Reuired for Employment Eligibility in the U.S.?

[Bob_B 26]

 Hello One and All. Mods, please move this question to the appropriate forum as needed. I looked a good while for info on this topic with little to no results.

 My K-1 Visa wife and I have been married since 11/28. We got her a SS card before we were married, and now need to file for her change of last name. I'm confused about what stage we need to be at for her to be eligible for employment in the U.S.

 Is having a Social Security number and card enough? Or do we need to file an EAD to make her employment-eligible? Or do we have to go so far as to file Change of Status and have her Green Card? This is driving us NUTZ because she does NOT want to be "just a housewife" and I PROMISED she could find employment here. She has done all the things she really wanted to do in the house, and now is going stir-crazy wanting to earn a paycheck to have her own money like she had at her job in the Philippines.

 So who can tell me just what she needs to have, or where can I go to find out what she needs?

[Tom169 54]

File I-485 to adjust status and also include a I-765 for an employment authorization document. When that arrives she can gain employment. Without the EAD she can't work. 

[JFH 12,190]

*~*~*moved from "K-1 fiancé visa process and procedures" to "working and traveling"*~*~*

[geowrian 22,337]

The Social Security card will say "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION". The EAD is the DHS authorization. You need to file for AOS + EAD (+ AP highly suggested!) before she can work. ETA: ~4 months after filing she will get an EAD.

Edited December 27, 2017 by geowrian

[Bob_B 26]

5 minutes ago, geowrian said:

The Social Security card will say "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION". The EAD is the DHS authorization. You need to file for AOS + EAD (+ AP highly suggested!) before she can work. ETA: ~4 months after filing she will get an EAD.

 Thanks! And AP is.....?

[geowrian 22,337]

21 minutes ago, Bob_B said:

 Thanks! And AP is.....?

Advance Parole, which is what allows you to leave the US without abandoning your AOS application, and then re-enter the US. Typically, when you apply for an EAD and AP at the same time, you get a combo card that acts as both.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

22 hours ago, Bob_B said:

 Hello One and All. Mods, please move this question to the appropriate forum as needed. I looked a good while for info on this topic with little to no results.

 My K-1 Visa wife and I have been married since 11/28. We got her a SS card before we were married, and now need to file for her change of last name. I'm confused about what stage we need to be at for her to be eligible for employment in the U.S.

 Is having a Social Security number and card enough? Or do we need to file an EAD to make her employment-eligible? Or do we have to go so far as to file Change of Status and have her Green Card? This is driving us NUTZ because she does NOT want to be "just a housewife" and I PROMISED she could find employment here. She has done all the things she really wanted to do in the house, and now is going stir-crazy wanting to earn a paycheck to have her own money like she had at her job in the Philippines.

 So who can tell me just what she needs to have, or where can I go to find out what she needs?

You will need to file for AOS first along with the EAD and the AP before she is allowed to be given a chance to work. You can expect the process to receive the EAD from submission to it in hand is 90-120 days right now. 

[Bob_B 26]

On 12/26/2017 at 9:13 PM, Tom169 said:

File I-485 to adjust status and also include a I-765 for an employment authorization document. When that arrives she can gain employment. Without the EAD she can't work. 

 Well, this has already proved to be not necessarily true. My fiance got a connection thru a family member and got a good job in a highly reputable company in my line of work and has been hired and working 3 weeks now. They did not require a green card or EAD.

[geowrian 22,337]

21 minutes ago, Bob_B said:

 Well, this has already proved to be not necessarily true. My fiance got a connection thru a family member and got a good job in a highly reputable company in my line of work and has been hired and working 3 weeks now. They did not require a green card or EAD.

If she entered on a K-1 and is working without an EAD or green card, then she is doing so without authorization. They should have required her to submit an I-9 along with documentation of her eligibility to work, which is something the company can get in trouble for.

 

Her unauthorized work is ignored for AOS purposes as the spouse of a USC, but but that doesn't make it legal, either.

[Tom169 54]

7 hours ago, Bob_B said:

 Well, this has already proved to be not necessarily true. My fiance got a connection thru a family member and got a good job in a highly reputable company in my line of work and has been hired and working 3 weeks now. They did not require a green card or EAD.

Well do tell how your fiance managed to fill out an I-9..? Because right now it sounds like she is working illegally. 

Edited March 17, 2018 by Tom169

[NikLR 13,227]

7 hours ago, Bob_B said:

 Well, this has already proved to be not necessarily true. My fiance got a connection thru a family member and got a good job in a highly reputable company in my line of work and has been hired and working 3 weeks now. They did not require a green card or EAD.

Your fiance is working illegally.  (Or is she your wife now?) 

Edited March 17, 2018 by NikLR

[Crazy Cat 41,974]

8 hours ago, Bob_B said:

 Well, this has already proved to be not necessarily true. My fiance got a connection thru a family member and got a good job in a highly reputable company in my line of work and has been hired and working 3 weeks now. They did not require a green card or EAD.

A "a highly reputable company " is hiring people who are not authorized to work in the US?  That is not good business practice, and is unlawful for both the company and your wife.

 

From Bridge.us

 

" The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits an employer from knowingly hiring any individuals who are not authorized to work in the United States. As stated above, there is a good faith protection, but there are also established strict penalties for violations of the INA. For first time offenders, the fines can range from $250 to $3,200 per offense, per illegal employee. "

[Boiler 45,639]

Hardly news, millions work in the US illegally.

 

If she needed to fill in the I9, should have done, wondered what she said?

Edited March 17, 2018 by Boiler