F1 student marrying a US citizen

[Martinsito15 0]

Hi,

I am a Czech citizen and I've lived in the US for 5 years now. I entered on a F1 student visa and now that I am about to receive my B.S. in science my fiance (USC) and I are getting married at the end of May. My question is, how long is the AOS process going to take given that I've already been issued a SSN (working at a university police dept.)? Also, how soon after marrying my fiance am I allowed to work, off campus that is?

[canadian_wife 1,829]

Sadly, having an SSN doesn't speed up your process at all. When you read the guides, make sure you send in the documents for work authorization. After you send in the petition, roughly 90 days after that you should get your work authorization.

Alternatively, if your job is related to your major, you may apply for OPT now and start working while the AOS processes

good luck

[MrPinkman 0]

As the post above me mentioned, your SSN will not change the speed of the process. Your Social Security Card more than likely states : "only valid for work with DHS authorization" on the header. What that means is that you'll need a EAD (Employment Authorization Card) to be able to work in the "real world". You either get this EAD through the AOS process, or by applying for post completion OPT in your University's office.

So after marrying your fiance & filing AOS, you would have to WAIT to get the EAD to work off-campus. I heard it takes between 1-2 months (sometimes 3, all depends).

Edited April 17, 2013 by MrPinkman