later on when you are dealing with the AoS forms, this will make more sense.

- I only applied for SSN after getting married, and got it issued to my married name right away. It seemed more practical this way, and I have not had any issues because of it, just saved us another trip to the SSN office.

- We were only able to open a joint bank account once I had a DL

[alikamali 0]

best of luck! may you guys live happy...but keep in mind first 3 months of k visa holders are very depressive...without ead and evverything....he is leaving his family and friends...i have gone through the same process.... give him time to adjust!! have a wonderful life,,,,

[staffnurse 0]

Hey there, first of all, congratulations!

Just a few things I learned as part of the process that I wanted to share.

- There might be another cost - medical exam/vaccination sheet filled in by a civil surgeon. It is something we were not initially calculating with, and there was a lot of confusing information about it everywhere on the internet. If your fiance received a full medical exam as part of the K1 procedure, and got all the required vaccines, USCIS should have her records on file, as she will hand them over to the immigration officer at the PoE. If you have a copy of the vaccination sheet from her overseas medical, you can send that with your AoS application. Otherwise, you might need a transcript from a civil surgeon in your area. The cost of it depends on where you live and what the civil surgeon charges, where we live they were insisting on redoing the full medical for 400 dollars. So in the end we sent in our AoS without a vaccination sheet, hoping USCIS will look for the records from my overseas medical and not send an RFE, and it seems to have worked Later on when you are dealing with the AoS forms, this will make more sense.

- I only applied for SSN after getting married, and got it issued to my married name right away. It seemed more practical this way, and I have not had any issues because of it, just saved us another trip to the SSN office.

- We were only able to open a joint bank account once I had a DL

Thank you. I am saving the replies because the first hand info has been great!

Just a few more hours and she'll be here!!