Magic & Mystical JFK Stamp

[NavarreMan 10]

I have done my best to understand why it is that 1) JFK was singled out as the place to get the famous EAD stamp 2) What the stamp actually did for an immigrant (in my case a K1) 3) Why was this process so difficult and confusing?

I now ask for help from the vast knowledge base here at VJ to find an answer that will go a long way towards helping me answer these questions: Can any of you out there cite a USCIS, DHS, US CODE or other official source that states that the EAD stamp received by some at JFK or other POE's (not the I-551 stamp) can be used as an official work authorization.

I have called my Congressman's staff and they have never heard of it, I called JFK Immigration Inspectors and they do not know of any authority to use it, only that they have it and use it. USCIS cannot cite anything that authorizes it. The I-9 instructions and M-274 Handbook for Employers for the I-9 make no mention of this stamp in their lists of authentic documentation. The I-9 actually dismisses it as being authorized by not specifically mentioning it in their lists of documents that authorize work status.

Any help will be greatly appreciated...

[payxibka 10,044]

From the I-9: List A - Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility.

4. Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization

[Cassie 8]

All I know is that JFK has never stopped giving out the temp stamp, while others have either given it up completely or give it out inconsistently. There was a reason why they stopped, but I am not sure why off the top of my head.

[NavarreMan 10]

From the I-9: List A - Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility.

4. Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization

Why is it when they refer to a form it is called a form and a stamp is called a stamp? They only specify "unexpired employment authorization". That would include the fact that my fiancee is a K1 with or without the magic stamp.

What I am looking for is specific authority for them to utilize the "stamp". As with any government document or proceedure it must have a written regulation somewhere. When the stamp is ordered how do they know what it is supposed to say or how big and what style of font, what color ink, where to place it on the I-94, who gets it and who doesn't?

[payxibka 10,044]

From the I-9: List A - Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility.

4. Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization

Why is it when they refer to a form it is called a form and a stamp is called a stamp? They only specify "unexpired employment authorization". That would include the fact that my fiancee is a K1 with or without the magic stamp.

What I am looking for is specific authority for them to utilize the "stamp". As with any government document or proceedure it must have a written regulation somewhere. When the stamp is ordered how do they know what it is supposed to say or how big and what style of font, what color ink, where to place it on the I-94, who gets it and who doesn't?

Without the stamp the I-94 say nothing about work... With the stamp it says "WORK AUTHORIZED UNTIL *DATE*.

Your original post said the I-9 dismisses the "stamp" as not even being listed. My answer only indicated something to the contrary.

Look at 8 C.F.R. § 214(d) and 8 C.F,R. § 274a.12(a)(6)

Edited July 18, 2008 by fwaguy

[NavarreMan 10]

From the I-9: List A - Documents that establish both identity and employment eligibility.

4. Unexpired foreign passport, with I-551 stamp or attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment authorization

Why is it when they refer to a form it is called a form and a stamp is called a stamp? They only specify "unexpired employment authorization". That would include the fact that my fiancee is a K1 with or without the magic stamp.

What I am looking for is specific authority for them to utilize the "stamp". As with any government document or proceedure it must have a written regulation somewhere. When the stamp is ordered how do they know what it is supposed to say or how big and what style of font, what color ink, where to place it on the I-94, who gets it and who doesn't?

Without the stamp the I-94 say nothing about work... With the stamp it says "WORK AUTHORIZED UNTIL *DATE*.

Your original post said the I-9 dismisses the "stamp" as not even being listed. My answer only indicated something to the contrary.

Look at 8 C.F.R. § 214(d) and 8 C.F,R. § 274a.12(a)(6)

8 C.F.R. § 214(d) is null n the issue but 8 C.F.R. § 214(e) does speak of employment. Still does not answer the question.

(d) Termination of status. Within the period of initial admission or extension of stay, the nonimmigrant status of an alien shall be terminated by the revocation of a waiver authorized on his or her behalf under section 212(d) (3) or (4) of the Act; by the introduction of a private bill to confer permanent resident status on such alien; or, pursuant to notification in theFederal Register,on the basis of national security, diplomatic, or public safety reasons.

(e) Employment. A nonimmigrant in the United States in a class defined in section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Act as a temporary visitor for pleasure, or section 101(a)(15)© of the Act as an alien in transit through this country, may not engage in any employment. Any other nonimmigrant in the United States may not engage in any employment unless he has been accorded a nonimmigrant classification which authorizes employment or he has been granted permission to engage in employment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A nonimmigrant who is permitted to engage in employment may engage only in such employment as has been authorized. Any unauthorized employment by a nonimmigrant constitutes a failure to maintain status within the meaning of section 241(a)(1)©(i) of the Act.

This only speaks to the classification of the immigrant. It also does not answer the question.

8 C.F,R. § 274a.12(a)(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;

Your answer is certainly contrary but incomplete. The intructions for the I-9 do not state that the "stamp" is allowable. They state that there is a stamp for the I-551 and the others are documents, not stamps.

What I am looking for is something that regulates the stamp: who can get it, who can give it, where it can be received. We have covered the fact that there is a stamp. What I want to take to my congressman are the regulations regarding the awarding of the stamp. I can think of no logical reason why any POE that can access the SAVE system and enter immigrant data into the DHS computer databases does not have the authority to issue this stamp. This is what I am going to fight for and this is why I need to find this information.

[NavarreMan 10]

So no one has any offerings or information on where I might answer this question?

[vegaslizard 0]

My husband got the stamp when he flew to Las Vegas and it is a small international airport for POE.

