walkerr06

Well, after getting very annoyed about not being able to do my taxes for the last month and a half and wondering why we hadn't heard anything about his EAD -- hubby signed on to the USCIS webpage today and saw not only had his EAD been approved (last Friday) but his AOS had been, as well (just TODAY!).

We are over the moon!

Hang in there, folks!

Becki

Right, I just didn't know if we needed a new social security card, I know the EAD isn't necessary after the green card. Thanks, though!

To clarify this, Green-Card IS work authorization, no need for EAD after getting a green-card.

You have until the 15th o April 2011 to file a tax return

so

IF you think he'll have the EAD in hand, prior to that date -

then

go in to a SSA office, EAD in hand, apply,

and then

come back 2 days later, GET THE NUMBER with the clerk - DO NOT WAIT ON POSTAL MAIL.

If any problem, you'll know, as well, 2 days later when you return.

EAD IN HAND is valid reason to apply for SSN, the I-94 expiration date won't matter, when/if the EAD CARD is in hand.

Good Luck !

great! he is expected to get EAD sometime in February, so that would work for us. does he have to get a new card after getting his green card?

I would imagine that you're unable to get an American passport, as you're not yet an American citizen, so you'd need a Philippine passport. Maybe if you call your local consulate branch, they can help you with your passport renewal. Here is a link:

http://www.philippineconsulatela.org/

Good luck! Hope you can get this taken care of soon.

Hi everyone,

So after two+ hours on the phone with the IRS yesterday, we figured out we could file our taxes jointly if we sent in a letter requesting Chuck be treated as a resident for this year only and included our social security numbers, etc. It feels good to have those things figured out and confirmed by a professional, but now we've hit another snag.

Chuck's I-94 expires tomorrow, and we hadn't yet applied for a social security card for him. Between finding a new place to move and planning all of that, spending two weeks in the hospital together, going on our honeymoon and going through all the other rigamarole necessary to comply with regulations (including re-sending our I-485 packet because the fees changed the day we originally submitted!), we just haven't had time. I'm not asking for sympathy, just explaining why we've kind of fallen down on this portion of our duties.

He went to the Social Security Office today and was officially denied a card, which means he can file for an ITIN, which we can then use when filing taxes.

Here's my question, though -- can he re-file for a SSN when he gets his EAD next month, even though his I-94 is expired? The office said something about renewing the I-94 and coming back when he gets his EAD to try again, but I wasn't aware that was possible. Or do we just need to wait for his green card before he can get an SSN?

Which is better, waiting for EAD and re-filing with SSN, or just going through the ITIN process? Has anyone had similar issues?

Thanks a bunch for all your help, VJers!

Thanks, all! It turns out that my health insurance company and boss are very accepting, and he'll be added to my insurance. Unfortunately, we are at an out-of-network hospital, so we will still be stuck with 40% of the bill. However, Chuck's mom hasn't given us a wedding present yet, so she has offered to step up and help with the medical bills. We feel so lucky! And he's doing much better.

Nich-Nick, I know, that was why I was not wanting to take up gov't support for him. As you commented, though, this is definitely a weird extenuating circumstance, as we've been planning on getting him insurance all along. He just happened to get sick at a really bad time. I find it interesting that people suggested him going back to the Netherlands... He probably would have died if we'd tried that!

Thanks again all,

Becki

Thanks, everybody... I am calling my healthcare provider as we speak, so hopefully they'll be kind to me.

So, even though we are married, so long as we haven't filed AOS yet we could use federal or state benefits?

He is being admitted to surgery tonight... The "funny" part is that the problem was caused by a surgery done under his Dutch health insurance.

Howdy friend VJers,

So my foreign fiance made it here just fine, and is, as a matter of fact, now my foreign husband!

The troubles, however, are pretty terrible. Chuck was admitted to the hospital for a second time yesterday (he was admitted the night before and the day after the marriage), and he no longer has his Dutch insurance. However, since we just got married, we haven't been able to add him to my insurance yet.

