Traveling tomorrow...REALLY need help about Employment Authorization!

[rodrigoandjanie 1]

Hello everyone!

I'm leaving Brazil tomorrow and I need some info about the Employment Authorization. I'm not going to get in the U.S. through the JFK airport so I won't be able to get that 1 year Work Permission that they give you there. My idea is to pay that 340 dolars tax after I get the SSC and send the I-765 Form with the check to USCIS so I can get that Work Permission BBEFORE my fiancee and I get married and do the AOS. I have some doubts about it though:

1)Is there anybody here who's ever done this?

2)Could this bring us any troubles with the AOS process?

3)What else do I have to send besides the check and the I-765 Form?

4)How long does it take for them to send the permission? Does it take too long?

Thanks! I'm really worried about money and I need to find out about this way to get the Work Permission...

[payxibka 10,045]

Hello everyone!

I'm leaving Brazil tomorrow and I need some info about the Employment Authorization. I'm not going to get in the U.S. through the JFK airport so I won't be able to get that 1 year Work Permission that they give you there. My idea is to pay that 340 dolars tax after I get the SSC and send the I-765 Form with the check to USCIS so I can get that Work Permission BBEFORE my fiancee and I get married and do the AOS. I have some doubts about it though:

1)Is there anybody here who's ever done this?

2)Could this bring us any troubles with the AOS process?

3)What else do I have to send besides the check and the I-765 Form?

4)How long does it take for them to send the permission? Does it take too long?

Thanks! I'm really worried about money and I need to find out about this way to get the Work Permission...

No such thing as a one year EAD stamp given to K-1 entrants at JFK

* The I-765 filed after a K-1 enters (before AOS application) is only valid for 90 days from the entrance date (tied to the expiration of the I-94). It takes up to 60 days to get the EAD approved... If that happens at 60 days, when it comes it will only be valid for 30 more days.

1) Some have, most do not because it is a big fee for little result

2) No effect on AOS

3) I-94

4) see * above

[HeatDeath 430]

Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to work out the way you want it to.

A ) Even if you were going through JFK, the stamp they give out is only valid work authorization if you are coming in on a visa with a specific employer mentioned by name on the visa itself. The stamp is not valid work authorization for K-1 holders. Never really was, but it seemed that way because of bad wording on the I-9 form. A year ago March, they changed the wording. The stamp is useless to K-1 holders.

B ) To answer your specific questions:

1 ) Virtually no one does what you're suggesting, because even if you file your EAD papers the day you arrive, the EAD will only be valid until your I-94 expires, 90 days after arrival, and will take a good-sized fraction of that period to arrive. It will expire when your I-94 does, and you will not be able to work again until your AOS EAD (the free EAD you file for along with your AOS filing, after you get married, which is good for one year) arrives.

The free EAD I filed for with my AOS application arrived in 45 days. I suppose that if you filed your $340 EAD application the day you arrived and got married the day you arrived, and filed your AOS papers the next day, there's a realistic possibility that both EADs would arrive (first the $340 EAD, then the free one) before your I-94 expired, giving you a period of uninterrupted employability until your GC arrived. Even at that, you're still looking at not being able to work for at least 1.5-2 months after you arrive, and that $340 doesn't seem to buy you much. You will be employable, at most, 4-6 weeks earlier than you would be otherwise, and you have to consider that you may very well spend most of that costly period of early employability looking for work, particularly in this economy, unless you already have something lined up.

Remember, the AOS EAD will take the same amount of time to process and arrive as the free one will, so your $340 is really only buying you extra employability for the duration of the period between when you file for the initial $340 EAD and when you send in your AOS packet. It just doesn't seem to me that that $340 buys you very much, even under the above-mentioned ideal conditions (filing within 1-2 days after you arrive, etc).

2 ) Your plan, should you choose to go through with it, will not cause any problems with your AOS.

3 ) Two passport-style photos, photocopies of your K-1 visa and I-94. Check the instructions on the I-765 form at www.uscis.gov. They will list everything you need very comprehensively.

4 ) As I said above, expect 5-8 weeks for each EAD, and remember, the first one will expire on the 90th day after your entry, even if you only receive it on the 89th day after entry. The second EAD will be good for one year from date of issue.

I appreciate that money is a serious concern, and it's because of that that you need to really consider if this is the best way to spend $340.

[DoneWaiting 15]

You may be in the plain by now but this is what JFK does [experience]..

as mentioned before there is no One Year EAD stamp at the JFK.. You are granted a temp EAD that expires 90 days after entry along with your I-94..

My Fiancée [then] got the stamp, and we also visited the SS office and we got her SS card regulated to Work Used Only, but even this SS Card will not be good the moment your I-94 expires..

if you are in a rush in obtaining your EAD due to a job offer, then I suggest:

Get marry the week you get here, apply for your AOS. Since you have 90 days since the moment you enter the state for your I-94 to expire, possibly get yourself a temp SS for work use only, this will give you a 60 day window to properly get your EAD.. but is just my own theory. Considering no inconvenience in between..

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

You may be in the plain by now but this is what JFK does [experience]..

as mentioned before there is no One Year EAD stamp at the JFK.. You are granted a temp EAD that expires 90 days after entry along with your I-94..

My Fiancée [then] got the stamp, and we also visited the SS office and we got her SS card regulated to Work Used Only, but even this SS Card will not be good the moment your I-94 expires..

if you are in a rush in obtaining your EAD due to a job offer, then I suggest:

Get marry the week you get here, apply for your AOS. Since you have 90 days since the moment you enter the state for your I-94 to expire, possibly get yourself a temp SS for work use only, this will give you a 60 day window to properly get your EAD.. but is just my own theory. Considering no inconvenience in between..

That temp stamp isn't valid when placed on a K1, and as others have mentioned if you file for EAD ahead of AOS you'll be lucky to have work authorization for a month. They may even be so slow that they don't issue before your I94 runs out of time.