ok question about after she arrives

[ERICHANDSVETA 0]

There seems to be some confusion, and hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

The papers she has says she will get a SS# in the mail within 3 weeks. Three weeks has come today, and nothing. Is there somewhere I need to call or should I wait a bit longer?

My lawyer told me some wrong info I think, as I am reading more now, so any help.

We cant get married without that card as I see it, so are we stuck in limbo here, and can someone show me a link to the right place to ask these/read these questions?

[StarGirl 13]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn
this is the link on how to apply for SS#. It states that the card should be arriving within 2 weeks. Since in your case it has been more than that, I would def give your local SS office a call to find out the status. Also, just a thought, a letter stating that you fiancee has applied for SS might be accepted for marriage license application.

[Abell 11]

go to SS office right away and apply in person, we waited for a month thinking it will come since we marked it on the application but after we came to the office they told us that she was not even in the system and we need to get i94 first then come back and apply, after that card came in less then a week, also calling them hadn't really worked for me since automated system just bounce you around

[jft 12]

I'm told that after 2 weeks you can get it with her passport and I-94 at your local SS office. I'd do it Monday the 30th however as the government shutdown is looming for Oct 1 should the Congress not get their act together.

[baron555 934]

You have to go to the SSA office; nothing happens automatically

[titantom 2]

I agree with some of the others... and like you, I am in Tennessee and went through this last year. I am not sure why she needs the SSN before marriage though, because then you will just have to change her name on it shortly afterwards.

Anyway, we did it this way... Got married a week after entry, then went to the SSA office and did the paperwork, and we showed them the K1 VISA, I94, and marriage certificate. One thing she will need the SSN for is to have or be on a bank account.

That's what prompted us to go to SSA office and try to speed things up. And they did say it was supposed to already be in process via immigration, but they could make it go quicker rather than wait.

Can't say if this applies for all places, but this is how we did it in TN... Hope this helps and Good Luck!

[1HappyGuy 45]

Whoa, who said you can't get married without a SS number. We got married and went through the Adjustment of Status without her having a social security card. However, we got married in January so it was not a big rush for us. But, you don't need a SS# to be married, just to open up anything like a bank account.

I thought you were going to be asking about pots in the refrigerator or cold drinks left out to warm. If your attorney said you need to have a SS number for her to be married, he's wrong. But still, if you have applied with SSA, contact them Monday morning about the card.

Good luck and welcome her to America.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

There seems to be some confusion, and hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

The papers she has says she will get a SS# in the mail within 3 weeks. Three weeks has come today, and nothing. Is there somewhere I need to call or should I wait a bit longer?

My lawyer told me some wrong info I think, as I am reading more now, so any help.

We cant get married without that card as I see it, so are we stuck in limbo here, and can someone show me a link to the right place to ask these/read these questions?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

There seems to be some confusion, and hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

The papers she has says she will get a SS# in the mail within 3 weeks. Three weeks has come today, and nothing. Is there somewhere I need to call or should I wait a bit longer?

My lawyer told me some wrong info I think, as I am reading more now, so any help.

We cant get married without that card as I see it, so are we stuck in limbo here, and can someone show me a link to the right place to ask these/read these questions?

1. Never talk to the lawyer again. He is an idiot

2. You do no tneed a SSN to get married anywhere in the USA. If the application asks for it put "none" if you have none. You don;t think all those people coming from foreign countries to get married in Vegas and the Poconos have SSNs do you?

3. Go to the SS office and aply for a SS card. You can get the number the day after you apply, the card comes in a week or so.

4. Apply in her MAIDEN NAME as in her passport. Use her passport for ID as well as her visa. Bring her I-94 also. If you run into clerks that do not know what they are doing, ask for a supervisor. DO NOT leave until you have the SS application successfully completed and a reciept for it.

Alla applied for her SSN 16 hours after she arrived. She arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, we applied for the SS card Thursday morning, went back Friday morning and got her number, then opened bank accounts, joint account and got her grant for education finalized (she needed the SSN for that)

You DO NOT need it to get married. You DO NOT need it for AOS. You MUSt apply for the number within the first 76 days of her arrival (2 weeks before her I-94 expires) or you have to wait until she has an EAD or Green card

Lose your lawyers phone number, sorry you got ripped off. Ask questions here. We have actually done this stuff.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

1. Never talk to the lawyer again. He is an idiot

2. You do no tneed a SSN to get married anywhere in the USA. If the application asks for it put "none" if you have none. You don;t think all those people coming from foreign countries to get married in Vegas and the Poconos have SSNs do you?

