I hold a K1 visa, am I allowed to work till my I-94 expires?

[tmma 467]

Dunno when I came up with "Spirit of K-1"..............

In addition, your interpretation would mean K1s effectively cannot work until they are married and have applied for AOS and the EAD. Again, what is the point of my being work authorized on my I-94 from the date of entry?

I though the spirit of the K1 was more like: live together for a little while, get SSN, get settled, work a little, get married and then file for AOS.

thanks for your patience!

Not sure why anyone would just yet....

Holy backlog, Batman!

All I was trying to say was that phrase " spirit...." made me chuckle, and that this entire process ( especially the whole "able to work" question) has been brought up over and over; but like RJ says, now it has a " new wrinkle", that's all.

Edited January 8, 2008 by tmma

[rebeccajo 14]

Johnny -

With the 'new rules' clearly stating "if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer", I don't know how we can conclude anything other than that. THE means THE. (Oh, I sound like Bill Clinton).

And if the employer knows how to interpret the I9, your passport won't suffice for ID. The ID has to be issued by a US governmental body.

As has ALWAYS been contended, the EAD stamp from JFK (and the few other ports of entry that occasionally dole it out) is of questionable value. I think it has it's merits for folks who would like to pick up a few bucks working at Starbucks till the temp EAD expires. Or maybe the USC has family or friends willing to give the immigrant a short term job - or who don't mind the immigrants 'hiatus from work' that will be required during the nasty gap when they aren't legally authorized to work. In most cases, I personally can't see the value of an early EAD insofar as getting yourself that career position you've been dreaming of.

When my now-husband arrived on his K1 in the US, I told him to just relax, adjust to life in America, and be a house-husband for a while. Because after he was duly assimilated to life in the US and was work authorized, I wasn't going to put up with his lazy behind!!

[Johnnie Oz 0]

I hear ya, TMMA.

It's all LEUK!

I know this keeps coming up. Like i wrote, i debated this till i turned puffy n blue some time last summer. Now that I am finallly here and ready to get cracking, some new guidelines threaten to clog my previously pristine pores.

Thus i jumped back into the frying pan....

Let's hope for the best in ironing out the wrinkle!

[Johnnie Oz 0]

Rebeccajo, I see most of your points, but.....

"With the 'new rules' clearly stating "if that status authorizes the alien to work for the employer", I don't know how we can conclude anything other than that. THE means THE. (Oh, I sound like Bill Clinton)."

THE employer is this case is the one filling out the form! it says "status" authorizes, no? So depending on which status (K1, H1.B etc) different rules apply. K1 status authorizes the individual to work for ANY employer, i.e. "THE employer" filling out the form. The same logic for a H1-B would only apply if THE employer filling out the I-9 was the SPECIFIC one listed on the I-94 and/or other documention that such visa holders possess. Bubba would agree!?

Not that I want to refer to SSA guidelines for immigration law, but the way they distinguish between classes of admission and how they can prove work authorization seems pretty exemplary. I refer to these oft-cited policy guidelines.

"Some nonimmigrant aliens have employment authorization by virtue of their alien classification (k1s). Some can work but only for specific employers (H1bs) . Others must apply to DHS for employment authorization (K3s). Still others are not allowed to work while in the U.S. and cannot apply to DHS for authorization to work (F2s). It is important to distinguish whether the alien can work and what document(s) is needed to establish authorization to work." examples added by me

"And if the employer knows how to interpret the I9, your passport won't suffice for ID. The ID has to be issued by a US governmental body."

