PP2

The situation is no different than any other USC who is also a dual- (or multi-) national. There are two points that need to be addressed: credentials presented at the immigration point and credentials presented to airport security/personnel.

When passing US, ROK or other countries' immigration points, a single nationality should be chosen and used for the duration of that visit. It is irrelevant whether the boarding pass matches the name on the chosen passport as far as immigration officers are concerned. Therefore, the person should use the USC passport for travel within or traversing US borders, the ROK passport for travel within or traversing ROK borders, and the citizenship of choice for travel elsewhere.

When passing airport security/personnel (including security agents, check-in agents, gate agents) the presented boarding pass must match the passport or other approved identification. If the ticket is issued in the US name, then the US passport should be used. If the ticket is issued in the ROK name, then the ROK passport should be used.

The TSA Secure Flight Program affects travelers within or traversing US borders. As long as the information on the presented passport or identification matches the information on the ticket (and there are no flags), the boarding pass will be issued. It doesn't matter whether this is a US or ROK passport. When crossing US immigration, it is possible that the SFP could be used to flag the person as entering the US with a US passport without a corresponding SFP-approved ticket that was actually issued to match a ROK passport. However, this can easily be explained by the dual citizenship status. Note that resident aliens with a foreign passport and green card with different names are common (maiden vs married surnames) and in a similar situation.

There are actually two ROK passports, one issued to nationals permanently residing within Korea and one issued to nationals permanently residing abroad. (Which would be issued by ROK to dual citizens is not clear.) In both cases, the passports have two names listed, one in native Korean and one in English. I have been told that the passports can be amended to list an alternate English name in certain circumstances, such as when the Korean national assumes the foreigner's surname after marriage. My wife will be requesting this during her next visit to Korea, so I will find out if this is actually true.

In my opinion, there are many potential problems, but there will likely be few actual problems.

An NC County Registers of Deeds should accept an affidavit in lieu of an SSN. The affidavit states that the applicant must be "ineligible for a social security number because he or she has not been admitted to the United States for permanent residence or employment." A K-1 is a non-immigrant visa for admission with the intent of marriage, not permanent residence or employment (hence AOS with optional EAD), and the fact that a K-1 is eligible to obtain a SSN on K-1 status does not imply "eligibility" based on "permanent residence or employment." Perhaps splitting hairs, but that's the law. If your local county Register adamently refuses to issue a marriage license, an option is to request one at a more accomodating neighbor county Register of Deeds since one does not have to marry in the same NC county as the issuer of the NC marriage license.

http://ncinfo.iog.unc.edu/pubs/nclegis/ncl...erfourteen.html

Quoted from Chapter 14 of the N.C. Legislation 1998: Land Records and Registers of Deeds:

Vital Records

Marriage Licenses

Effective October 1, 1997, the General Assembly amended G.S. 51-8 (S.L. 1997-443) to require each applicant for a marriage license to provide on the application his or her social security number. This amendment was to expire June 30, 1998. Because of the short time the amendment was to be in effect, registers of deeds were advised in Land Records Bulletin No. 24 that if an applicant did not have a social security number, the register of deeds could accept an affidavit to that effect and issue the license anyway. With the enactment of S.L. 1998-17 (S 1182), the 1998 General Assembly removed the June 30, 1998, expiration date and made the 1997 amendment to G.S. 51-8 permanent. In light of this action, registers of deeds should treat the requirement of a social security number as they would any other requirement for a marriage license (such as the requirement that the applicants be at least eighteen years old, except in certain cases) and should not issue a marriage license to an applicant who does not have a social security number, except in the situation discussed below. Registers should require documentary evidence that the social security number given by the applicant is correct, just as they would require proof of age in many cases. A social security card is one means of providing this documentation, but it is not the only way; a W-2 form or pay stub should also be acceptable, as would a statement from a social security office.

In a few cases, an applicant for a marriage license may not have a social security number and may be ineligible to obtain one. This is most likely to occur in the case of certain aliens. Aliens admitted to this country for permanent residence or to engage in employment are eligible to obtain social security numbers. 42 U.S.C. § 405©(2)(B(i)(I). Aliens not in these categories are ineligible for social security numbers. In an advisory opinion to Katherine Lee Payne, Guilford County Register of Deeds, dated August 14, 1998, Andrew Vanore, General Counsel, North Carolina Department of Justice, stated that a register of deeds should issue a marriage license to an alien who is ineligible for a social security number as long as the alien meets all other requirements for obtaining a marriage license. The opinion further states that in order to issue a license in this situation the register should require proof that the applicant is a foreign national (a passport, U.S. visa, or I.N.S. travel or work permit will establish this) and an affidavit that the applicant is ineligible for a social security number because he or she has not been admitted to the United States for permanent residence or employment.

lol well my intention is to apply for SSN around 10 days after I enter (as per mdyoung's info) then change it after we marry - which will probably be within about 21 days - or less - after i arrive - that will still give me some time on my I-94.

I wasn't going to go for EAD cos I won't be working and its seems a bit daft for me to get something I don't need or want..

I also can't drive - I need to learn so I can't get a driver license until that happens anyways.

I must say tho some of these replies have made me a bit nervous - if I don't get an EAD I won't be 'legal' until after AOS???

