should I apply for Employment Authorization first?

[chinausa 7]

Hi guys,

We've just married, and I will apply for SSN this week.

However, I was wondering if I should apply for Employment Authorization and SSN at the same time, or I should apply Employment Authorization with the application of the Adjustment of Status together.

It will only take 2 weeks to receive SSN, so I assume I would receive Employment Authorization with SSN. Am I right?

or How long it will take to receive Employment Authorization if I apply it with the Adjustment of Status?

Please be advised.

Thanks

XH

[newlyweds2010 208]

Hi guys,

We've just married, and I will apply for SSN this week.

However, I was wondering if I should apply for Employment Authorization and SSN at the same time, or I should apply Employment Authorization with the application of the Adjustment of Status together.

It will only take 2 weeks to receive SSN, so I assume I would receive Employment Authorization with SSN. Am I right?

or How long it will take to receive Employment Authorization if I apply it with the Adjustment of Status?

Please be advised.

Thanks

XH

It won't take 2 weeks to receive EAD, but about 2 months, regardless of when you apply. and if you don't apply with AOS you'll have to pay extra fees. since you've married already, I'd suggest you apply for AOS soon.

[amykathleen2005 441]

SSN and Employment Authorization really have nothing to do with one another. Apply for EAD with AOS and you'll get it in around 60 days.

[YuAndDan 153]

Dont bother with EAD unless you file for it WITH AOS or after filing I-485 for AOS. If you file I-765 before I-485, you will pay a FEE, and the EAD will expire when I-94 expires, more than likely USCIS will not be able to approve EAD before I-94 expires.

File for EAD WITH AOS, this EAD (c )(9 ) is based on bending I-485 and is included in the AOS fee.

SSN is NOT employment authoization, USCIS grants this as EAD or Green-card.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Hi guys,

We've just married, and I will apply for SSN this week.

However, I was wondering if I should apply for Employment Authorization and SSN at the same time, or I should apply Employment Authorization with the application of the Adjustment of Status together.

It will only take 2 weeks to receive SSN, so I assume I would receive Employment Authorization with SSN. Am I right?

or How long it will take to receive Employment Authorization if I apply it with the Adjustment of Status?

If you apply for the EAD prior to AOS then you will pay the $300ish fee for it and it will take around 2 months to arrive and will only be valid till the I-94 expires (and you cannot extend the I-94).

If you apply for the EAD with AOS, the fee for EAD is waived(same with AP which is the travel document). It's important that you know it's "waived" and not "included" because the word "included" implies that by not applying for the EAD or AP that the fee for AOS would lower, it doesn't, and you do not HAVE to apply for the EAD or AP if you do not want to.

The SSN is basically just an identifier number. It doesn't give you work authorisation, it doesn't really do anything, it's just an number.

[Delaw 0]

With your I-94, you can walk into the Social Security office in your area and apply for your SSN as long long as your I-94 card is still valid. They will send the SSN to you in 2-3 weeks. At the back of your I-94 card, there is a stamp that says Employment Authorized...Go for your SSN with I-94 and find yourself a job. (I-94 acts as your temporary "EAD" and expires in 90 days...this is meant to survive you for the 90 days while you are doing other things like marriage ceremony etc. Applying for AOS and EAD...for this will keep you working even after the your I-94 expires and carry you over till your green card is ready...You may apply for travel document too, should you decide to travel out while your Green card is being processed.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Delaw

[amykathleen2005 441]

With your I-94, you can walk into the Social Security office in your area and apply for your SSN as long long as your I-94 card is still valid. They will send the SSN to you in 2-3 weeks. At the back of your I-94 card, there is a stamp that says Employment Authorized...Go for your SSN with I-94 and find yourself a job. (I-94 acts as your temporary "EAD" and expires in 90 days...this is meant to survive you for the 90 days while you are doing other things like marriage ceremony etc. AS you are applying for AOS include your EAD too for this will keep you working even after the your I-94 expires and carry you over till your green card is ready...You may apply for travel document too, should you decide to travel out while your Green card is being processed.

You are NOT allowed to work with this!

[Delaw 0]

Hi guys,

We've just married, and I will apply for SSN this week.

However, I was wondering if I should apply for Employment Authorization and SSN at the same time, or I should apply Employment Authorization with the application of the Adjustment of Status together.

It will only take 2 weeks to receive SSN, so I assume I would receive Employment Authorization with SSN. Am I right?

or How long it will take to receive Employment Authorization if I apply it with the Adjustment of Status?

Please be advised.

Thanks

XH

With your I-94, you can walk into the Social Security office in your area and apply for your SSN as long long as your I-94 card is still valid. They will send the SSN to you in 2-3 weeks. At the back of your I-94 card, there is a stamp that says Employment Authorized...Go for your SSN with I-94 and find yourself a job. (I-94 acts as your temporary "EAD" and expires in 90 days...this is meant to survive you for the 90 days while you are doing other things like marriage ceremony etc. Applying for AOS and EAD...for this will keep you working even after the your I-94 expires and carry you over till your green card is ready...You may apply for travel document too, should you decide to travel out while your Green card is being processed.

