ID and health insurance before AOS

[naalite 4]

My wife's I-94 will be expiring in the next week. We have not filed for the AOS yet since I did not have a job for the past couple of months and don't have the proof of income needed for the affidavit of support. However, in June, I will be starting a job with great pay and benefits.

We were not able to get my wife a state ID (Illinois), but we did get her a social security card. We went to the DMV a couple weeks ago and they told us since her visa was expiring in 3 weeks, she was not eligible to receive an ID. They even told us that she had to leave the country when her visa expired, which I do not believe is the case.

My first question is about the ID. Should she actually be eligible for one? If so, is there any documents I can show to the DMV to prove this?

My second question is about health benefits once I start my new job. Since her visa will be expired and we haven't completed the AOS, will she be eligible to be on my healthcare benefits at my new job?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

1. Nope. She will need to apply for aos before she gets that. Some states will allow one with an NOA1. Others EAD/ap card. By here mistaken about her needing to leave.

2. Unsure. Check with your benefits provider

[Merrytooth 5,748]

Technically, she will be in illegal status once the I-94 expired.

But Overstay is forgiven for spouse of USC when filing AOS.

[Mykonos 10]

My wife's I-94 will be expiring in the next week. We have not filed for the AOS yet since I did not have a job for the past couple of months and don't have the proof of income needed for the affidavit of support. However, in June, I will be starting a job with great pay and benefits.

We were not able to get my wife a state ID (Illinois), but we did get her a social security card. We went to the DMV a couple weeks ago and they told us since her visa was expiring in 3 weeks, she was not eligible to receive an ID. They even told us that she had to leave the country when her visa expired, which I do not believe is the case.

My first question is about the ID. Should she actually be eligible for one? If so, is there any documents I can show to the DMV to prove this?

My second question is about health benefits once I start my new job. Since her visa will be expired and we haven't completed the AOS, will she be eligible to be on my healthcare benefits at my new job?

Since your wife doesn't have her EAD/AP, the state can only issue a temporary ID that is valid until her I-94 expires, so they may think 3 weeks isn't long enough. She should be fine to go in and get one once those docs come in.

I believe she will still be able to be put on your health insurance. It will likely vary by company, but all my husbands work needed was our marriage certificate and proof that we live at the same address.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Mykonos

[Umka36 781]

My employer only needed proof that we were married to add my wife to my health insurance, and provide her SSN when she got it. We did this within the timeframe under special event (or whatever it's called i.e. recent marriage, baby born, etc.) which had to be done within 30 days of the event. I imagine you will need to include her when you start the new job. Check with the HR/benefits department.

[baron555 934]

My wife's I-94 will be expiring in the next week. We have not filed for the AOS yet since I did not have a job for the past couple of months and don't have the proof of income needed for the affidavit of support. However, in June, I will be starting a job with great pay and benefits.

That will be fine, provided you got married.

We were not able to get my wife a state ID (Illinois), but we did get her a social security card.

Good

We went to the DMV a couple weeks ago and they told us since her visa was expiring in 3 weeks, she was not eligible to receive an ID.

Yep

They even told us that she had to leave the country when her visa expired, which I do not believe is the case.

Oh, now they are immigration experts?!!

My first question is about the ID. Should she actually be eligible for one? If so, is there any documents I can show to the DMV to prove this?

I don't remember any issues when my wife got hers, but we may have done it well within the 90 days.

My second question is about health benefits once I start my new job. Since her visa will be expired and we haven't completed the AOS, will she be eligible to be on my healthcare benefits at my new job?

If she is your spouse, then she can be covered.

[naalite 4]

Thank you for all the replies.

One more question about my wife's status. Is it correct that she will be out of status until we receive her green card?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

No. Once aos has been filed and received she's in a period of authorized stay. If denied, then she's out of status again.

[yuna628 9,676]

If you are planning on adding your wife to health insurance via your work, there's no reason you can't do this. She has an SSN so no problem there. You also have a marriage certificate, proving she is your legal wife.

You could even buy her a plan privately and she's still eligible for health insurance.

Since you haven't filed for AOS (with an EAD and AP), your wife really won't be able to get a state ID or driver's license. Once you file and receive an EAD you can head to the DMV and get one with little issues.

I would urge to file for AOS as soon as possible, it helps protect your wife's status. It's also a qualifying factor of proof for using the federal or state exchanges if you needed it. No she does not have to leave. Remember all persons in the US, regardless of being an immigrant must obtain health insurance or pay a penalty. You and your wife may be subject to a tax penalty if you have been without health insurance for a period of time.

Edited April 26, 2016 by yuna628

[naalite 4]

Regarding her social security card, is it temporary? Does it expire with her visa, or would it be alright to give my new employer?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Regarding her social security card, is it temporary? Does it expire with her visa, or would it be alright to give my new employer?

