K-1 Clarification of Temporary Work Authorization via JFK

[nowhereman 1]

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

[rebeccajo 14]

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

A K1 can work till their I94 expires even if they don't possess an EAD or a greencard - this class of aliens is work authorized.

If a K1 can meet the criteria of the I9 form, they can work.

This means they need either one document from List A (on the back of the I9) or one document from List B PLUS a document from List C.

And that is the part that cannot be done.

[johnners 0]

Moving to the Traveling and Working in America before Greencard forum.

johnners -

Please see the pinned thread at the top of the forum.

Thanks for this. My thread topic actually had nothing to do with the EAD itself, just whether or not JFK was stamping them currently. Still, thanks.

J

I should like to think you did not pay extra to go to JFK to find out if CBP is wasting ink stamping K-1's I-94s with useless "employment authorized" marks.

The porpose of the post was to inform K-1 holders they COULD work and all they had to do was a "seamless" trip through JFK. This is not true and is not a service to members of VJ. It is also the reason that some people still have an idea that it is a gray area. It is not. That and the USCIS misinformation line. There is nothing you or I can do about the USCIS giving bad information, maybe a gift subscription to VJ, but we need to cease this nonsense here.

Ok, this is the last time I'll post. It was never my intention to provide any kind of misleading information here. I had the best of intentions. Since I am clearly wasting people's time and my own having started this thread, I will cease to contribute to it, and I guess if it can be deleted by a mod, so much the better.

Clearly my one and only post on this thread has annoyed people. For good reason or not, perhaps a bit of both. I honestly just wanted to help.

Good luck to all, see ya.

[I'm Gone 60]

USCIS themselves told me otherwise.

If the information provided by the USCIS 800# I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

[Ju&Ja 1]

USCIS themselves told me otherwise.

If the information provided by the USCIS 800# I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I had the same information in the immigration building during infopass.

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

A K1 can work till their I94 expires even if they don't possess an EAD or a greencard - this class of aliens is work authorized.

If a K1 can meet the criteria of the I9 form, they can work.

This means they need either one document from List A (on the back of the I9) or one document from List B PLUS a document from List C.

And that is the part that cannot be done.

If a K1 can work til his I-94 expires it means that I can work. And I don't know why but my I-94 has a 6 months validity

Edited May 22, 2009 by JulietteDumont

[rebeccajo 14]

USCIS themselves told me otherwise.

If the information provided by the USCIS 800# I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I had the same information in the immigration building during infopass.

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

A K1 can work till their I94 expires even if they don't possess an EAD or a greencard - this class of aliens is work authorized.

If a K1 can meet the criteria of the I9 form, they can work.

This means they need either one document from List A (on the back of the I9) or one document from List B PLUS a document from List C.

And that is the part that cannot be done.

If a K1 can work til his I-94 expires it means that I can work. And I don't know why but my I-94 has a 6 months validity

You can work till your I94 expires if you can meet the criteria of the I9 form.

And I have no idea why your I94 has a validity of six months. That's an error and it's the third time in 10 days or so that I've read of errors by CBP officials at a port of entry. What is going on out there?

Edited May 22, 2009 by rebeccajo

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

USCIS themselves told me otherwise.

If the information provided by the USCIS 800# I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I had the same information in the immigration building during infopass.

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

A K1 can work till their I94 expires even if they don't possess an EAD or a greencard - this class of aliens is work authorized.

If a K1 can meet the criteria of the I9 form, they can work.

This means they need either one document from List A (on the back of the I9) or one document from List B PLUS a document from List C.

And that is the part that cannot be done.

If a K1 can work til his I-94 expires it means that I can work. And I don't know why but my I-94 has a 6 months validity

You didn't read the entire post. K-1, or ANYONE can work provided you can provide the documents needed for the I-9 form. I do no thave a K-1 OR an I-94 but I can work because I can provide an item from list A. You, a K-1, cannot. You cannot provide an item from list C and B, the other option.

You were given bad information at the info pass meeting, sorry. It is a running joke in this country for at least a century, that government workers are of low quality, often untrained social experiments or politically correct pegs in holes who ofthe look as though they are being paid-by-the-pound. Wrong information is often as not, the rule. At this moment there are probably 30-threads started today about government employee mess-ups and misinfomation. How many times a day are K-1 holders told they cannot get an SSN? That alone is one of the most frequently posted problems and it is a very simple procedure yet the SS administration cannot pound it into their clerk's heads that's its OK. And government workers, when faced with a situation they do not understand, invariably make up a wrong answer rather than ask someone that knows. Your I-94 was mistakenly stamped 180 days, not that it matters much, and for your sake I hope you do not try to capitalize on that error by waiting longer to marry. Remember, if THEY make a mistake, it is YOUR problem.

You never did mention the results of your e-verify call.

The K-1 visa is a bad choice for someone who's intent or need is to work immediately on arriving to the USA. Choose the CR-1, wait a little longer and get your green card on arrival.

[payxibka 10,045]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

[rebeccajo 14]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

That's possible.

Will the people who hire him give him a 1099 at year end?

If so, he's going to need to include that income on the tax return he will file (jointly I presume) with his wife at year end 2009. And he will be taxed on it.

I'd love to know if that is income from unlawful employment. I really don't know if it would be or not. We know that unlawful employment can be forgiven at the adjustment of status by virtue of marriage to a USC. But, if it is unlawful employment, why invite the problem?

*scratches head*

[payxibka 10,045]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

That's possible.

Will the people who hire him give him a 1099 at year end?

If so, he's going to need to include that income on the tax return he will file (jointly I presume) with his wife at year end 2009. And he will be taxed on it.

