SSN, food stamps without greencard yet? (split and merged)

[Ash.1101 1,756]

Except a lot can happen between your k1 and aos financially

Probrably! Wow this is insane this is why they are strict and ask for afdavits....

This, and not to mention, a lot of people come here and marry people in school or have no job.

My husband came here while I was unemployed and had been for years. My mom and friend BOTH cosponsored him. So it's absolutely possible to come into an incomeless house and the government know it.

Myself and my daughter could have easily have been on food stamps, which we were PRIOR to him coming here (I let them fall off last July), but I didn't want ANYTHING negatively impacting his coming here and his stay. So I just didn't reapply for them when the time came.

There was a while where I thought in the back of my head, "God, maybe I need to reapply", while I was working because my hours were short and I felt like we'd have no grocery money, but I took extra hours every week and it's been tight and a lot of working at work, but we made it through. Now he's working as well, and grocery money worries aren't an issue.

But again to the OP. Have you gotten married? Have your started your AOS packet? You can't work until you get EAD approved, which can only happen when you file for it along with your green card application. The longer you wait, the longer it could take.

Edit: As for which embassy's don't take. London wasn't asking for them for a while, but other than that it depends on the CO. Some want to at least see financial proof.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Ash.1101

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

One of the questions on the I-485

"Have you received public assistance in the United States from any source, including the U.S. government or any State, county, city or municipality (other than emergency medical treatment), or are you likely to receive public assistance in the future?"

Answering "YES" requires an explanation.

Obviously this question is to screen for the "likely to become public charge" inadmissibility. Answering YES is risking denial, IMHO.

Edited July 14, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

This, and not to mention, a lot of people come here and marry people in school or have no job.

My husband came here while I was unemployed and had been for years. My mom and friend BOTH cosponsored him. So it's absolutely possible to come into an incomeless house and the government know it.

Myself and my daughter could have easily have been on food stamps, which we were PRIOR to him coming here (I let them fall off last July), but I didn't want ANYTHING negatively impacting his coming here and his stay. So I just didn't reapply for them when the time came.

There was a while where I thought in the back of my head, "God, maybe I need to reapply", while I was working because my hours were short and I felt like we'd have no grocery money, but I took extra hours every week and it's been tight and a lot of working at work, but we made it through. Now he's working as well, and grocery money worries aren't an issue.

But again to the OP. Have you gotten married? Have your started your AOS packet? You can't work until you get EAD approved, which can only happen when you file for it along with your green card application. The longer you wait, the longer it could take.

Edit: As for which embassy's don't take. London wasn't asking for them for a while, but other than that it depends on the CO. Some want to at least see financial proof.

You and your daughter, being USCs could have received Food Stamps as long as your husband did not receive them, that's a different situation. In OP's case they are thinking about applying for the immigrant.

[SennaBrigante 92]

Even if she applied, she might not get approved for the food stamps anyway.

My husband applied for SNAP months ago when money was tight. Stuff just kept happening (to the car, health, house, etc.) that cost us so much money in a short amount of time. He was interviewed by someone and was flat out denied because I had only been here for a few months. I had my SSN and GC then but I don't think those matter. This is in Texas btw.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Even if she applied, she might not get approved for the food stamps anyway.

My husband applied for SNAP months ago when money was tight. Stuff just kept happening (to the car, health, house, etc.) that cost us so much money in a short amount of time. He was interviewed by someone and was flat out denied because I had only been here for a few months. I had my SSN and GC then but I don't think those matter. This is in Texas btw.

True, it's unlikely for the immigrant to get approved, but why even apply when in the event that she is approved she's potentially putting her immigration in jeopardy?

Even if she applied, she might not get approved for the food stamps anyway.

My husband applied for SNAP months ago when money was tight. Stuff just kept happening (to the car, health, house, etc.) that cost us so much money in a short amount of time. He was interviewed by someone and was flat out denied because I had only been here for a few months. I had my SSN and GC then but I don't think those matter. This is in Texas btw.

Depends on the benefit sought. I received CHIP Perinatal & Emergency Medicaid for childbirth twice while on a GC in TX (but those were probably the only ones I was eligible for). Edited July 14, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[Ash.1101 1,756]

You and your daughter, being USCs could have received Food Stamps as long as your husband did not receive them, that's a different situation. In OP's case they are thinking about applying for the immigrant.

Yeah, I found that out after I had let them fall off. I didn't even want the potential risk though even if it was fine for me to do, that's why I explained how essentially if I'm entitled to such a thing, yet take it with an air of caution, someone that isn't entitled to it should realize what kind of red flag he's raising.

Like I said in an earlier post, he should have his wife file if the family needs it so badly. Most peoples first thoughts on being in the country for 30 days isn't how to get food stamps. I'd be very careful.

