K1 visa holders eligible for work???

[Coleen 2]

Hi everybody..

I have just checked the new RM 10211.420 Employment Authorization for Non-immigrants. Here's the link for everybody who wants to read it. It's published on 4th June.

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211420

So.. Here's what I was the most interested in:

The following sections list non-immigrants, by alien class of admission codes, who are authorized to work in the U.S. without specific authorization from DHS. The person’s I-94 will not have the DHS employment authorization stamp and the alien will generally not have an EAD.

NOTE: Although aliens listed under a class of admission in RM 10211.420 of this section are work authorized without specific DHS authorization, employers may still ask for an EAD before the alien can start working.

And than in the list:

K-1

Fiancé(e) of U.S. citizen

K1 visa holders will be able to work in USA once they get there. Did I understand this well? If I did I might as well go celebrate, 'cause this is great news!!!

Share your opinion, pls. Thank you.

[payxibka 10,047]

SSA is not the agency that approves work authorization....

K-1's are eligible to apply for work authorization... this is different than actually being authorized to work

moving thread to Working/traveling forum

Edited June 8, 2010 by payxibka

[bruno. 4]

Well I understood the same as coleen,

on chapter 3 is the type of visa with which you can't work and K-1 is NOT in this section

on chapter 2 is the type of visa with which you can work with an EAD and K-1 is NOT in this section either

so by process of elimination K-1 is on the list with the types of visa that don't need EAD to work.

What I'm not sure is if this document applies only to some countries or have some restrictions of some kind.

What would be interesting is to have the older version of the same document to see if the K-1 was listed under chapter 2.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Please read the pinned thread regarding work at the top of the "working and travelling" forum. This is the 50 millionth post asking this EXACT SAME QUESTION!

This DOES NOT ENABLE A K1 TO WORK!

It HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THE LAST EDITION.

The SSA DOES NOT CONTROL WHO HAS THE LEGAL STATUS TO WORK

The "ability to work" as mentioned in the SSA manual, which the OP quoted ONLY APPLIES TO GAINING A SSN. IT MEANS THAT A K1 IS ABLE TO GET A WORK PERMIT AND THEREFORE ABLE TO GET A SSN FOR THE PURPOSES OF WORK.

You MUST HAVE AN EAD AND AN SSN IN ORDER TO WORK.

Please read the thread I mentioned above which will explain it in greater detail.

[Bernie C 24]

Please read the pinned thread regarding work at the top of the "working and travelling" forum. This is the 50 millionth post asking this EXACT SAME QUESTION!

This DOES NOT ENABLE A K1 TO WORK!

It HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THE LAST EDITION.

The SSA DOES NOT CONTROL WHO HAS THE LEGAL STATUS TO WORK

The "ability to work" as mentioned in the SSA manual, which the OP quoted ONLY APPLIES TO GAINING A SSN. IT MEANS THAT A K1 IS ABLE TO GET A WORK PERMIT AND THEREFORE ABLE TO GET A SSN FOR THE PURPOSES OF WORK.

You MUST HAVE AN EAD AND AN SSN IN ORDER TO WORK.

Please read the thread I mentioned above which will explain it in greater detail.

Yes! And it is relatively pointless to apply for EAD on a K-1 since by the time they processed it and IF it was approved your I-94 would likely expire and it would have been a useless waste of money. I'm not aware of anyone on a K-1 that has applied for EAD and tried that route but I suppose it may have been done. Doesn't seem much point to it. Get married ASAP and apply for AOS and EAD if you need to get working!

[Coleen 2]

Well I understood the same as coleen,

on chapter 3 is the type of visa with which you can't work and K-1 is NOT in this section

on chapter 2 is the type of visa with which you can work with an EAD and K-1 is NOT in this section either

so by process of elimination K-1 is on the list with the types of visa that don't need EAD to work.

What I'm not sure is if this document applies only to some countries or have some restrictions of some kind.

What would be interesting is to have the older version of the same document to see if the K-1 was listed under chapter 2.

Unfortunately, I was wrong.. Look at this info from another thread:

K-1 entrants can NOT work until they have a green card or EAD in their hand. But SSA regulations wouldn't allow K-1 entrants (who need(ed) a SSC to get married in some states) to get a SSC unless they were work authorized. So, for SSA purposes, K-1s became work authorized. It's a funny little bit of fiction that is only true inside the SSA office. Don't worry too much about it - it'll make you go all cross-eyed, just don't get confused and don't try to work until you have a green card or an EAD in your hand.

It's all very confusing.. Why would you want to change some regulations and issue a new act when everything is still the same? Looks like some people haven't got better things to do..

...

[Coleen 2]

Thanks everybody for clarifying things for me. And you didn't have to act mad or frustrated, no one forced you to write anything. Some of us don't have enough time to read every single piece of information on this site. Besides there are hundreds of forums and topics and sometimes it's really difficult to find what you need, it can take hours.