K1 Visa & SSN already issued - can I work soon ?

[Loic 0]

Hello the community,

 

I'm Loic, I have juste registered to this forum.

I am from France and I will be moving to the US next Friday with my K1 visa to marry with my US citizen.

 

Prior to all of this I had been a J1 holder. I had got a SSN card showing "valid for work only with dhs authorization". I still have it with me.

 

In general, I know that after getting married I will have to do AOS then wait around 3 months to optain EAD and Advance Parole. Then I will get my conditional CG after a year or so.

 

My question is, since I already have a SSN showing "valid for work only with dhs authorization", is there anything I can do in order to speed up the process and obtain my work authorization or whatever would allow me to work as soon as possible ?

 

Thank you for your answer.

 

Loic.

[Adam&Allison 128]

I'm pretty sure that if you have a job offer, you can put in an expedite request for the EAD. Some people on here have had success speeding it up that way. 

[Limey 551]

I was in a similar situation... I'd been on a j1 about 20 years before my k1, so had the SSN from that time.

 

It probably helped a little in the general process of setting up my life - was easier to get a marriage license, drivers license, bank account etc (though there are ways to get those without SSN). But I still had to wait for EAD/AP card. There may be a way to expedite if you have a job offer, but knowing how these bureaucracies work I think that might be difficult (and may be hard to get a job offer without EAD card, as they won't know when you'll be able to start). If you get married soon after entering the country and apply for AOS immediately, it should only take around 60 to 90 days. I'm not sure how much it could be expedited.

 

Also, you may well get your conditional GC quite a bit sooner than a year. Mine was issued about 4 months after applying as far as I recall. Doesn't really change things though, as once you have EAD/AP, the GC doesn't really matter so much so not a problem if you have to wait for it.

[Tom169 54]

Short term the SSN will help speed up getting a driving licence, perhaps a credit card too. Long term it won't speed up anything as you can file I-765 and I-485 without one.

[Ash.1101 1,756]

A job offer can expedite the EAD process, but there isn't much of a point of doing while on K-1. Even if you get it sped up, once your I-94 expires, you won't be able to work until you get your EAD from the AOS process. Most places aren't going to be willing to hire you knowing you can only work for a month maybe before you have to take a break. You can't renew or extend your EAD based on your K-1 because once your I-94 expires your official legal status in the country will be expired as well. You do have protected legal status once you apply and receive your receipt for your AOS package, but it's not enough legal status to be working.