Edit: There's a way that it's suppose to be done in most states, where if you have a non-eligble immigrant living with you, then your food stamp calculation for the household is suppose to exclude them. So like, we would only get a house hold of 2's FS with income deductions even though our household is 3. There's also an extra set of calculations for if the immigrant works I believe,

But yeah it is also possible to just get denied. While the FS's may be assigned to only the wife, it's only common sense to know that the immigrant would be eating that food as well.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Ash.1101

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Trust me ( through NVC) Morocco has seen the fiancials long before it got to embassy interview

and you have to take the last year's IRS transcript to the interview (K 1 and CR1 )

and if apply for food stamps you are proving the petitioner could not afford the beneficary in the first place

Did he use a co spionsor?

don't have to answer but this is an issue with AOS

if you have children or pregnant in your state of Georgia, you are eligeble for WIC (eggs, milk, cheese, etc) for the kids

there are also food banks in Georgia usually theu salvation army or churches, try them

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

London doesn't ask for it from the people who go through there and someone posted a review to Morocco and said they never asked for theirs either. It all depends on the co I guess.

They definitely asked my fiance for his in London. While they didn't ask for all the proof he brought (employment letter or bank statements, the tax transcripts were enough) they did want the I-134, or some other means of proving financial stability.

And I agree about the part that a lot can happen between the K-1 interview where you show your I-134 and AOS. My sponsor lost his job in between that time so that was a hassle.

Edited July 14, 2016 by MorganandMichael

[aaron2020 11,651]

It seems that it would be incredibly stupid for a consular officer to ignore the requirement for an I-134. How would the CO know if they can qualify for the I-864?

[Ash.1101 1,756]

It seems that it would be incredibly stupid for a consular officer to ignore the requirement for an I-134. How would the CO know if they can qualify for the I-864?

Some CO's don't care. The I-864 becomes someone elses problem, that and like another had said, a lot can happen between K-1 and AOS. There are people who hold off on AOSing for a year or more. While having a cosponsor is good and all, it doesn't mean that the people are going to ask their cosponsor for food money. Some peoples cosponsors don't even live in the same state as them.

I've seen a couple of cases of them taking the I-134, looking at it for a signature and throwing it into the file, then not asking for any evidence to support the I-134. This was from London, about a year ago when I was going through K-1.

And again, you can move into an incomeless house, as long as there is a cosponsor. After that, it's a matter of if someone in the house is willing to work or willing to start living off the system, since now you moved into an incomeless home, added another mouth to feed, and can't work.

PS. I'm not defending the incomeless home thing, nor am I defending CO's lack of cares. We had to provide TWO cosponsors who BOTH made over the HHS Poverty Guide lines, due to the fact that I wasn't working. Our CO in particular realized that there should be some insurance when it comes to moving someone into a home with no income lol. The problem is, that "insurance" doesn't stop a lot of people from wanting benefits from the US.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Ash.1101

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

It seems that it would be incredibly stupid for a consular officer to ignore the requirement for an I-134. How would the CO know if they can qualify for the I-864?

The I-134 is not enforced anyway. Also they have different standards. I-134 is 100% of FPL while I-864 is 125% of FPL. It's possible that a petitioner qualifies to file I-134 on their own but can't file I-864 without a joint sponsor.

[mallafri76 1,012]

There are people who hold off on AOSing for a year or more.

Which I think is so wrong. When people come over on a K-1, they need to marry within 90 days. Should be something similar that states that they need to apply for AOS within X days or forfeit the benefit. We see so many stories here on VJ about women who come over on K-1s and then their husband's don't file for AOS for them so they're just stuck at home, they can't work, they don't have a legal status... Just at the mercy of the men who brought them over.

OP, I wouldn't risk it with the food stamps. Also, the faster you apply for AOS including EAD, the faster you can work and you guys can have two incomes.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Which I think is so wrong. When people come over on a K-1, they need to marry within 90 days. Should be something similar that states that they need to apply for AOS within X days or forfeit the benefit. We see so many stories here on VJ about women who come over on K-1s and then their husband's don't file for AOS for them so they're just stuck at home, they can't work, they don't have a legal status... Just at the mercy of the men who brought them over.

OP, I wouldn't risk it with the food stamps. Also, the faster you apply for AOS including EAD, the faster you can work and you guys can have two incomes.

I agree with you in that IMHO the whole K-1 process makes the immigrant very vulnerable in terms of possible domestic abuse, withholding AOS etc.

However having a deadline for filing AOS on a K-1 otherwise they become ineligible is not a good idea. On any other visa one can overstay for decades or more and still be able to AOS if they marry a USC, but on K-1 (a visa that is specifically for marrying a USC) this would not be allowed?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Which I think is so wrong. When people come over on a K-1, they need to marry within 90 days. Should be something similar that states that they need to apply for AOS within X days or forfeit the benefit. We see so many stories here on VJ about women who come over on K-1s and then their husband's don't file for AOS for them so they're just stuck at home, they can't work, they don't have a legal status... Just at the mercy of the men who brought them over.

OP, I wouldn't risk it with the food stamps. Also, the faster you apply for AOS including EAD, the faster you can work and you guys can have two incomes.

This is one of the many reasons I dislike the k1

[WandY 430]

Mallafri76 gives excellent advice. Get legal with green card and work. In my opinion, the financial requirements for K-1 should be much, much higher. I was a bachelor until I brought my fiance here on K-1 and now I'm shocked by how much more $$$ I spend. I am blessed with a good income and it has been a significant hit to my wallet. Her GC is coming soon, and we're both ready for her to enter the workforce. (She's ready because she's bored)

Be financially prepared to take on another expense. It's a lot more than you think. And if anything happens to your job, have savings and a Plan B.

Edited July 14, 2016 by Ryan H
Reason for edit: to remove divisive content.