What is after entry USA on k1 visa?

[Scandi 4,166]

First you apply for your SSN, don't wait, it'll only get harder to get it if you do. You apply within the first days of arriving in the US, there's no reason to wait for two weeks.

 

Get a marriage license.

 

Get married.

 

Get your marriage certificate.

 

File for AOS.

[geowrian 22,337]

6 minutes ago, Scandi said:

First you apply for your SSN, don't wait, it'll only get harder to get it if you do. You apply within the first days of arriving in the US, there's no reason to wait for two weeks.

Going too soon can be an issue, too. From the guide (http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn):

"As a K-1 Visa Holder you are eligible to receive a SSN upon producing a valid I-94 (unexpired). Do not wait until you only have a few weeks left until your I-94 expires to file for a SSN. Many SSA offices will not allow you to file for a SSN if your I-94 is about to expire (generally 14 days prior to the expiration on your I-94). On the other hand, you should also not file for a SSN too soon either. You should wait 2 weeks after you arrived in the US before applying for a SSN. If you go too soon your record of arrival will not be in the SAVE-ASVI system yet, and it will require manual verification from the USCIS. As this will add weeks to the period it takes to process the SSN, it is advisable to attempt to wait the two weeks to be safe. If you have waited the 2 weeks and they tell you they can not verify you arrival record via the SAVE database, you may allow them to to process it (but remember the potential delay for manual verifications). You can ask if they will check the computer again for you in a few days or return personally to have them look again -- thus eliminating the manual verification. The manual verification will require the SSA office to file a G-845 with the USCIS."

 

Edit: To clarify, the SAVE-ASVI system has improved in recent years. But there's still a gap in time up to ~2 weeks.

Edited April 7, 2017 by geowrian

[lacolinab13 86]

There are lots of us on here who have gone to get SSN within 48-72 hours after arriving with no issue. I think the 2 week info is quite out of date. 

[geowrian 22,337]

47 minutes ago, lacolinab13 said:

There are lots of us on here who have gone to get SSN within 48-72 hours after arriving with no issue. I think the 2 week info is quite out of date. 

True, and that's usually the case. At the same time, there are people from 2016 that have reported having to do manual verification after waiting over 72 hours after entry by plane. I'll leave the topic by referring to this 2016 thread, in which some had it right away and others had to wait over 2 weeks to show up in SAVE.

 

Edit: To clarify, in theory it should be nearly immediately, or at least 1 day later (depending when SAVE updates). But that's not always the case in practice.

Edited April 7, 2017 by geowrian

[Scandi 4,166]

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

Going too soon can be an issue, too. From the guide (http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn):

"As a K-1 Visa Holder you are eligible to receive a SSN upon producing a valid I-94 (unexpired). Do not wait until you only have a few weeks left until your I-94 expires to file for a SSN. Many SSA offices will not allow you to file for a SSN if your I-94 is about to expire (generally 14 days prior to the expiration on your I-94). On the other hand, you should also not file for a SSN too soon either. You should wait 2 weeks after you arrived in the US before applying for a SSN. If you go too soon your record of arrival will not be in the SAVE-ASVI system yet, and it will require manual verification from the USCIS. As this will add weeks to the period it takes to process the SSN, it is advisable to attempt to wait the two weeks to be safe. If you have waited the 2 weeks and they tell you they can not verify you arrival record via the SAVE database, you may allow them to to process it (but remember the potential delay for manual verifications). You can ask if they will check the computer again for you in a few days or return personally to have them look again -- thus eliminating the manual verification. The manual verification will require the SSA office to file a G-845 with the USCIS."

 

Edit: To clarify, the SAVE-ASVI system has improved in recent years. But there's still a gap in time up to ~2 weeks.

That's outdated info, you're perfectly fine to apply as soon as your i-94 is available. Which is often the same day you landed.

[Scandi 4,166]

3 hours ago, geowrian said:

True, and that's usually the case. At the same time, there are people from 2016 that have reported having to do manual verification after waiting over 72 hours after entry by plane. I'll leave the topic by referring to this 2016 thread, in which some had it right away and others had to wait over 2 weeks to show up in SAVE.

 

Edit: To clarify, in theory it should be nearly immediately, or at least 1 day later (depending when SAVE updates). But that's not always the case in practice.

Again, it's perfectly fine to apply as soon as the i-94 is available. Many of us had to be verified with the immigrations (maybe everyone goes through it, not sure) and you get your SSC in the mailbox as soon as you've been verified. Took 4 weeks for me, longer or shorter for others. Not an issue at all, you just have to wait a little before the actual card shows up. 

[geowrian 22,337]

5 minutes ago, Scandi said:

That's outdated info, you're perfectly fine to apply as soon as your i-94 is available. Which is often the same day you landed.

 

1 minute ago, Scandi said:

Again, it's perfectly fine to apply as soon as the i-94 is available. Many of us had to be verified with the immigrations (maybe everyone goes through it, not sure) and you get your SSC in the mailbox as soon as you've been verified. Took 4 weeks for me, longer or shorter for others. Not an issue at all, you just have to wait a little before the actual card shows up. 

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Yes, you can apply immediately. But the risk is going through manual verification by doing so. You can get the card within 1-2 weeks weeks if you are in the SAVE.system already. Manual verification can take up to 6-8+ weeks. So you actually get the card faster (on average) by waiting until you are in the SAVE system.

[Scandi 4,166]

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

 

Sorry if I wasn't clear. Yes, you can apply immediately. But the risk is going through manual verification by doing so. You can get the card within 1-2 weeks weeks if you are in the SAVE.system already. Manual verification can take up to 6-8+ weeks. So you actually get the card faster (on average) by waiting until you are in the SAVE system.

It depends, if it takes 2 weeks before I can even apply, and then another 2 weeks to get the actual card, then it takes as long as it took for me to get my card by applying 4 days after entry. So it's probably more or less the same.

 

Even so, it's still better to apply as soon as possible, the longer you wait the harder it might get to get the SSN in the first place. Especially after marriage. As long as you have applied, you at least know it's on its way, it might just take a couple of weeks.

[SRulla 61]

What's the I-94? Is that something I get when I enter the US on my k1 visum?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, SRulla said:

What's the I-94? Is that something I get when I enter the US on my k1 visum?

Yup. it's the stamp in your passport you get at POE.

 

You can also look up your I-94 online in most cases now.

Edited April 8, 2017 by geowrian

[SRulla 61]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Yup. it's the stamp in your passport you get at POE.

Thanks @geowrian