It is looking like he needs surgery, and I know you're all aware that this isn't cheap. What worries me is the part of the I-134 that says I can be sued if he becomes a public charge of the state, and that he can't receive food stamps, social security, temporary assistance for needy families, etc. Is this something that would apply to a private program through a hospital?

Has anyone had a similar experience? I hope not, because it's really awful to spend your first night as a married couple watching your new husband puke up bile, but I just hoped someone on here would have some wisdom to offer.

Thanks all,

b

Thanks so much! I thought it sounded like the man on the phone didn't really know what he was talking about, especially when I said "well, he will probably need his SS card to get a joint bank account with me so that we can prove we've mingled our assets for our AOS," and the guy said "well, just have him deposit money in your account, that proves mingling of assets."

Pffft.

Anyway, awesome advice! I am no longer so worried about this.

Hi everyone!

My fiance had his visa interview today and passed (yay!) and now we are just waiting for him to receive his visa in the mail and get himself over here. As part of that, I've been trying to get everything organized for our next steps (we have actually already filled out most of the EAD, G325, and I-184 documents - go us!).

I had a question about the social security card business, though. I notice that a lot of the timelines suggest applying for a card almost immediately after he's entered. However, I was wondering:

* Does he really need a card now? Couldn't we just wait until after he receives his EAD and apply for a card then? I spoke with an agent on the phone today and he said it was unlikely Chuck would be issued a card, as he's technically "not allowed to work." The agent suggested I just wait until he received the EAD.

* If we were to apply for a card for him, I know he has to send in all of his original materials, and that it takes awhile for processing to take place. We are planning on a honeymoon that requires air travel, so he'll need his passport. I guess I'm just afraid that we'll end up sending in his information and then we'll need it for our honeymoon, and not have it.

* I read the social security card guidelines here that suggested printing out the regulations and taking them in to show that a K1 visa applicant can apply for a social security card. Has this worked for others?

If anyone has any advice about this step of the process, what you did, what worked, what didn't, etc., I would love to hear it! It seems like this is the last "confusing" piece of paperwork to deal with -- the immigration forms themselves were pretty straightforward.

Thanks!

Becki

Hi everyone,

My fiance's interview is on September 16th (less than a month, we're so excited for this to be over with -- for now, anyway), and we were looking at plane tickets trying to figure out when he could be in the US should his interview be successful. We noticed that one-way tickets from Holland were literally more than 3x the cost of a round trip ticket. Can he just buy a round-trip ticket and miss his flight home? He'll be here on his K1 visa. We were thinking of perhaps setting the "return" date after we'd already married and filed his AOS. Does it send up a red flag of any sort if your foreign fiance buys a round-trip ticket? Could it lead to difficulties in the future? Or is it likely nobody would even notice?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

so my fiancee (he's Dutch) and I have been waiting with bated breath for our NOA2, and discussing next steps of the immigration process, and we had a question I can't seem to find an answer to online, namely: if (and when) he has his interview for the K1 in Holland, will they tell him if he's "passed" then, or will he get some kind of notification in the mail as per the rest of the process? We're just curious, and thankful for any advice you can give!

He should not be earning money from the time he enters the USA on his K-1 visa until he has received his EAD. The EAD (Employment Authorization Document) will allow him to work legally from the USA. This is applied for after you have married when you apply for AOS. You should apply for AOS, EAD and AP all at once to save time and money.

Thanks so much, both of you! This whole thing can be so confusing sometimes, and it's nice to have others help you along.

Hello,

I was browsing some of the other forums and noticed that it seems that my foreign fiancee will be eligible to work in the US after we're married and file for adjustment of status, and that's approved. He works as a freelance illustrator, and I was just wondering if it's possible for him to continue working with his foreign clientele while he's here on his K-1? Or does he need to stop working altogether?

I also noticed that on the I-134 (I think that's the form, where I verify that I can support him) there's a question that says "Have you filed for a visa application for anyone?" Do I check yes and include my fiancee on that box? Or do they assume that since I'm filing an I-134 that I've obviously already filed a visa application for someone?

Thanks very much! We just got our NOA1 today and are so excited the ball is rolling.