Marrying in SC???

[Dr_LHA 3]

Here's the answer:

[MHandMB 0]

When we went to get our marriage license in Charleston, Amed's SS card hadn't come yet. We asked the lady if we needed to wait, and she said no, just leave that section blank. We had no problem with it. This was in May.

We purposely scheduled Amed's flight to come through JFK so he could get the work visa, though, and we got his SS card within 2 weeks of applying for it.

I think you'll be fine. We have a pretty quickly growing immigrant population in SC, and you know not everyone has a social security card. I don't think they can discriminate based on not having a social security card. Try not to worry too much before you even get to that bridge.

[Anna C. 4]

Still to make it easy get married in Mecklenburg county, NC. York county borders NC and just go to Charlotte and do it there. If you don't want to wait for your SSN, I can only recommend you to get married in NC. If you don't have a SSN, they ask you to write a letter why you don't have it. That was all I remember from getting married, even though I had a SSN (from J1 visa)... Plus: the people in the register of deeds in Charlotte are super nice and helpful. Call them and ask for advice!

Good luck!

Anna

[Veiled Princess 1]

Thanks everyone!! And again sorry for bringing up an old topic

[Reba 2]

SSA is a federal thing, so the laws should be the same no matter what state you're in. The lady on the phone didn't know what she's talking about obviously.

A K1 is eligible for an SSN upon arrival (give it a couple weeks to get in the system) and then go to the office and apply.

Also, a SSN should not be required for a marriage license, that's bullshit. Foreign tourists get married in the US every day, and they don't have SSN and have no problem. You just sign a form letter affidavit that says "I don't have an SSN because I'm not currently eligible" or whatever.

State laws will vary however on getting a driver's license. Here in NC tho, I did not need an SSN, just something to show that I had takn up residence in the state. For that I used the NOA letter from USCIS for my EAD.

[Veiled Princess 1]

Also, a SSN should not be required for a marriage license, that's bullshit. Foreign tourists get married in the US every day, and they don't have SSN and have no problem. You just sign a form letter affidavit that says "I don't have an SSN because I'm not currently eligible" or whatever.

It is SC state law I agree that it's stupid

[Karen_L 1]

Yah I know which is where my confusion is coming in..... I just talked to a lady at SSA who told me that it's a new law that he can't get a SSN unless he has work auth. She said IF he gets that temp work auth with his I-94 then he can use that (14-21 days after arriving--which is stupid because that eats up 2-3 weeks of the 12 weeks you're allowed to work) BUT if his I-94 doesn't have that temp work auth (which I been told he can only get at JFK AND he has to ask for specifically or he doesn't get it) then he can't use it to get a SSN????

That's how she's explaining it to me... and again she says this is a NEW law????

Do SSA have different laws in each state or is it across the board the same for all states??

Has anyone else heard about this 'new law' that says he's gotta have work auth to get the SSN???

My mom works for Social Security and she advised us to get his SS# about a week after his arrival, because sometimes it takes that long to have the immigrant's info entered into the "system." If the information doesn't come up right away, there's a whole photocopying of documents and verification process, and it's more of a hassle. After we went to the office and had everything taken care of, my husband got his SS# card within 10 days, BUT on the card, it says "Permitted to work with DHS authorization." And right now, he just has a temp. EAD stamp from JFK.

I think that woman is giving you lots of misinformation; my understanding is that the EAD doesn't matter. In fact, the woman who took care of our case didn't even specifically ask about the temp. EAD, though she DID ask to see the I-94, which happens to have the EAD stamp on it, and your fiance' will get the I-94 regardless of where he enters, I believe. Could she have meant the I-94 instead of the temp. EAD?

Honestly, VP, try and finagle it so that he can enter through JFK -- they never hassle anyone and they're fast and you're almost guaranteed he'll get the EAD right away. Plus, I'm sure there are about 500 connecting flights he can take to where you live.

Good luck