SOCIAL SECURITY WHEN ARRIVING TO THE U.S K1 VISA!

[Brazil/US2018 43]

Alright everyone!

 

So I have read and re-read a lot on this and there really doesn't seem to be an agreement on this.

 

1. I have read that YES you need and should do your social security number before you get married on a K1 Visa. And many people who also said NO you do not need a social before getting married. Which one is it?

 

2. You need to wait a period of 2 WEEKS before going to apply for SSN for "everything to be in the system". Is this true?? I have read that people do wait this 2 weeks, while I have also read in many threads that no, this is not true and you can walk in an request a social security the next day. Can someone shed some light and truth on this?

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

1.  I would get the SSN as soon as possible.  It will be useful for opening a bank account, filing taxes, landlord background checks, etc. 

2.  The 2 week wait is no longer necessary due to electronic records now.

[p-ana 933]

a ssn is not mandatory for getting a marriage license, so technically you could wait. Having said that, it’s in your best interest to get it as soon as possible, to give you time to come up with solutions in case you hit any snag. 

The 2 week wait was advised when the system was not entirely electronic before.

 

 

[Dashinka 24,488]

13 minutes ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

Alright everyone!

 

So I have read and re-read a lot on this and there really doesn't seem to be an agreement on this.

 

1. I have read that YES you need and should do your social security number before you get married on a K1 Visa. And many people who also said NO you do not need a social before getting married. Which one is it?

 

2. You need to wait a period of 2 WEEKS before going to apply for SSN for "everything to be in the system". Is this true?? I have read that people do wait this 2 weeks, while I have also read in many threads that no, this is not true and you can walk in an request a social security the next day. Can someone shed some light and truth on this?

1.  Not needed, but highly encouraged, so I agree with "should", but not "need".

2.  As @missileman stated, the 2 week wait time is no longer required.  Just go get the I94 and head to the SSA.

 

Good Luck!

Edited January 31, 2019 by Bill & Katya

[Brazil/US2018 43]

3 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

1.  Not needed, but highly encouraged, so I agree with "should".

2.  As @missileman stated, the 2 week wait time is no longer required.  Just go get the I94 and head to the SSA.

 

Good Luck!

The I-94 is given to my fiance when he arrives to the US correct?

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

8 minutes ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

The I-94 is given to my fiance when he arrives to the US correct?

I-94s are electronic.  They can be downloaded.

[Dashinka 24,488]

8 minutes ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

The I-94 is given to my fiance when he arrives to the US correct?

Not anymore, you can get it online now.

 

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home

[C90 376]

2 hours ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

Alright everyone!

 

So I have read and re-read a lot on this and there really doesn't seem to be an agreement on this.

 

1. I have read that YES you need and should do your social security number before you get married on a K1 Visa. And many people who also said NO you do not need a social before getting married. Which one is it?

 

2. You need to wait a period of 2 WEEKS before going to apply for SSN for "everything to be in the system". Is this true?? I have read that people do wait this 2 weeks, while I have also read in many threads that no, this is not true and you can walk in an request a social security the next day. Can someone shed some light and truth on this?

You need a SSN to open a bank account, so I would get one asap and request a new one once you're married in your married name. Keep in mind you can only get a SSN as long as your K1 OR I-94 are valid for another 2-3 weeks, since they need time to process your SSN request.

 

2 weeks is not entirely necessary anymore, but I went in one day after arriving and ended up with manual verification what took about 3 weeks. So you could just try it, worst case scenario you have to wait a little longer on your SSN. 

[Mike E 11,739]

You do not need an SSN to get married.  At least not in the states were I've been married, which includes California and Illinois. BTW, the Santa Clara County Recorder's office in San Jose is an excellent place for a quick marriage license, ceremony, and certificate.

 

Case in point, we married last week without presenting SSNs. You do need photo ID. A passport works. A USA drivers license works. She had a Myanmar passport.

 

That said, you can and should apply for an SSN soon after arriving in the USA.

 

I read the recommendations on visajourney.com and decided to ignore the one that said to wait an undefined number days for CBP and USCIS to sync up their records. 

 

We went to the social security office on January 11, 2 days after POE. We didn't go January 12 due to jet lag and I had a busy day at the office, and I knew visiting the SS office is 2-4 hour waste of time.

 

I printed her electronic I-94 from the CBP website. We went to the nearest SS office, and were seen by a very knowledgeable clerk. He processed her application and said that indeed CBP and USCIS had not synced up. He showed me his screen. USCIS had the exact same information he typed in from the I-94, her passport, and her Visa, and a stupid error message saying the information didn't match their database. He said it would take 4 weeks to get a SS card. Oh no!!!!! I was wrong.

 

On January 25, we received a letter saying her card would take two more weeks to arrive.

 

On Monday January 28, exactly 10 working days after we applied for her SS card, her SS card showed up in the mail, exactly 10 working days before the local  SS office, visajourney, SSA, etc. all said it arrive.

 

During a government shutdown.

 

Now we can open bank accounts, get state ID, file tax returns, etc.

[JD2017 34]

My Fiancée arrived 1/14/2019 and we went to the SS office in Albuquerque on 1/15 with the I-94 printed out from the CPB website.  We were told to come back after 10 days because it wouldn’t be in the system yet, she didn’t even try, but just told us to come back.  We went back on 1/25 and the application was processed, but we were told there was some problem or delay verifying the information and to call if we didn’t receive the SS card after 2 weeks.  She also said that this has been happening on all of her K1’s but did not go into detail about what exactly was the problem.  We had no problem getting the marriage license without a SSN, she just needed my Fiancée’s  passport with the visa inside.  I’ll try to upload later the form letter they gave us at the SS office.

[Brazil/US2018 43]

So why are people saying that you will have problems if you get married BEFORE applying for a SSN?

[p-ana 933]

7 minutes ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

So why are people saying that you will have problems if you get married BEFORE applying for a SSN?

Edit: read it wrong

Edited January 31, 2019 by p-ana

[Ontarkie 14,218]

8 minutes ago, Brazil/US2018 said:

So why are people saying that you will have problems if you get married BEFORE applying for a SSN?

Because the name change after marriage confuses some of the SS folks. Plus it can take longer to find as the names do not match. Mostly because some offices get confused and think the new name voids or what ever reason they come up with.

Edited January 31, 2019 by Ontarkie

[Ontarkie 14,218]

~~Thread moved to SSN, from K1 P&P~~

[Brazil/US2018 43]

I wouldn't be able to pull all of the people that said not to do that...but there has definitely been a few threads where several people had major problems during AOS when getting married before applying for a SSN 1st! So at this point I am not sure what to do!!

 Yes I know you have to apply for a SSN AFTER as well...but the problem seems to arise if you do not apply first! @Greenbaum any input here?