Social Security Number for conditional permanent resident?

[eav123 0]

Hi. My husband just got his visa to come live here! YAY. But now, we're wondering what his next steps are with regard to getting a social security number and work authorization? DOes the work authorization come with the visa? or is there more money and more hoops to jump through? Does he need a ss number? Clueless! (ALSO, how long does it all take?) He's coming Aug.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Normally, the SSN is requested as part of the IR1 admission package but also it hardly ever works... If he should not receive his SS card within 4 weeks of his arrival, take him to your local SSO and inquire. He can seek work even as he waits for his SSN.

The I-551 stamp on his passport is as good as his greencard, which means once he arrives and is admitted to the US he will be able to work. The I-551 authorizes him to work and he can use it as evidence of that until his greencard arrives in the mail, which should happen 4-8 weeks after his arrival.

He may need to pay $165 to have his greencard produced - check this link: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=3a2bb75e8109b310VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=fe529c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

[Ryan H 3,812]

The I-551 stamp on his passport is as good as his greencard, which means once he arrives and is admitted to the US he will be able to work. The I-551 authorizes him to work and he can use it as evidence of that until his greencard arrives in the mail, which should happen 4-8 weeks after his arrival.

It's a combination of the visa and a standard entry stamp that allows the visa to act as temporary green card until the actual card arrives. Not the stamp in of itself.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

It's a combination of the visa and a standard entry stamp that allows the visa to act as temporary green card until the actual card arrives. Not the stamp in of itself.

I'm sorry but you're wrong. First, it's not a "standard entry stamp". It's an I-551 stamp which is different. Please see this picture: http://www.**.com/greencard/images/sample-temporary-green-card.jpg The top one is an entry stamp (which is of course required as proof of entry), the bottom one is the I-551 stamp. As an LPR you will get the top stamp when you enter, but will never get the bottom one again, unless you lose your GC.

As a K1 I don't get a stamp, yet if we needed a stamp to travel after AOS approval (rather than waiting for the card), we got the I-551 stamp in our passport. There is NO VISA in our passport that's valid (the K1 expires on entry). For ROC sometimes the extension letter doesn't arrive so you make an infopass and get an I-551 stamp. Again, NO VISA.

The I-551 is the code for GC. It comes in card form (you can see the form number listed on the GC) or in stamp form. The I-551 stamp is STAND ALONE proof of LPR status and is usually valid for a year.

**Edited to add - In fact, the passport my K1 came in is no longer valid. I changed my name and thus got a new passport so there is no "combination of visa and standard entry stamp" that would work for me in the above scenarios.

Hi. My husband just got his visa to come live here! YAY. But now, we're wondering what his next steps are with regard to getting a social security number and work authorization? DOes the work authorization come with the visa? or is there more money and more hoops to jump through? Does he need a ss number? Clueless! (ALSO, how long does it all take?) He's coming Aug.

Once he lands he gets the I-551 stamp which is a GC stamp. That enables him to work and travel. His LPR status begins on that day.

He can either go to the SSA to apply for the GC, or wait to see if the one he asked for on the DS-230 (part II) arrives.

Edited October 16, 2013 by Captain Ewok

[JohnR! 5,495]

It's a combination of the visa and a standard entry stamp that allows the visa to act as temporary green card until the actual card arrives. Not the stamp in of itself.

Precisely what I said. You are correct in the context of IR/CR visas.

Edited July 26, 2013 by Gegel

[Ryan H 3,812]

I'm sorry but you're wrong. As a K1 I don't get a stamp, yet if we needed a stamp to travel after AOS approval (rather than waiting for the card), we got the I-551 stamp in our passport. There is NO VISA in our passport that's valid (the K1 expires on entry). For ROC sometimes the extension letter doesn't arrive so you make an infopass and get an I-551 stamp. Again, NO VISA.

The I-551 is the code for GC. It comes in card form (you can see the form number listed on the GC) or in stamp form. The I-551 stamp is STAND ALONE proof of LPR status and is usually valid for a year.

Once he lands he gets the I-551 stamp which is a GC stamp. That enables him to work and travel. His LPR status begins on that day.

He can either go to the SSA to apply for the GC, or wait to see if the one he asked for on the DS-230 (part II) arrives.

CBP is no longer placing special I-551 stamps in passports of immigrant visa holders (which includes CR-1 visa holders).

At the bottom of the immigrant visa is the following notation, "Upon Endorsement Serves as Temporary I-551 Valid for 1 Year." The endorsement is a standard entry stamp.

Here is how I know this, when my wife arrived on a CR-1 visa, a standard CBP entry stamp was placed in her passport on the page next to her visa with applicable information written in by the officer.

Edited July 26, 2013 by Ryan H

[squirrelisan 23]

Anecdotally, haven't heard the automated SSN process to work for anyone. If you don't get an SS card in the mail a month after POE, go to the SSA office. You'll just need to bring your husband's passport (with Visa in it) and a filled out SSA application (to save you time at the window).

Also, make sure your husband's name is on the mailbox (or inside the mailbox if you live in an apartment complex/condo and have one of those clustered mailboxes), as the SSA people have told me sometimes the cards get sent back to the SSA office, if they see the wrong name on the mailbox.

[JohnR! 5,495]

Anecdotally, haven't heard the automated SSN process to work for anyone. If you don't get an SS card in the mail a month after POE, go to the SSA office. You'll just need to bring your husband's passport (with Visa in it) and a filled out SSA application (to save you time at the window).

Also, make sure your husband's name is on the mailbox (or inside the mailbox if you live in an apartment complex/condo and have one of those clustered mailboxes), as the SSA people have told me sometimes the cards get sent back to the SSA office, if they see the wrong name on the mailbox.

I have, but they are few and far in between. As a rule the automated system does not work...

[NikLR 13,227]

I've heard of it working about half the time on VJ.