Getting EAD at POE

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Question: Once my fiance gets to the US and we get married (file the I130 & I485) would we also need to file for the EAD? Not sure when he can start work once we get married... he might be taking a long vacation. Please advise:star:

NO. You are a K1 from your profile, you would NOT file an I-130. Did you mistype and mean to type I-131?

To answer your question (hoping it was a typo), you would file the I-485 (AOS), I-765 (EAD) and I-131 (AP). You don't HAVE to file the AP and EAD, but they fee for them is "waived" when you file them with the AOS documents. NOT having them means your fiance cannot work, or leave the US until he has his GC.

As a side note, please see the Aussie specific threads in my signature which should help with your process

[Nik+Heather 121]

For all practical purposes, the K-1 entrant cannot work until after the following things happen: They get married, then they get the marriage certificate, then they file for Adjustment of Status ("AOS" w/ I485) AND for the Employment Authorization document (EAD w/I765 as Vanessa says), AND then the EAD or green card must arrive in the mail (60-90 days later) before the K-1 entrant can work. They will also need a social security number, but this can be obtained in parallel while the I-94 is unexpired.

The K-1 entrant does not have to apply for the EAD concurrently with AOS. In this case, they would wait for the green card. In some cases, the GC is approved before the EAD anyway. However, the fee for the EAD is waived if filed concurrently or after filing for AOS, so no reason not to.

All K-1 entrants should plan on at least 2-3 months out of work, PLUS all the time they spend before the marriage, and any extra time it takes to get the marriage certificate. In some states that is not an insubstantial amount of time. I think a lot of people seem to forget about the marriage part of the equation. That's a part of the process that you do have control over.

Edited September 15, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

All K-1 entrants should plan on at least 2-3 months out of work, PLUS all the time they spend before the marriage, and any extra time it takes to get the marriage certificate. In some states that is not an insubstantial amount of time. I think a lot of people seem to forget about the marriage part of the equation. That's a part of the process that you do have control over.