Working on a K1

[BigCityDave 0]

Just as a side note, the JFK International Airport in New York will issue a "point of entry" temporary EAD.

[FaSa2008 0]

Justin this is Farrah, People are probably confusing you ... Your question is easy... When ericka flies into jfk she will recieve her ead stamp she needs to make sure of that with that u can go to the social security ofice and get a social who will only be valid for 90 days THEN u have to do the adjust of status and apply for it with the aos....

so answer to ur question yes she will need a social !!=)

You guys shld give me a call when erica arrives, i live in long island and my fiance and erica are firends from el ICPNA their english classes, we shlould all meet one day

good luck in eveything!!!!!!

Just as a side note, the JFK International Airport in New York will issue a "point of entry" temporary EAD.

[Johnnie Oz 0]

As yet there is no pinned thread on this topic. Someday hopefully...I'm working on one (in my mind).

For now, most discussions on this take place in this forum, click here

Here are some recent and decent threads with detailed info. Among other things, some posters reiterate the FACT that you can begin to work even before you have a SSN. And as you know, you need the EA stamp from JFK (or elsewhere, recent reports from Tampa and San Francisco show that, while rare, the holy EA can be begotten outside of NYC)

1. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120524

2. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=116090

3. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=119643

Theoretical trajectory of those wishing to work while in K1 status

- enter US at JFK, some other airports, some Canadian land borders or some Canadian airports, and get EA stamp

- look for work, if you find something, tell them you have applied for SSN. Fill out I-9 with I-94 and EA info.

- After 1-2 weeks, you need to wait for status to be SAVE database, go to SSA and apply for SSN

- Begin working

- Receive SSN and report it to employer

After 90 days, you will need to stop working. Otherwise both the employer and you COULD be in trouble.

UNLESS, you have already received the 1 year EAD as part of your AOS. Some folks, like Tom G, have managed to do just that. Due to current backlogs at USCIS, this is not all that likely to happen, but it might. Some years ago, many folks managed to stay employment authorized from Day 1 till they received their Green Card. This is much harder to do now.

BUT we can still work for a couple of months....

If you're worried about having to quit your job post day 90, or if you're above doing certain low-paid work: then this trajectory may not be for you. But right now, it is an OPTION for K1s.

Outgoing USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez is on record saying he wants to eliminate this option. Blowing smoke out of his...., he writes:

"USCIS does not consider automatic employment authorization for K-1 nonimmigrants to be consistent with the intent of the underlying benefit...USCIS instead plans to propose to eliminate employment eligibility for K-1 nonimmigrants, in order to be more consistent with the overall intent of the K- 1 visa.

Oh really...some might beg to differ.

He wrote this in response to then USCIS Ombudman Prakash Khatri's recommendation that K1s should not have to endure "gaps in evidence of employment authorization".

Both of these gentlemen have now quit or been pushed out. So who knows what will happen...

Read the two memos if you are interested in the EAD issue. They clearly show that K1s need some kind of EA proof - as opposed to e.g. asylees or refugees, who are employment authorized by virtue of status alone. The latter may work WITHOUT EA stamps or EADS, while K1s may not.

:alien:

[coyote 3]

As yet there is no pinned thread on this topic. Someday hopefully...I'm working on one (in my mind).

For now, most discussions on this take place in this forum, click here

Here are some recent and decent threads with detailed info. Among other things, some posters reiterate the FACT that you can begin to work even before you have a SSN. And as you know, you need the EA stamp from JFK (or elsewhere, recent reports from Tampa and San Francisco show that, while rare, the holy EA can be begotten outside of NYC)

1. <a href="http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120524" target="_blank">http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=120524</a>

2. <a href="http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=116090" target="_blank">http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=116090</a>

3. <a href="http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=119643" target="_blank">http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=119643</a>

Theoretical trajectory of those wishing to work while in K1 status

- enter US at JFK, some other airports, some Canadian land borders or some Canadian airports, and get EA stamp

- look for work, if you find something, tell them you have applied for SSN. Fill out I-9 with I-94 and EA info.

- After 1-2 weeks, you need to wait for status to be SAVE database, go to SSA and apply for SSN

- Begin working

- Receive SSN and report it to employer

After 90 days, you will need to stop working. Otherwise both the employer and you COULD be in trouble.

UNLESS, you have already received the 1 year EAD as part of your AOS. Some folks, like Tom G, have managed to do just that. Due to current backlogs at USCIS, this is not all that likely to happen, but it might. Some years ago, many folks managed to stay employment authorized from Day 1 till they received their Green Card. This is much harder to do now.

BUT we can still work for a couple of months....

If you're worried about having to quit your job post day 90, or if you're above doing certain low-paid work: then this trajectory may not be for you. But right now, it is an OPTION for K1s.

Outgoing USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez is on record saying he wants to eliminate this option. Blowing smoke out of his...., he writes:

"USCIS does not consider automatic employment authorization for K-1 nonimmigrants to be consistent with the intent of the underlying benefit...USCIS instead plans to propose to eliminate employment eligibility for K-1 nonimmigrants, in order to be more consistent with the overall intent of the K- 1 visa.

Oh really...some might beg to differ.

He wrote this in response to then USCIS Ombudman Prakash Khatri's recommendation that K1s should not have to endure "gaps in evidence of employment authorization".

Both of these gentlemen have now quit or been pushed out. So who knows what will happen...

Read the two memos if you are interested in the EAD issue. They clearly show that K1s need some kind of EA proof - as opposed to e.g. asylees or refugees, who are employment authorized by virtue of status alone. The latter may work WITHOUT EA stamps or EADS, while K1s may not.

:alien:

Thank you for this great posting. I have been trying to sort out the legalities of temporary work under the K-1. I made several calls to the USCIS and each time they told me that the fiance needs to file for work authorization permit -- which basically means he can't work for at least 3 months.

Yet the customs folks at JFK told me unequivocally that the EAD stamp functions as approval to work.

It's kind of frightening to think that 1) the disagreement between the agencies has created a gray area, and 2) this gray area (and power grab by USCIS) could result in someone getting deported. Or am I being alarmist?