Working on K1

[Tahoma 2,292]

When a K-1 visa holder applies for a SSN they do check off 'authorized to work'. They are listed in that category. However, when they receive their SSN card it will have a stamp on the back of it 'Not authorized to work without USCIS/DHS authority" or words that that effect. They get a restricted SSN. When they get their actual green card they are allowed to apply for a non-restricted SSN, so again they would not have a satisfactory document from List 3 until they have an unrestricted SSN.

When Chinook applied for her SSN one week after she arrived in the U.S., she did not check the "authorized to work" box on the application form. Contrary to your assertion, I doubt that many K-1ers would check the "authorized to work" box on their SSN application. Like Chinook and I, other K-1ers on this site likely were influenced to check the "not authorized to work" box because they were told by VJers that they are not eligible to work until they received their EAD. I imagine it's unlikely that a K-1 SSN applicant who checks the "not authorized to work" box would receive an unrestricted card.

Also, if there was a choice of "work authorized" or "not work authorized" when Chinook filed for a name change on her SS card, she would have chosen "not work authorized." Neither of us can remember if the application form asked that question but, if it did, that's what we would have chosen. Regardless, her new card appeared to be unrestricted and, as I pointed out previously, she received that unrestricted card at least one month before her I-94 expired.

By the way, Chinook's first SS card was stamped on the front, not the back. The stamp said "Valid for work only with DHS authorization."

[dindo and patty 20]

My wife, Chinook, was a K-1er. She applied for a SSN a week after her POE and received a restricted card about a week later. Shortly after we were married, she filed for a name change on her SS Card. About a week later, she received an unrestricted card. She received the card about four weeks before her I-94 expired. Of course, she wouldn't have had a conditional Green Card at that time.

Since she had an unrestricted SS Card, I'm thinking that she would have been legally allowed to work if she had wanted to. She never applied for another SS Card after she received her unrestricted one. About a year later she got a job with an employer who uses E-Verify and she had no problem with her SS Card. I took it to mean that the SS Card she received during her I-94 period was a work-authorized card.

It should be noted in the second paragraph of your response that you are talking only about employers who use E-Verify. It would not apply to other employers. I do see your point though...an E-Verify employer is going to notice your SS Card doesn't authorize you to work.

Finally, it's a mystery to me why there can't be a serious discussion here on VJ about a topic about in which there are so many questions. To say that the issue is long-ago and undeniably settled is ignoring the fact that there is disagreement about it even among immigration attorneys. Also, it should be readily apparent that your personal K-1 experience has been very different than mine in regards to the SS Card issue.

Finally, I'm not advocating anything illegal and I have no intention to do so.

Your experience is certainly different. Patty also applied for a name change after we were married and her SSN card still has the restriction.

Something tells me that an SSA employee may have inadvertantly pushed the wrong button or entered incorrect information to receive an

unrestricted SSN card.

Maybe some other K-1ers will see this thread and post their experience on getting employment without an EAD. Has anyone read or seen

any thread with which a K-1er was able to get employment without EAD?

[Tahoma 2,292]

Your experience is certainly different. Patty also applied for a name change after we were married and her SSN card still has the restriction.

Something tells me that an SSA employee may have inadvertantly pushed the wrong button or entered incorrect information to receive an

unrestricted SSN card.

Maybe some other K-1ers will see this thread and post their experience on getting employment without an EAD. Has anyone read or seen

any thread with which a K-1er was able to get employment without EAD?

I hope some other K-1ers will chime in also.

I would be interested to know which box they checked on their SS application form - "work authorized" or "not work authorized" - and which card they received.

I would like to hear from those K-1ers who filed for a name change after they got married, and before their I-94 expired. Did any of them receive an unrestricted card like Chinook did?

I would also like to hear from the K-1ers who used the Self-Check E-Verify, especially if their card appeared to be unrestricted. And did those with an unrestricted card get a job. And did they get a job with an employer who uses E-Verify.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Someone in the SS office made a mistake with your wife's card. It happens. Lots of clerks in Social Security offices don't know what to do with K-1 entrants. Your "one off" is not some indication of a "trick" to get an unrestricted card. The restriction should have never been removed until your wife showed her greencard to the SSA. It was a mistake. She was mistakenly listed as work authorized.

Work authorization has been discussed ad nauseum here and other forums around the web. There is even a pinned thread about it here at VJ.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/180237-is-a-k1-authorized-to-work-without-an-ead/

I agree with you that no employer can force an alien to show them a specific document. But most aliens have only a SS card, a driver's license and either an EAD or a greencard. If they've got something else that satisfies the I-9, then they have every legal right to use that document. If I were an alien, I would much rather show my unrestricted SS card and driver's license than give my employer an immigration document. I'd rather be able to use the same documents as any other US citizen.