IR-1 visa

[MMW 2]

I know I am getting ahead of the game here but I was wondering if my wife comes to the US on a IR-1 visa (10 yr GC) is there any steps besides the SS card applying she needs to do before we reach the citizenship part? AOS ETC.? Not sure if this is the place to post this question.

[Stella08 0]

If you receive your greencard before your second wedding anniversary (your timeline looks very close) you have to file "removing of conditions" after two years. Even if you received the 10-year-greencard. I read about a case where somebody received the 10-year greencard by accident, (s)he should have received the conditional greencard first. And (s)he had quite some trouble afterwards. Check this thread here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;hl=greencard

Oh, if you receive the 10-year greencard after your 2nd wedding anniversary, there's nothing else you have to do. Just go the Social Security Administration after you arrive in the States and apply for your SSN. Then you can get your driver's license, work and so on. Good luck!

Edited March 13, 2009 by Stella08

[MMW 2]

Yes it is close to our 2 yr anniversary but we are going to wait till June to go to the states to be sure we are wll past the 2 yrs before entering the US. I was wondering after that if there is a step we need to focus on.

[brnidokiegurl 0]

if u marked the forms to receive the Social Sec card (those sent to nvc) you wont have to do anything (unless) like ours after we waited and it didnt automatically come we did have to go to the SS office then it took another week to get it, (they had no answer to why it hadnt been processed) but there was a place telling them on the form thta you would request the card and they should have been processing it otherwise you are clear here for a couple of years

[Stella08 0]

if u marked the forms to receive the Social Sec card (those sent to nvc) you wont have to do anything (unless) like ours after we waited and it didnt automatically come we did have to go to the SS office then it took another week to get it, (they had no answer to why it hadnt been processed) but there was a place telling them on the form thta you would request the card and they should have been processing it otherwise you are clear here for a couple of years

I'm still waiting to hear from anybody that they received the SSN automatically after they activated the greencard. I know a lot of people get told that they will receive it automatically but so far it still has to happen.

[MMW 2]

Thank you for the replies, I was thinking about the same thing to just deal with the SS card and then wait till time to apply for citizenship. Again thanks for the quick responses.

[moonhunt 1]

I know I am getting ahead of the game here but I was wondering if my wife comes to the US on a IR-1 visa (10 yr GC) is there any steps besides the SS card applying she needs to do before we reach the citizenship part? AOS ETC.? Not sure if this is the place to post this question.

If it is IR-1, you don't have to worry about lifting the condition.

Usually your wife will receive the Social Security Card and plastic I-551 permanent resident card - Also known as Green Card - via mail within 4 weeks.

If your wife doesn't receive those within 4 weeks, she needs to check with USCIS and/or SSA.

[lucyrich 20]

if u marked the forms to receive the Social Sec card (those sent to nvc) you wont have to do anything (unless) like ours after we waited and it didnt automatically come we did have to go to the SS office then it took another week to get it, (they had no answer to why it hadnt been processed) but there was a place telling them on the form thta you would request the card and they should have been processing it otherwise you are clear here for a couple of years

I'm still waiting to hear from anybody that they received the SSN automatically after they activated the greencard. I know a lot of people get told that they will receive it automatically but so far it still has to happen.

It happened to us. SS card arrived automatically about two weeks after entry.

That was a few years ago, as you can see by the timeline below. Offices might have changed procedures enough that our experience may not be relevant anymore. My hazy memory of an informal survey of people going through at about the same time we went through indicated something like an 80% success rate. It was definitely not super-reliable, and there were reports of failure, but more reports of success. It was worth a try in order to avoid going to the SS office.

---

Anyway, back to the original question, you probably don't have to do much of anything with immigration.

If you move, both of you have to report your change of address. The immigrant reports it on the AR-11, and the sponsor reports it on the I-865, if I remember the form numbers correctly.

Be sure and file tax returns.

As long as you enter after your second wedding anniversary, you won't have to go through the removal of conditions process. Still, it wouldn't hurt to keep a file of some evidence that shows your marriage is bona fide, that you're living together, and sharing finances. It may come in handy in about three years if you want to apply for citizenship based on the marriage. There's no need to go to extremes, but as you accumulate joint documents in the ordinary course of your marriage, (car title, lease, mortgage, insurance, joint credit card of bank accounts, birth certificates of children, etc.) just stick a copy in the file. Or at least keep things organized enough so that you can locate this kind of thing if needed in the future.