Legal Status and ID Card

[armenino15 6]

Hello All,

 

I have a question that I seem to be finding conflicting information for and I was wondering if you guys would be able to help? My wife recently came over to the United States on a K1 (Fiancee) visa. She entered the country in July and we got married a few weeks later (well within the 90 day period for K1 visa). I have submitted her AOS documentation and although I still haven't received the NOA1 letters for the submitted documentation, we did receive an email and text confirmation with our case numbers. All this was done with a month to spare on the 90 days for which her visa would be valid in the united states.

 

My question to you is, what is her status now and what will it be after the 90 days are up? I understand that the AOS documentation takes a while to process but in a couple of weeks her visa will be expired. Does she get some sort of documentation that would state her legal status in the United States? 

 

Also, when we went to the DMV to get her an ID card, they would only give it to her with an expiration date of her visa. How can we extend this. Once her ID card and Visa expire in a couple of weeks, she will have no government issue Identification other than her country's Passport. The reason why I'm in a small state of panic is because we are planning on traveling on thanksgiving weekend (with the US of course) and have already purchased our plane tickets. By that time her ID and her VISA (everything issued by US Government) will be expired. Not sure what I need to do.

 

Thank you in advance.  

[cosmonauts 125]

Yeah, unfortunately she will not be able to obtain a state ID/driver license until she receives her EAD card. It's tough but in the meantime her only valid ID is her passport. When you get the NOA's you will see that they say that they are not proof of legal status but she will be legal because of the pending AOS, you just don't have proof I guess. EAD is the only proof of legal status you will get 3-4 months after filing.

[amyNJ 13]

There is nothing wrong with use her passport as ID for 3 months while her EAD arrives. Don't panic.

She can travel inside US just with her passport.

 
 

 

[Sunnyland 639]

She will be able to get her state ID once she receives her EAD/AP. It takes about 3 months (more or less), from the moment she does her biometrics, to receive the EAD. I remember is sucked that limbo time frame when I could not do much than waiting.

She can travel withing United States but she better not leave US until she receives her Advance Parole - EAD or Green Card in hand. Assuming you did apply for her AP-EAD?

[armenino15 6]

On 9/8/2017 at 5:34 PM, Sunnyland said:

She will be able to get her state ID once she receives her EAD/AP. It takes about 3 months (more or less), from the moment she does her biometrics, to receive the EAD. I remember is sucked that limbo time frame when I could not do much than waiting.

She can travel withing United States but she better not leave US until she receives her Advance Parole - EAD or Green Card in hand. Assuming you did apply for her AP-EAD?

We did actually apply of the AP as well as the Work Authorization and Greed Card (AOS). At this point I'm not really worried about nor am I planning on traveling outside of the united states since I do know that she isn't allowed to leave until her AOS has been adjudicated or at the very least her AP granted. However in all honesty I don't even think I would risk leaving the country even with an AP since I've heard that there are possibilities of issues arising at customs. My main worry is that my wife now is basically sitting here with no valid US documentation or even a US Gov issued ID. Do you guys think it would be ok for her to use her Russian Passport as ID for out trip to Vegas? My worry is that they will see that her visa in the passport is expired and that it might cause unnecessary issues. I did receive the NOA's for all three cases (AP, AOS, EAD) however I really dont know how much weight they carry.  

[mr-mrs-hdc 23]

15 minutes ago, armenino15 said:

We did actually apply of the AP as well as the Work Authorization and Greed Card (AOS). At this point I'm not really worried about nor am I planning on traveling outside of the united states since I do know that she isn't allowed to leave until her AOS has been adjudicated or at the very least her AP granted. However in all honesty I don't even think I would risk leaving the country even with an AP since I've heard that there are possibilities of issues arising at customs. My main worry is that my wife now is basically sitting here with no valid US documentation or even a US Gov issued ID. Do you guys think it would be ok for her to use her Russian Passport as ID for out trip to Vegas? My worry is that they will see that her visa in the passport is expired and that it might cause unnecessary issues. I did receive the NOA's for all three cases (AP, AOS, EAD) however I really dont know how much weight they carry.  

Hey,

 

Your wife will be fine using her Russian passport to fly within the continental US. TSA is not customs :). They will only want to see her biographical page to make sure it is her that is flying. 

[LionessDeon 2,060]

My husband didn't have to wait for EAD/AP approval to get his driver's license.  We took his birth certificate, passport, social security card, our marriage license, and I-485 NOA1 and they issued him an Ohio state ID.  It varies from state to state.  I would highly recommend collecting all her documentation and going to your local BMV/DMV office.

[cyanmavi 101]

She will enter a 'period of authorized stay' once her K-1 expires and she has AOS NOA1.

Make a copy of your marriage certificate and AOS NOA1 and bring those with the Russian passport.

I flew from Boston to Chicago recently with those documents, though no one asked for anything besides my passport.

Make sure to buy the airline tickets under the name that is on her passport.

[armenino15 6]

On 9/11/2017 at 9:46 AM, LionessDeon said:

My husband didn't have to wait for EAD/AP approval to get his driver's license.  We took his birth certificate, passport, social security card, our marriage license, and I-485 NOA1 and they issued him an Ohio state ID.  It varies from state to state.  I would highly recommend collecting all her documentation and going to your local BMV/DMV office.

Thank you for your insight, I will give it a try and see if all of the documentation that I have would suffice to at least get my wife an ID.

[armenino15 6]

16 hours ago, cyanmavi said:

She will enter a 'period of authorized stay' once her K-1 expires and she has AOS NOA1.

Make a copy of your marriage certificate and AOS NOA1 and bring those with the Russian passport.

I flew from Boston to Chicago recently with those documents, though no one asked for anything besides my passport.

Make sure to buy the airline tickets under the name that is on her passport.

At this point if we are unsuccessful in getting a State ID for my wife then my only option would be to do exactly as you said. I was thinking of doing that as a last resort, and the only thing that is worrying me is the current immigration climate under the current administration. Deep down I dont think there is anything to really stress about, however there is always the human element, and as humans it is in our nature to worry (((. Either way thanks for the suggestion and information. 

[cosmonauts 125]

For what is worth, I heard that you are far more likely to be checked when crossing state borders by car. For some reason this was not happening at airports. (this was a few months ago) and something that happened to me personally in Vegas was that they didn't let me play roulette or cards with a passport at the Paris Casino but everything else was ok (drinking, playing machines, clubs etc)