work under K1 before wedding

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi everyone

is it possible to get a temporary work authorization until we get married or i wont be able to work until we get married, "adjust my status" and go for a green card?

because ill have a little problem of budget if i need to wait for the wedding and then get the green card.

thanks for your help

bot

You have a problem then. even if you apply for the EAD the day you arrive, it will be 2-3 months before you receive it. It will cost $340 and expire when your I-94 expires in 90 days. Big waste of time and money

Get married and file for AOS and the EAD is free. The K-1 is not a work visa and should not be chosen if working right away is a factor. Better to get married first and apply for the CR-1.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

euh....there is something i dodnt understand. you only talk about the I-765 with 2 different things, then you finish with the I-485.

i just need it to be clear. if i filled out the I-765 before the wedding, the fee is $340 but if i do it with the adjustement of status, it will be $1010??? and it will expire in july with my k1?

No. The adjustment of status is $1010. If you file for the EAD before getting married it is an ADDITIONAL $340. The I-765 is FREE if filed with the AOS, but you WILL pay the $1010 no matter of you file for the EAD or not.

[JERIII 8]

The I-765 that you file while you're on a K-1 visa is non-renewable and expires with your I-94. It can't be renewed because once your I-94 expires, you are out of status until you file for Adjustment of Status.

That wasn't my question.

Earlier, it was stated that if you apply for an EAD in the K1-category (a(6)), you cannot apply for another EAD later and would have to wait for a green card before working. I don't see why you could not subsequently apply in category c(9) as an AOS applicant.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

option 1) arrive on K1, file your I-765 (EAD application) and pay $340. Wait 60-90 days. It will expire with your K1, which expires 90 days after you enter. No, you cannot file the I-765 before you arrive in the US. Get married before your I-94 expires and file your AOS (I-485) for $1010. You can't file another I-765, so you'll have to wait for your green card to arrive in order to work again.

This isn't strictly correct.

On applying for AOS the applicant CAN get an EAD under the c(9) category, when previously they applied as a K1 (a(6)) catagory.

The K1 category is non-renewable, but if you read the instructions here: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-765instr.pdf page 4, section 6 (A) discusses K1 applications (and K2) and states that any EAD application for a renewal of a card must be based on the c(9) application, that they cannot get another under a(6).

So yes, the OP COULD get another EAD once they apply for AOS it would then be under c9 and not a6 so it's fine. The other issue is how long it takes you to apply for AOS etc. For instance, the EAD from K1 expires at the I-94 date. So you MUST stop working then. Then you can only start working again when you eventually get the EAD. Depending on your job, it's unlikely they'll let you take a 3 month or so break until you eventually get your AOS EAD.

The main issue is, you can get an EAD for FREE if you apply with AOS, but otherwise it's $340 and only lasts till the I-94 expiration which is almost pointless seeing how long it takes to receive BUT I have to admit we're probably mostly talking about AOS EAD applications and I don't know whether it being K1 would make it arrive sooner... If you want to try it by all means that's up to you, but if you do I'd love to know how long it takes to receive, i'd be interested to see if it's quicker being under K1 and them knowing the time limit.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Vanessa&Tony

[botkilla 0]

sundrop said: "...but since you didn't get married for a while, you're talking 8-11 months average before you can work. ".....

i dont get it. im sorry but i really dont get it. i didnt get married for a while????? 8-11 months before to get a work authorization? every immigrant under the K1 visa is millionaire or what? am i the only one who needs to work to survive?

[SunDrop 59]

sundrop said: "...but since you didn't get married for a while, you're talking 8-11 months average before you can work. ".....

i dont get it. im sorry but i really dont get it. i didnt get married for a while????? 8-11 months before to get a work authorization? every immigrant under the K1 visa is millionaire or what? am i the only one who needs to work to survive?

This was my bad. The 8-11 months was calculated on the basis of you not being able to get a 2nd EAD. But as Vanessa+Tony has pointed out, a K1 visa entrant CAN apply for a second one because of the classification given to K1 entrants.