3. Go to the SS office and aply for a SS card. You can get the number the day after you apply, the card comes in a week or so.

4. Apply in her MAIDEN NAME as in her passport. Use her passport for ID as well as her visa. Bring her I-94 also. If you run into clerks that do not know what they are doing, ask for a supervisor. DO NOT leave until you have the SS application successfully completed and a reciept for it.

Alla applied for her SSN 16 hours after she arrived. She arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, we applied for the SS card Thursday morning, went back Friday morning and got her number, then opened bank accounts, joint account and got her grant for education finalized (she needed the SSN for that)

You DO NOT need it to get married. You DO NOT need it for AOS. You MUSt apply for the number within the first 76 days of her arrival (2 weeks before her I-94 expires) or you have to wait until she has an EAD or Green card

Lose your lawyers phone number, sorry you got ripped off. Ask questions here. We have actually done this stuff.

NOTHING is automatic in this process. NOTHING. what is automatic? NOTHING.

If you read something that says something is automatic...it is wrong. If someone tells you something is automatic...they are wrong. The only time anything arrives in the mail after her arrival is IF she did an immigrant visa (CR-1) and you APPLIED for her SSN overseas. It is STILL not "automatic", you just applied at the consulate instead of the SS office here. This is not available for K-1s. DO NOT confuse the non-immigrant K-1 with the immigrant CR-1 visas.

If you do not do what you need to do, it will cause your wife to lose her benefits.

One of the biggest problems of using an attorney is it leaves you clueless. This is a FOUR year process and that attorney couldn't care less about your wife. This process involves LOTS more than immigration forms which are not even a mild nuisance. Wait until you deal with SS and the DMV. And schools and employers. Every form that ever asks "Are you a US citizen" will get you stares like "deer in the headlights" when you check "no". The clerks will know nothing and YOU need to know what to do. You will have to train them as you go along.

YOU better know what is going on, your attorney obviously does not. Fortunately you found the best place for that.

We have done this, and we are here to help others doing this and I am partial to FSU couples. I'm biased, it is true.

Удачи вам и вашей жене. Дайте нам знать, когда мы можем помочь

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I'm told that after 2 weeks you can get it with her passport and I-94 at your local SS office. I'd do it Monday the 30th however as the government shutdown is looming for Oct 1 should the Congress not get their act together.

You can get it the day after she arrives. Her legal entry into the USA must be recorded in the DHS "SAVE" system which is updated every night at 12:01am. Unless there is some glitch with the system, you can apply the next day. We did. Alla received her SS card in the mail exactly 1 week after arriving.

If you go back to the SS office the day after applying you can get the NUMBER the next morning. It takes a week to get the card but no one cares about the card anyway, they only need the number. Just go to the clerk, show ID and ask for your SSN. SSNs are generated by computer overnight after applying. They will even give you an official printout with your number if you ask.

the card itself is not important at all.

The SS office also maintains records of her status, so when she becomes a citizen, GO BACK with a copy pf her citizenship certificate and change her status show that checks of her card show her as a citizen.

also, since you have a dumb@ss attorney...just a reminder...NEVER EVER claim to be a citizen until she has her citizenship certificate in hand. It is a deportable offense to falsly claim US citizenship.

[Turboguy 6]

Gary's advice is dead on. Don't put off getting it though. if you don't apply before a few weeks before the K-1 expires you have to wait until after AOS. There are some things they like to see later in the process like joint bank accounts and drivers liscenses which do require a SS#. It is far better to get the SS# as soon as possible

I can recall a million years ago when I was going through the process that I thought a lawyer would be the best course. The more I read here the more I changed my mind and when I hear stories like this it makes me very happy I never used a lawyer.

[baron555 934]

We waited until two weeks after she arrived. I think I had added her to the electric account to "prove" address. Didn't have anything else except her passport with the I-94 and of course the NOA2 copy with had her name and A# but sent to my address, the same as mine and the electric bill. Never had an issue. We got an acknowledgement I believe within a few days and the card in the mail a week later. We got married in between.

[Darnell 8,478]

I will guess there was some confusion with the DS-230 form.

It's a multi-purpose form.

K-1 visa chasers do not USE Part II of this form.

SSN chasing is listed on Part II of this form.

Want a SSN? Go Get One !

read a bit?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/405546-ssn-howto/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/405546-ssn-howto/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/405546-ssn-howto/

[vbtwo 54]

Hopefully the shutdown won't last too long as they're not issuing any new cards. Although I'm not sure if they're assigning new numbers, just not printing and mailing the cards, or if they're not even assigning new numbers, it's not too clear from their site.