SSN

[K1researcher 0]

is there any reason to get the SSN before marriage under K-1?

We were going to get it the day after the Justice of the Peace to avoid the name change.

[mox 298]

I can't really think of a reason, especially if she doesn't have a temporary work auth. If she's going to change her name, it makes the most sense to just wait, to avoid a second trip to the SS office.

[Neonred 3,645]

While getting a SSN after arriving on a K-1 prior to marriage is fairly easy, many offices will not issue the SSN after marriage until the green card has arrived. We got the SSN prior to marriage and tried to change it after and even ran into difficulty with that. We ended up just waiting to do the name change until well after my wife had her green card.

It all depends on which idiot you get and what the "policy" is at that office.

[slim 1,530]

Taxes, work, etc. are the only reasons it will matter. If she can work before, she'll need one. If she can't, then don't bother as you'll only have to make an extra trip.

[Brad and Vika 129]

While getting a SSN after arriving on a K-1 prior to marriage is fairly easy, many offices will not issue the SSN after marriage until the green card has arrived. We got the SSN prior to marriage and tried to change it after and even ran into difficulty with that. We ended up just waiting to do the name change until well after my wife had her green card.

It all depends on which idiot you get and what the "policy" is at that office.

This is exactly what happened to us last week. It took USCIS so long to verify Vika's identity under her married name, that there was no time before visa expiration to issue a card. Regardless of her status, the expiration of her K-1 drives the issuance deadline before her greencard arrives (there must be 14 days left from verification/application dates). Since it isn't critical that she work, we aren't in any crisis over it, but it is frustrating as @#$%!

[Neonred 3,645]

We applied for my wife's ssn a few weeks after she arrived and got it in a week. When we went back to update the name change we had 28 days until the 90 days were up. Got some idiot that told me he couldn't do it because it was less than 30 days until her I-94 was expiring. Then after talking with him about K-1 and time lines, he tells me that now that we are married we need to apply for a K-3!!! I tried to tell him he was so wrong, but he insisted, and told me he knew because he was an immigrant himself. Then I mentioned something about AP and he told me that since we were married we didn't need AP and she could enter and leave the country with me with no problem! I knew we had just wasted over an hour at this office so we just left without any further discussion.

Our only problem came many months later when my wife was getting her driving learners permit. Florida checks immigration documents and SSN, and hers did not match. That's when we finally went back to SS office and did the name change.