After POE, what do to next.. SSN or marriage? PLEASE help!!

[dave&jane 0]

My POE would be in san francisco and live there for 2 weeks. Then we have to drive and live in Virgina for good.

My Questions are..

do i have to get SSN first in California to get married?

how long does California office to release marriage license?

After getting married, what i have do to next? step by step please?!

I am very confuse now..

thanks for helping

jane

[Enigma11561 336]

Sounds as if your planning to get married in California. Most marriage licenses and certificates are issued by the local city/town where the ceremony is held. It will have the name of the state on it, but not issued by the state itself. I am assuming that CA is similar to NY which is where we got married. We picked up the certificates a few days after the ceremony. It can take a few weeks for immigration to get your files into the SS system. So after your marriage, take your drive to VA and get your SS there. This way if there is any hassle, you will not be stressed about your driving plans. You do not "need" to get it right away. Once home then you will file for your AOS ( 2 year green card) and the AP and EAD all together.

Edited August 1, 2013 by Enigma11561

[pete_falcone 7]

I'm doing it the other way. Fiancee will fly into LAX, then we drive to the east coast, then civil wedding at our local town. You have 90 days upon POE anyway, so unless she needs to leave the country soon, there's no need to rush.

[Jack&Maria 5]

get married first before getting SSN...hassle free:)

my experience was opposite..got the SSN first cause after i got married to my husband,he wants me to be under his health insurance..so the insurance company needs the spouse SSN..its better to marry first,get a marriage license first and then get married and then get SSN (u have to wait a week or 10 days to get ur SSN card) and then AOS

[gary9891 10]

We waited about 8 days to allow my wife's entry to be updated in the USCIS database. We then went to our local SSA office and got her a SSN in her maiden name (allowed as a K1). We were then married! We then went back to the SSA office and got her card name changed to her new married name. We did this within 90 days of her POE so her I-94 was still valid.

We were married in Florida who gave us 2 copies of our marriage liscence the same day.

Getting a SSN is a wise move to do early as possible. Health insurance coverage, filing taxes, getting ID etc. usually requires a SSN.

Edited August 1, 2013 by gary9891

[DIME777 3]

in most situations you NEED a social security number to get married and apply for a marriage lic...your social security card can be changed after the wedding so that's not a big deal

[Anna Grant 169]

in most situations you NEED a social security number to get married and apply for a marriage lic...your social security card can be changed after the wedding so that's not a big deal

In most situations, you DO NOT NEED an SSN to get married. Most marriage license offices ask you to provide an SSN if you have one.

I experienced a number of issues getting an SSN after I got married. It was because if poorly training staff at SSA offices. i would advice going to the SSA office about 10 days after you arrive, applying for an SSN and then getting married. If you apply for an SSN after marrying, then the SSA staff have problems dealing with it. They tell you that you are no longer a 'fiancee', you are a 'spouse' so your status has changed.

Check my story here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/442017-ssn-told-i-cant-apply-for-one-as-married-on-k1-visa/

[DIME777 3]

In most situations, you DO NOT NEED an SSN to get married. Most marriage license offices ask you to provide an SSN if you have one.

some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have a SSN. It can cause a problem when applying for a marriage lic when one person has a SSN and the other (K-1 Holder) does not. It is also reccomended by experienced VJ members and is listed in the step by step K-1 Process guide

[Anna Grant 169]

some states are strict in their interpretation of a federal law that requires persons applying for a "license" to have a SSN. It can cause a problem when applying for a marriage lic when one person has a SSN and the other (K-1 Holder) does not. It is also reccomended by experienced VJ members and is listed in the step by step K-1 Process guide

OK - I now see that the guide suggests applying for the SSN before applying for the marriage license. However, I know of many, many people here who have married within a couple of days of entering on the K1 visa and they couldn't possibly have had an SSN in that time. I certainly didn't apply for mine before my wedding but I did check with the marriage license office and I read the small print on their guidance notes.

To the OP then I would suggest applying for an SSN about 10 days after entering the US (as advised on the SSA website). As long as it is processed correctly, you can go back the next day to be given your SSN (your SSN card will arrive in the mail about 2 weeks after your 1st visit to the SSA office). Once you have your SSN, you can apply for your marriage license.