Im sure lots of other airports give the stamp too, but the stamp is pretty much useless you have a social security card. My fella already had one from his college years and is working currently. K-1 has expired and all. We are waiting for his AOS

Sorry I cant answer your specific question. Most of the immigration stuff is complicated and pointless but seems to serve the purpose if only to weed out those who are not sincere with marriage.

Good luck with everything

[peejay 327]

My husband got the stamp when he flew to Las Vegas and it is a small international airport for POE.

Im sure lots of other airports give the stamp too, but the stamp is pretty much useless you have a social security card. My fella already had one from his college years and is working currently. K-1 has expired and all. We are waiting for his AOS

Sorry I cant answer your specific question. Most of the immigration stuff is complicated and pointless but seems to serve the purpose if only to weed out those who are not sincere with marriage.

Good luck with everything

My wife got the stamp at Houston Intercontinental Airport in March 2004 when she arrived as a K-1. Hell...they even gave one to my (then 18 years old) K-2 stepdaughter even though she wasn't eligible for one. I had asked my wife to inquire about the stamp when she arrived. I thought the stamp might be useful, but it is really not. By the time you get a Social Security card a lot of time elapses out of the 90 days. No one gets the EAD from AoS before the 90 stamp period expires, so legally you are supposed to quit working until the EAD from AoS arrives. There is no seamless work authorization with the stamp.

My advice...get married and file for AoS / EAD as soon as possible if work is a priority. Of course there are always babysitting, maid, and other "off the books" work that can be done illegally if money is an issue. The chances of getting caught are slim to none, but why take the chance?

In our case, I managed to keep my wife busy with other stuff until she finally got her EAD from AoS. She didn't work for 6 months after arriving in the USA. It took that long to get the EAD from US-CIS back then. Man, those people take their sweet azz time to do anything. Patience is a virtue when filing for any benefits from US-CIS. That's the bottom line. Things happen when they happen and not a minute sooner. Getting pissed off doesn't speed up the process.

[Ban Hammer 12,884]

nessa flew thru houston and did not get the stamp. however, after a bit of bickering with the local ssn office (buncha morons there - they wouldn't give her a ssn without the ead stamp) we went to the local uscis office and got the ead stamp there, which, after looking at it, i coulda made with a stamp kit.

i didn't really see any benefit to having it for work as it's not for a decent amount of time.

Edited July 29, 2008 by charlesandnessa

[NavarreMan 10]

So from the information supplied we can draw 3 conclusions: 1) The "EAD Stamp" is awarded at far more POE's than just JFK and apparently on a routine basis and 2) the stamp will only extend the work authorization slightly past the expiration of the initial K1 work authorization, due to marriage, and 3) nobody, including any USCIS official I have contacted nor any immigration inspector I have spoken with or any VJ member that has responded to this post can verify any authority what-so-ever regarding the use of this stamp.

My goal is this: I want to see a change made whereby a K1 can continue to work through the AOS process. If the K1 is "pre-authorized" to work by virtue of the fact that they are a K1 and require "no specific authorization" from DHS to work then why do they lose this privilege once they are married and file for the AOS? What is gained or lost in that change in marital status that would lead the DHS to remove the wok authorization? I can understand if they do not get married and become "Out-of-Status" but this is not the case. A K1 comes here, finds a job, and then must quit that job until our government gets off their butts and finally issues the EAD. It simply does not make any sense. I will ask my Congressman to try and find an answer to this question.

In the mean time, I made the 500+ (more than I thought) mile round-trip to New Orleans yesterday to do the Biometrics. I think I should try and work a deal similar to the casino buses where on Monday I can round up all the Immigrants going to their Bio appts in the Florida panhandle and bus them to New Orleans where the USCIS has agreed to see them in one big lump. Then we can leave there and go enjoy a few hours at the casinos before returning home! 250 miles each way for a 20-minute appointment. What a load of #######! They made Tanya and Victor go through a security check and empty their pockets but did not even bother to check me as they let all 3 of us into the waiting area. Are they afraid that Victor might pull a gun and demand instant AOS? What an amazingly flagrant waste of taxpayer’s dollars.

[Marilyn. 340]

no one has ever said that JFK was the only POE to give out the infamous stamp.. it just seems to be one of the only ones that gives it out on a regular basis...

[NavarreMan 10]

And that is why I was careful to word it the way I did...

But still no answer as to the authority to use the stamp.

Really, people on VJ have been able to find just about every regulation for most every aspect of the immigration process but this one seems to be elusive and unobtainable.

[peejay 327]

And that is why I was careful to word it the way I did...

But still no answer as to the authority to use the stamp.

Really, people on VJ have been able to find just about every regulation for most every aspect of the immigration process but this one seems to be elusive and unobtainable.

It's been more than 4 years, so my memory is faded; but it seems to me that the Social Security office has the guidelines on their computer. My wife easily got her Social Security card by filing for it even before we got married and it was in her maiden name. As I said, my then 18 years old stepdaughter got the stamp even though she wasn't eligible to get it as a K-2 and I also attempted to get her a Social Security card with the stamp. The request was denied. The clerk turned the computer in my direction to show me the regs.

I don't know whether you know it, but the first Social Security card has the note at the top that work is only authorized by Homeland Security. After they both got their Green Cards I took them both to the local Social Security Administration office to get an unrestricted Social Security card that had that note removed. We also got my wife's card in her married name. This is important if your wife wants to get a driver's license. The TXDoT crossmatched the name and number with SSA and sent us a nasty letter threatening to cancel her license unless we straightened the discrepancy in names. The name on the license has to match the name on the SS card in Texas.