Let's kill this myth right here, right now...

[TracyTN 237]

Well I just spent my lunch hour and then some at the local Social Security office. I will pass on to you what I found out. Take it or leave it as you see best:

God I love a good mystery!!!

First I want to say that RatBox did exactly what I always recommend and that is to go to the statutes (in this case US Code) that cover the issues at hand. I commend RatBox for this effort and encourage all to follow suit. There is a ton of great info out there if you can find it and decipher it.

With that being said I learned that the SSA and DHS are at direct odds over what constitutes work authorization. The SSA goes by their guidelines and the USCIS goes by US Code. Unfortunately the two agencies do not quite agree. In this situation I would go with the Federal Code (US Code) as it is from a higher authority and is a uniform code (it applies to everybody).

But there is a catch... its called the S.A.V.E program Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements and it is similar to the NCIC system used by law enforcement agencies in that it collects and makes available to many government agencies and businesses, pertinent information on those in the immigration system. It is this system that officials from ICE, USCIS, DHS, TSA and many others including employers rely upon for the status of a specific immigrant and their benefits status. A phone call to their office (which sounds remarkably like a call to USCIS) resulted in a description of what S.A.V.E. is and what they do and also resulted in no explanation as to why the SSA and USCIS cannot agree on work authorization or how Tanya was entered into their system as being work authorized (they double checked at SSA) without applying via the I-765. I have a guess but I will leave you to your own speculation on this issue.

Bottom line is that if you are in the S.A.V.E. system as being work authorized, you can get the SSN and the database that will prevent you from getting a job states that you are eligible for hire or authorized for work regardless of any other supporting documents. The stamp being used at JFK apparently is outdated and there might be a couple of old-timers there still using it but the stamp itself states that it is an interim I-551 stamp for those who have been processed for the I-551 "Green Card". Beats the heck out of me why they would use it for a K1, but if you are lucky enough to get the stamp more power to you. It takes the guess work out of the equation. Perhaps there is a disconnect between USCIS regarding them entering info into the S.A.V.E. system. Maybe one regulation tells them to enter the K1 into it but the rest of their regs say that the need to file the I-765. My next stop on this happy trail is a very long letter to Jeff Miller my Congressman. You just gotta love America!!!

SAVE Program

Employment Verification Pilot Programs

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 required the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), and the Social Security Administration to conduct three employment verification pilot programs: E-Verify, the Citizen Attestation Pilot, and the Machine-Readable Document Pilot programs. Since the INS became part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on March 1, 2003, the pilot programs now fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program. These pilot programs are the only means available for employers to verify the information that their newly hired employees have provided on the Form I-9 attesting that they are authorized to work in the United States.

The SAVE program is no longer recruiting for the Machine-Readable Document or the Citizen Attestation Pilot programs as those pilots ended in May and June 2003, respectively.

This has been the situation for quite a while when it comes to the SSA/USCIS and what constitutes 'work authorized'.

[Forever Young 1]

Doesnt anyone else find it kind of stupid to get the temp EAD at the POE anway? My fiancee and I discussed this at lengeth and we figured out it just wouldnt be worth it. I am sure it depends on everyone's indiviual case, but in our case what is the poitn? She arrives and by the time we get an apartment, get her SSN, get married, apply for AOS,EAD and AP, she looks for and "finds" a job, what she will maybe be able to work for a month before she has to quit because there is no way her real EAD will be granted in that time frame. It just doesnt make sense to me at all....

Just to add a little fuel to the fire

You're right about it depending upon each individual case. My fiance was fortunate enough to find a job a few weeks after he arrived. His employee contacted USCIS & SSA and filed the appropriate paperwork to ensure that he can continue to work until his permenant EAD/ Green card arrives.

But we live on Long Island and JFK is our closest airport anyway...so him getting the EAD was well worth it!

But to each their own!

Bless-ed,

Gill

[*JG* 2]

It's not always to each his own, sometimes things are done against one's will, of which you have no control.

[JoeCanuk 3]

No, we are telling you that you were rude. And we are telling you that you have mis read people's posts repeatedly.

The statments that you see constantly is that JFK is the only POE that ROUTINELY gives the stamp.

Nope. Wasn't rude.

Nope. There have been plenty of times where I saw someone say that JFK was the ONLY POE that issued the stamp. The word "routinely" has been absent plenty of times.

Last, but definitely not least, how would you or anyone else know that JFK is the only POE that ROUTINELY issues the stamp? This is impossible to know.

[Forever Young 1]

It's not always to each his own, sometimes things are done against one's will, of which you have no control.

JG,

That's true. I mean dealing with USCIS this has to be the case more often than not. But when you are fortunate to have certain things fall into place and it puts everyone on equal ground...then I think 'to each his own", dependent upon what works best for them.

I would agree with some that it may not be worth all the trouble to seek employment with you initial EAD. But since we were blessed and a). Ken got an EAD stamp, B ). Ken's SSN came within a few weeks of his arrival and c). he was fortunate enough to find a understanding employer...then it worked for us.

In other cases it may not...Que sera sera!

Bless-ed,

Gill

Edited May 28, 2008 by Deyoungting

[*JG* 2]

It's not always to each his own, sometimes things are done against one's will, of which you have no control.

JG,

That's true. I mean dealing with USCIS this has to be the case more often than not. But when you are fortunate to have certain things fall into place and it puts everyone on equal ground...then I think 'to each his own", dependent upon what works best for them.

I would agree with some that it may not be worth all the trouble to seek employment with you initial EAD. But since we were blessed and a). Ken got an EAD stamp, B ). Ken's SSN came within a few weeks of his arrival and c). he was fortunate enough to find a understanding employer...then it worked for us.

In other cases it may not...Que sera sera!

Bless-ed,

Gill

We are in agreement, just different wordings.

You were defintely very fortunate. I couldn't be happier for you, you know.