The issue is that your petitioner, in this case your fiance, has to prove that they can support you financially. That is why the income requirements are 125% of the poverty level.

The cheapest and quickest way of getting your employment authorisation is to enter on your K1, get married a couple of days after you enter the country and when you have your marriage certificate, file your AOS. Note I mean get legally married, which you can do at the County Court or City Hall in most states. If being able to work is an issue, which it is for a lot of people, they have a legal wedding for the paperwork and then later organise a ceremonial wedding for the romance. If you did this, you could reasonably expect to have your EAD within 2.5 to 3.5 months after entering the country (assuming you file your AOS approx. 2 weeks after entry). Doing it this way would cost you $1010 for your GC, EAD and AP.

[belinda63 3,038]

Enter US and I-94 is issued which expires 90 days after entry.

Apply for EAD based upon K-1 visa, pay $340, get EAD which expires when I-94 expires.

Receive this EAD in 60-90 days (in other words you pay $340 to work for maybe one month or not at all if it doesn't come prior to the I-94 expiring).

Get married at some point and file for AOS and file for EAD also at no additional cost ($1010 for AOS with the freebie EAD and AP included if you file the paperwork for them). This EAD based upon your adjustment of status is issued in 60-90 days and is valid for one year and can be renewed if you have not received your green card prior to the expiration.

When you receive the green card a separate EAD is not required as you are now a legal permanent resident.

Very unlikely (although they are not supposed to consider it) that an employer would hire you with the EAD based on the I-94 since it would expire in weeks and could you find a job that would justify spending the $340 for it?

[SunDrop 59]

Tried to edit a timeline for the 2 scenarios in, but timed out!

Option 1 - EAD then AOS

day 1 - enter on k1

day 2 - file I-765 ($340)

day 60-90 receive EAD

day 89 - get married

day 90 - I-94 and EAD expires

day 90 - file AOS with renewal EAD ($1010)

day 150-180 receive EAD valid for 1 year.

Total cost $1350

Option 2 - EAD with AOS

day 1 - enter on K1

day 5 - get married

day 6 - file AOS with first I-765 ($1010)

day 66 -96 receive EAD valid for 1 year.

Total cost $1010

Option 1 assumes it takes as long to process an EAD independent of an AOS as it does to file it with an AOS. We don't know, as not many people do this...

Option 2 assumes that you have to wait a couple of days to get your marriage license. This isn't the case in all states, you can often get your license and be married on the same day.

Edited January 29, 2010 by SunDrop

[F & J 21]

That wasn't my question.

Earlier, it was stated that if you apply for an EAD in the K1-category (a(6)), you cannot apply for another EAD later and would have to wait for a green card before working. I don't see why you could not subsequently apply in category c(9) as an AOS applicant.

Oops, sorry about that!

As Vanessa&Tony said, the EAD you get based on the K-1 is non-renewable but you CAN apply for another EAD based on your status as an AOS applicant (by concurrent filing of I-485 and I-765 - or filing the I-765 with your receipt notice for the I-485).

Edited January 29, 2010 by Fatima and Jim

[botkilla 0]

ok, i undertstand it better. sounds perfect for me.

can i ask 2 questions without any connection with this topic?

About cars and banks? can i get one (and of course with an insurance) and is my french driver license available? and can i open a bank account with no problems?

thank you guys, it was really interesting to finally understand and see how things are working.

[SunDrop 59]

ok, i undertstand it better. sounds perfect for me.

can i ask 2 questions without any connection with this topic?

About cars and banks? can i get one (and of course with an insurance) and is my french driver license available? and can i open a bank account with no problems?

thank you guys, it was really interesting to finally understand and see how things are working.

I just walked into a Chase bank with a credit card and my passport and opened an account in about 20 minutes.

The license regulations depend on the state, what state are you moving to?

[botkilla 0]

savannah, georgia

[botkilla 0]

up

[SunDrop 59]

This is the page on the Georgia's DMV for non-USCs

[botkilla 0]

thank you very much