I don't get your point here though. I am arguing that the foreign passport and I-94 clearly meets List A requirements for (e), so there is no need to worry about List B and C, with the US-issued IDs etc. This is quite clear from question 21 on p. 23 of the nightmare reading you suggested

"As has ALWAYS been contended, the EAD stamp from JFK (and the few other ports of entry that occasionally dole it out) is of questionable value. I think it has it's merits for folks who would like to pick up a few bucks working at Starbucks till the temp EAD expires. Or maybe the USC has family or friends willing to give the immigrant a short term job - or who don't mind the immigrants 'hiatus from work' that will be required during the nasty gap when they aren't legally authorized to work. In most cases, I personally can't see the value of an early EAD insofar as getting yourself that career position you've been dreaming of. "

Yes, but this is not about that. people arrive with very divergent experiences of the US, different skills, aspirations etc. In my case, I may well be able to make some very welcome money in the 2 months left on my I-94. In addition, I may also be able to land a "real career" job, due to contacts etc, despite the "gap situation".

"When my now-husband arrived on his K1 in the US, I told him to just relax, adjust to life in America, and be a house-husband for a while. Because after he was duly assimilated to life in the US and was work authorized, I wasn't going to put up with his lazy behind!! "

indeed. And as I am already highly assimilated, my SO wants me to get cracking pronto. as do I! But being a house-husband is cool indeed! BTW, did your husband apply for his SSN before or after the wedding? Been reading that some people run into issues at SSA since some bureaucrats claim we would be out of K1 status if we are already married when we apply for SSN. Not that I would tell them i was already married....

[rebeccajo 14]

My husband filed for his Social Security number (or attempted to I should say) about four days after arrival. It was at this point we discovered he had NO I-94. But that is another story that you REALLY don't want to get into right now.......

He went back a few days later (newly obtained I94 in hand) and signed up. Had the number within another three weeks.

You need to apply for your number within 76 days of your K1 entry or you won't be able to get it until you do have your EAD - the real one. It won't matter whether you get it now or after you marry cause you are a guy. There's a #######-up with the women getting their SS numbers after marriage that has something to do with their new name not matching their passport name, and for some reason the SS office gives them heartburn about it. Maybe one of the ladies can clarify exactly why that is.

Johnnie, you contend that an employer will hire you because you possess the last item in Column A. If they don't even bother to read the employer manual (and just read the back of the form) and they interpret the form as I do, then they are going to require an item from B and one from C.

Good luck to you whatever you do. Report back to us if you would.

[Johnnie Oz 0]

Will let you know how things go!

however, still confused as to your interpretation of Column/List A items (documents that establish BOTH "identity and employment eligibility". The way i read it, from both the I-9 form and the Handbook (the language on p. 36 clearly shows an employer that there are multiple immigration statuses that are work authorized and the employer thus needs to do more research to see what the conditions are for a particular class, no info in the handbook), a foreign passport with attached I-94 constitutes such an item, and as such it is the equivalent of a US passport, green card, EAD etc.

Crucially, the employer CANNOT decide what documentation to accept, the I-9 and Handbook clearly state this. If I choose to present foreign passport with I-94 to verify identity and employment eligibility, then the employer has to accept it. Conversely, some permanent residents may instead choose to show a driver's license and Soc Sec card instead of perm resident card. It is up to us. Sounds nice in practice, but hopefully competent HR folks will not have an issue with this.

In what case will showing the passport plus I-94 be enough, according to you?

I agree that showing items from both List B AND List C is pretty much a non sequitur for K1s given the time constraints of our I-94s. For most new arrivals it will take too much time, i.e. to first get Soc Sec Card and then apply for driver's license/state ID.

This is exactly why (other than the fact that it is clearly on the list) I argue that the foreign passport plus I-94 is sufficient. The option is there so those who are work authorized, e.g. K1s and H1bs to get cracking pronto, i.e. as soon as they have a SSN (or even before that). otherwise they also have to wait for US driver's license/state ID. waste of time.

additional confusion may arise if I were to flash a SS card with the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" wording, BUT since providing the SSN is optional on the I-9 (unless the employer participates in the e-verify scheme) AND the employer cannot request to see the card anyway, that will not be a problem.

finally, re : the discussion whether or not K1s are work authorized for THE EMPLOYER (the wording on the I-9) is there really an alternative way to express that?

rather than only implying employer specific requirements, "the employer" is used since it can mean both that and non-employer specific authorization. no?

enough Clintonism

ok, that's that.