SSN is yours for life

[yuna628 9,676]

Regarding her social security card, is it temporary? Does it expire with her visa, or would it be alright to give my new employer?

An SSN number is hers for life, and does not expire. Keep in mind though it should say ''DHS authorization for work only''. That means she needs authorization to work in the form of the EAD or the green card (whichever comes first). It might confuse some people to see the card and has that 'restriction', but the number is no different than anyone else living in the US.

[newacct 688]

Her passport will be sufficient for all ID purposes.

[aysha&saad 2]

Hoping folks might help me too. Ok, I have been begging for answers and no one knows anything and they finally starting trying to say bad things to us. So husband entered on K1 on 4/23/16 and we married on 4/25/16 and filed AOS on 5/18/16.

We are still reviewing our case and so we don't have the green card (LPR) or the red card (EAD) yet. We thought we were smart and got him a state ID (not a DL) but it expired with the K1 Visa. And now the I-94 has expired too. We didn't know you could apply for the SSN if you didn't have the EAD or LPR (red/Green cards). So we can't get anyone to give us the health insurance because they want the social security number and the SS office asked if we had some I-551 or something stamped in the passport and I said NO.

My work wants $800 a month to add him onto my insurance so that is a NOGO but even if I wanted to add him they said I waited too long. It was a 30 day window for my work. And they want a SSN. So I called the marketplace but they said I also waited too long. They have a 60 day window and they want a SSN too. Now I have found another qualifying event that could allow us to get coverage in the Marketplace (I just got a new job with a new salary) but how do I deal with not having the SSN? HELP!

Please forgive me for tagging this subject line but hopefully someone can help us too even though we are having the opposite problem as the family above.

[yuna628 9,676]

Hoping folks might help me too. Ok, I have been begging for answers and no one knows anything and they finally starting trying to say bad things to us. So husband entered on K1 on 4/23/16 and we married on 4/25/16 and filed AOS on 5/18/16.

We are still reviewing our case and so we don't have the green card (LPR) or the red card (EAD) yet. We thought we were smart and got him a state ID (not a DL) but it expired with the K1 Visa. And now the I-94 has expired too. We didn't know you could apply for the SSN if you didn't have the EAD or LPR (red/Green cards). So we can't get anyone to give us the health insurance because they want the social security number and the SS office asked if we had some I-551 or something stamped in the passport and I said NO.

My work wants $800 a month to add him onto my insurance so that is a NOGO but even if I wanted to add him they said I waited too long. It was a 30 day window for my work. And they want a SSN. So I called the marketplace but they said I also waited too long. They have a 60 day window and they want a SSN too. Now I have found another qualifying event that could allow us to get coverage in the Marketplace (I just got a new job with a new salary) but how do I deal with not having the SSN? HELP!

Please forgive me for tagging this subject line but hopefully someone can help us too even though we are having the opposite problem as the family above.

It would probably be best if you started your own thread on the subject, but... you have two problems.

Obviously the first one is that you didn't snag an SSN right off the bat.. and the second is that you didn't sign up for health insurance immediately after marriage to satisfy your work HR, but you're saying it's too expensive anyway. You won't be able to get the SSN until the EAD arrives now. It can take up to 90 days to arrive, so you have a few more weeks of potential waiting.

That being said not having an SSN is not a preventer from obtaining health insurance. The marketplace's rules say that an SSN must be provided IF you have one. Your spouse has an NOA1 and is in the adjustment process, which is a qualifying document for the marketplace, and having an EAD would also be another qualifying document when it arrives.

That being said, you also do not need to provide an SSN to a private insurance company. It is your individual personal identifying information and you have a right to choose whom to give it to. Going private might be an option for you, but you're going to have sticker shock either way. I have managed to keep having insurance without the need of providing an SSN for quite a while now. Yes, they may send out a letter eventually saying they would like it, and refer to some language about the IRS needing it. The problem with that is, the IRS very clearly says they do not need it, and can use other methods of determining the individual in question (and if they should need it, they are to be the ones to ask it).

The problem you've run into is people on the phone for the federal marketplace (I'm assuming) that have no clue the rules they claim to represent. So you're going to need someone higher up and press the issue. Even their own instructions and FAQ state the SSN field may be left blank if they do not have one. Even our state marketplace has an affidavit one can sign stating that they do not have an SSN/can't get one.

So options are:

Continue waiting until EAD comes through, get the SSN and go insurance shopping via workplace/federal state exchange/or private insurer.

Or fight it out with them right now.

Either way it will not help you with the other problem you're saying you have, which is the potential expense. They are all going to take a chunk of change out of your wallet, and it's usually painful.