I'd love to know if that is income from unlawful employment. I really don't know if it would be or not. We know that unlawful employment can be forgiven at the adjustment of status by virtue of marriage to a USC. But, if it is unlawful employment, why invite the problem?

*scratches head*

If you have the authorization stamp as provided by JFK... How can it be remotely classified as "illegal" income or unlawful employment?

[Boiler 45,486]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

That's possible.

Will the people who hire him give him a 1099 at year end?

If so, he's going to need to include that income on the tax return he will file (jointly I presume) with his wife at year end 2009. And he will be taxed on it.

I'd love to know if that is income from unlawful employment. I really don't know if it would be or not. We know that unlawful employment can be forgiven at the adjustment of status by virtue of marriage to a USC. But, if it is unlawful employment, why invite the problem?

*scratches head*

If you have the authorization stamp as provided by JFK... How can it be remotely classified as "illegal" income or unlawful employment?

IRS do not care, they just want the money.

K1's have always been work authorised, just an argument of evidence.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

That's possible.

Will the people who hire him give him a 1099 at year end?

If so, he's going to need to include that income on the tax return he will file (jointly I presume) with his wife at year end 2009. And he will be taxed on it.

I'd love to know if that is income from unlawful employment. I really don't know if it would be or not. We know that unlawful employment can be forgiven at the adjustment of status by virtue of marriage to a USC. But, if it is unlawful employment, why invite the problem?

*scratches head*

If you have the authorization stamp as provided by JFK... How can it be remotely classified as "illegal" income or unlawful employment?

IRS do not care, they just want the money.

K1's have always been work authorised, just an argument of evidence.

Yep. We know someone who just got hired at a major supermarket chain, and she passsed via e-verify. She got hired one week before her biometrics for AOS and EAD yesterday. She won't have her EAD in hand for another month.

[Ju&Ja 1]

USCIS themselves told me otherwise.

If the information provided by the USCIS 800# I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

I had the same information in the immigration building during infopass.

I am 99.999999999999999999% sure a K-1 visa holder cannot work until they get an EAD or Green card. USCIS should know this but I think half of the people working at the call center are trained monkeys, so I'm not too surprised they would give you incorrect information.

A K1 can work till their I94 expires even if they don't possess an EAD or a greencard - this class of aliens is work authorized.

If a K1 can meet the criteria of the I9 form, they can work.

This means they need either one document from List A (on the back of the I9) or one document from List B PLUS a document from List C.

And that is the part that cannot be done.

If a K1 can work til his I-94 expires it means that I can work. And I don't know why but my I-94 has a 6 months validity

You didn't read the entire post. K-1, or ANYONE can work provided you can provide the documents needed for the I-9 form. I do no thave a K-1 OR an I-94 but I can work because I can provide an item from list A. You, a K-1, cannot. You cannot provide an item from list C and B, the other option.

You were given bad information at the info pass meeting, sorry. It is a running joke in this country for at least a century, that government workers are of low quality, often untrained social experiments or politically correct pegs in holes who ofthe look as though they are being paid-by-the-pound. Wrong information is often as not, the rule. At this moment there are probably 30-threads started today about government employee mess-ups and misinfomation. How many times a day are K-1 holders told they cannot get an SSN? That alone is one of the most frequently posted problems and it is a very simple procedure yet the SS administration cannot pound it into their clerk's heads that's its OK. And government workers, when faced with a situation they do not understand, invariably make up a wrong answer rather than ask someone that knows. Your I-94 was mistakenly stamped 180 days, not that it matters much, and for your sake I hope you do not try to capitalize on that error by waiting longer to marry. Remember, if THEY make a mistake, it is YOUR problem.

You never did mention the results of your e-verify call.

The K-1 visa is a bad choice for someone who's intent or need is to work immediately on arriving to the USA. Choose the CR-1, wait a little longer and get your green card on arrival.

I didn't mention the results of the E-verify call cuz' I didn't do it. I decided to wait for my EAD and my future employer decided to wait for me. It is just a waist of time for both of us, thanks immigration !

[rebeccajo 14]

as an independent or freelance worker I imagine you can work because you will NOT prepare an I-9

That's possible.

Will the people who hire him give him a 1099 at year end?

If so, he's going to need to include that income on the tax return he will file (jointly I presume) with his wife at year end 2009. And he will be taxed on it.

I'd love to know if that is income from unlawful employment. I really don't know if it would be or not. We know that unlawful employment can be forgiven at the adjustment of status by virtue of marriage to a USC. But, if it is unlawful employment, why invite the problem?

*scratches head*

If you have the authorization stamp as provided by JFK... How can it be remotely classified as "illegal" income or unlawful employment?

pay -

The I9 says (in Column A) that to legally work from the I94, the immigrant must be in a status where they are authorized to work for a specific employer. This obviously refers to aliens who are admitted under work visas.

I do not know if working for oneself is a stretch of that wording or not. It sounds to me like it could be, but I'm not going to stand here and say for certain.

*shrugs*

There used to be a gentleman who posted here who was pretty good at cutting through the muck. In a similar thread as this (but written ages ago) his final comment on the subject was why do something you know MIGHT be a problem but PROBABLY would be forgiven by the Service. Is it worth it to you (the immigrant) to roll the dice? So - I'm merely standing on his summation.

[rebeccajo 14]

I didn't mention the results of the E-verify call cuz' I didn't do it. I decided to wait for my EAD and my future employer decided to wait for me. It is just a waist of time for both of us, thanks immigration !

Juliette -

I'm glad to see that the employer has decided to wait for you. You must have a skill they really need. Excellent news.