It takes some time for your immigration status to be entered into the SAVE system which the SSA uses to verify your status. So, it is recommended that you wait about 2 weeks before applying for an SSN. I would suggest applying for a SSN after marriage if you intend to do the civil ceremony immediately upon entry via the K-1. By the time you apply for a marriage license, get married, and get certified copies of your marriage certificate, your information should be in SAVE. You can then take your certified marriage certificate to the SSA and apply using your maiden name but request that the card be issued using your married name, using the marriage certificate as evidence of name change. You can then use the SS card, passport and certified marriage certificate to apply for a state ID or driver's license in your married name. All this is far less work than applying for the SSN and state ID with the maiden name, then requesting a legal name change later.

Good luck.

A B1 is a business-travel visa and is only issued if you can show that you want to visit the US for business reasons. As such you would need an invitation from a company or a letter from a client indicating the purpose of your journey.

If you want to visit as a tourist, you need a B2-visa. I don't know what the procedures would be for someone from Korea or if you need an invitation. However, even if the visa were granted, you will need to be prepared to by denied at POE or that you will have to produce evidence of your intention to return to your home country.

Yes, you're right. I meant B2 (tourist) not a B1 (business). That'll teach me to post something in the wee hours of the night...

Its my understanding that you are allowed to posses only one vailid visa at a time.

I'm sorry, but your understanding appears incorrect according to FAM 41.113. It seems possible for one person to hold multiple simultaneous visas so long as they are not in the same class. I would think that B1 and K1 are in different classes but I cannot be certain.

Why in the world would you want to do that?

That makes no sense at all!

When a fiancee enters the US on a K1, she needs to legally marry, then apply for AP and receive it before being able to leave the US without abandoning her status...a period of 2-4 months, optimistically. If such a person needs to be somewhere outside the US within that timeframe, then the only options are to 1) enter on the K1 and apply for a legitimate emergency AP; 2) delay entry into the US on the K1; or, 3) enter the US on a different visa. This is certainly an unusual circumstance but not an insensible one.

I would think that applying for a B1 with a K1 in hand would be legitimate if the fiancee does not have sufficient grounds for an emergency AP (e.g. illness or death). The fiancee would enter for a visit on a B1 with the intent to leave and return later on a K1. The proof of non-immigrant intent on the B1 at the POE would seem quite logical: the fiancee has already been granted a K1 which is essentially an immigrant visa, and not only does she have to leave the US in order to use it, she has no incentive at all to falsely represent herself on the B1.

I thought I had seen a prior VJ post by someone who had successfully entered the US on a B2 with an approved K1, but I believe that person had the B2 already in hand.

Is it possible for someone with a K1 visa (not yet used) to apply for and enter the US on a B1 for a visit, then leave the US and return on the K1 before it expires?

Make sure he gets the "Emmigration" (Imin) Korean Passport. It's different from a regular Korean travel passport. It's a pain to get (lots of traveling around).

Could you be a bit more specific about the Imin Korean Passport? My fiancee has a Korean passport which she used to visit other countries. How can she tell if this is a regular passport vs an Imin passport? She is the beneficiary of a K-1 petition with the interview just around the corner, and her Packet 3 made no mention of this Imin Korean Passport...only to bring her current and any previously issued passports. Thank you.

I understand that an EAD is required for an immigrant to be employed in the U.S. But what if the immigrant is employed outside of the U.S. as a foreign telecommuter by a foreign company with no U.S. presence, e.g. writing journal articles for a foreign paper and communicating with the foreign employer only via email and telephone? All foreign laws and regulations would be followed (taxes, foreign bank account, etc), and all US tax regulations would be followed (reporting foreign income and accounts, etc), but it's not clear to me if this work actually falls under the definition of "employment in the United States" as stated in INA 274A and, therefore, requires an EAD. In other words, is an EAD required for work outside of the U.S. when the alien has permanent residency in the U.S.?

There is a 9 digit number following an "A" that is typed above the beneficiary's name in the NOA2 that wasn't present in the NOA1. Is this "A" number the same as "Alien case number" that is required on various forms (such as in AOS forms)? I have a second NVC case number I retrieved by calling the NVC customer service number. Is this NVC case number, which starts with an "SEO", the "Alien case number?" Or is this NVC case number strictly used by the NVC and US consulate abroad?

I looked in your timeline and saw that your NOA1 and 2 came from California, but your message made it sound like the TSC processed your document. Which is it? I am very happy they're moving into december because my NOA1 is 12/20/05, so the deeper into December they get the happier I am.

Like many people on this CSC/TSC list, I sent the I-129F to TSC but received both the NOA1 and NOA2 from CSC. I noted this in my timeline comment but still put TSC as the processing center because that's where I sent my application. Should I change that to CSC in my timeline?

For those of you patiently waiting as we had for the TSC/CSC NOA2, you might feel mixed emotions to hear that they have now processed a December 2005 NOA1 case. We empathize with those who have been waiting longer than us and offer support and encouragement that the wait may soon be over for you, too.

min7734,

Thanks, your answers help a lot! I have a few more, if you don't mind. Did the US embassy provide your fiancee with a form to take to the police station when requesting her police record (this seems to happen in some countries)? And did the police station send or give the records to her or send them directly to the US embassy? What about the medical exam? Did she have a form from the US embassy to take with her to the hospital? Did she receive the exam results herself or were the results sent directly to the US embassy?

I'm trying to determine if my fiancee can go ahead and get the medical exam and police record done before receiving packet 3, i.e. there is nothing in packet 3 that we actually need to wait for. Thanks!

min7734,

If you don't mind me asking, what were the contents of Packet 3 and Packet 4 you received from the consulate? Were there any forms aside from I-345 (and police report and medical report) that you had to fill out and send in after receiving NOA2? Did you or your fiancee schedule the interview your/herself, or did the consulate simply inform you in Packet 3/4? Thanks.