[newlyweds2010 208]

you're not allowed to work only with a SSN and with some stamp on your I-94. you need an EAD or a green card to work. form I-9 to be filled in before starting work clearly lists documents showing work eligibility. a stamp on the I-94 is not listed.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

At the back of your I-94 card, there is a stamp that says Employment Authorized...Go for your SSN with I-94 and find yourself a job. (I-94 acts as your temporary "EAD" and expires in 90 days...this is meant to survive you for the 90 days while you are doing other things like marriage ceremony etc. Applying for AOS and EAD...for this will keep you working even after the your I-94 expires and carry you over till your green card is ready...You may apply for travel document too, should you decide to travel out while your Green card is being processed.

This is incorrect. I'm the third person saying this here.

Edited January 19, 2011 by Harpa Timsah

[LDG 2]

Hi guys,

We've just married, and I will apply for SSN this week.

However, I was wondering if I should apply for Employment Authorization and SSN at the same time, or I should apply Employment Authorization with the application of the Adjustment of Status together.

It will only take 2 weeks to receive SSN, so I assume I would receive Employment Authorization with SSN. Am I right?

or How long it will take to receive Employment Authorization if I apply it with the Adjustment of Status?

Please be advised.

Thanks

XH

Get your SSN and get your state ID. Definitely don't file for EAD before AOS. It's useless.

File your EAD (employment authorization) application together with the AOS application, and AP (advanced parole) if you plan on traveling during the process. Expect 2-3 months wait for EAD... we're still waiting for my wife's EAD. We filed first week of November. Our AOS interview is in a month. Sometimes it feels like the EAD with AOS is a useless process, but then again, some people wait many more months for the greencard.

[chinausa 7]

How can they process so slow?! People cannot just wait around and do absolutely nothing while waiting, but guess we don't have choice.

what is the longest waiting time to receive an conditional green card and employment authorization?

Thanks for all the info provided.

XH

[YuAndDan 153]

How can they process so slow?! People cannot just wait around and do absolutely nothing while waiting, but guess we don't have choice.

what is the longest waiting time to receive an conditional green card and employment authorization?

Thanks for all the info provided.

XH

I always say if Employment, Green-card, and other things are a priority then K-1 is NOT the visa to do, it is better to marry first and then file I-130 for a CR-1 spouse visa. CR-1 gets green-card the moment they enter the USA, it costs less, and in the case of China, CR-1 has an electronic process at NVC which makes the process nearly as fast as a K-1, CR-1 is perhaps 1-2 months longer to get.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

How can they process so slow?! People cannot just wait around and do absolutely nothing while waiting, but guess we don't have choice.

what is the longest waiting time to receive an conditional green card and employment authorization?

Well,

many people are newly-weds, so they keep themselves busy.

The longest waiting time would be around 2, perhaps 3 years. Yes, those cases exist, although they are rare. All it takes is a "problem" or a hiccup. That aside, "long" is a relative term. Imagine being in a prison in Siberia, naked on wet concrete floor, in the dark, and every 3 years or so they look through the hole to check if you're still alive.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I always say if Employment, Green-card, and other things are a priority then K-1 is NOT the visa to do, it is better to marry first and then file I-130 for a CR-1 spouse visa. CR-1 gets green-card the moment they enter the USA, it costs less, and in the case of China, CR-1 has an electronic process at NVC which makes the process nearly as fast as a K-1, CR-1 is perhaps 1-2 months longer to get.

I don't agree that the CR-1 is cheaper and comparable time frame to K1 for everyone... While the visa process etc is cheaper and the processing TIMES might be comparable it is personal situations that dictate whether it will actually be cheaper or more expensive to pursue the K1 or CR-1. In my case a K1 was cheaper and quicker than had I tried to apply for a CR-1 for the following reasons:

1. When I was in the US with Tony we weren't "ready" to pop down to the court house right then and there, was too rushed, so I would need to have gone BACK to the US, or him to me to get married. Flight costs over $1500 (more at that time) so that's the difference between K1 and CR-1 so not cheaper.

2. We were able to file the K1 as soon as I returned to Australia. With the CR-1 I'd need to have waited till we got married which would have added months and months (perhaps over a year depending how long it takes to earn enough to return) to the process

The main reason the CR-1 is better is the ability to work and travel as soon as you enter. For me, the choice of which visa was judged on:

1. Is money going to be an issue so that you need to work ASAP on entering the US? (It wasn't for me, Tony earns enough to support us)

2. Could we afford another visit to get married before starting the CR-1 process, then again about 8 months later to immigrate to the US? (I couldn't and I didn't want to be apart again for such a long time once we were back together)

3. Can we stand to be apart while married? (we didn't want to do it this way, felt wrong)

For us the K1 worked out cheaper and quicker. For some people it's the same as us and for others the CR-1 just simply makes more sense (also country dependant). I certainly would have liked to work so I wasn't so bored, but we didn't need for me to work so desperately that being unemployed is an issue.