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

[jcra615 53]

10 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?

My husband got his social security number after. I know you can also do it before though  doesn't matter. If the person getting the card is a woman changing her name, for ease I would recommend that she do it after marriage.

[jcra615 53]

Edit: I made changes to my previous post. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by jcra615

[Brittani 484]

My husband arrived here on a K1 early July 2018. We applied for his ss# maybe a week later with success. I think it depends on the office you get and how knowledgeable they are on a K1 visa. We had to have it to be able to put him on my insurance, bank accounts, etc...

 

Check my timeline for exact dates.

[vera1992 12]

11 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

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!

Heyyy, where do I get my I94??? Thanks

[JD2017 34]

4 minutes ago, vera1992 said:

Heyyy, where do I get my I94??? Thanks

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/recent-search

[vera1992 12]

19 minutes ago, JD2017 said:

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/recent-search

Thanks for the help!!!

[Scandi 4,154]

3 hours ago, Stel0&Ari said:

 

If you are a K1 Visa Holder you are entitled to a SSN with your maiden name. Because SSA have to issue the card from the visa that matches with the SAVE system. People try everytime to get the married name from the start and is a pain.

 

My advice is to wait to get the EAD card that comes with your marry name also don’t forget to bring your marriage lic and SSA can change your last name easy. 

 

That’s what I said🤷🏻‍♂️

Exactly, you're saying that a K-1 holder is entitled to a SSN in the maiden name, but yet you advise them to WAIT for months and months until their EAD shows up. That's crazy, when they can have an SSN waaaaay earlier than that.

 

MUCH better to have a SSN in the maiden name and then go back to change the name later instead of not having a SSN at all for months just because you want to "wait to get it in the married name".

Edited February 1, 2019 by Scandi

[Toastbear 149]

4 hours ago, Scandi said:

Exactly, you're saying that a K-1 holder is entitled to a SSN in the maiden name, but yet you advise them to WAIT for months and months until their EAD shows up. That's crazy, when they can have an SSN waaaaay earlier than that.

 

MUCH better to have a SSN in the maiden name and then go back to change the name later instead of not having a SSN at all for months just because you want to "wait to get it in the married name".

I think you understood that post wrong. That person said they should come back with the ead to change their name easily instead of trying to get the ssn in the married name. 

[Redheadguy03 505]

You're making this way too complicated. Get the SSN as soon as you can. Get married then get one in the married name when you get EAD or the green card. Otherwise, you risk not being able to get a bank account or getting added to health insurance. (not required for health insurance, but most employers don't actually know that and its easier if you just have it.) 

 

Print off the SSN eligibility page as well. In case you get an employee who doesn't think k1s should get them. When my wife got hers the guy knew exactly what to do. He actually said it's way better to get it before you get married and said way to be prepared. 

Edited February 1, 2019 by Redheadguy03

[Mike E 11,739]

12 hours ago, Stel0&Ari said:

You need a Social to get Medical Insurance

You don’t need an SSN to get medical insurance. The SSA is adamant about this point.  https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10096.pdf

 

“You don’t need a number to get a driver’s license, register for school, get private health insurance, or apply for school lunch programs or subsidized housing.”

 

However the Affordable Care Act requires private health insurers to collect SSNs.

 

This isn’t a contradiction. If you have an SSN you must share it with your insurer. If you do not have an SSN you cannot be denied insurance. 

 

Case in point, immediately after POE, I added my fiancée as a domestic partner to my employer’s health insurance. Well before her SS cars arrived, her medical insurance card arrived.  Once her SS card arrived I provided her SSN to my employer.  

 

It is a digression, but for completeness,   by the time her SS card arrived, we were married and so I dropped her domestic partner insurance and added her as my spouse to my employer’s plan, which will save me some money.  

[Mike E 11,739]

14 hours ago, JD2017 said:

For us they also asked for her birth certificate which we provided along with a certified translation.

Would have sucked for us and the SSA. She don’t have no birth certificate. People need to stop applying  standards of developed countries to developing countries. 

[Mike E 11,739]

10 hours ago, jcra615 said:

My husband got his social security number after. I know you can also do it before though  doesn't matter. If the person getting the card is a woman changing her name, for ease I would recommend that she do it after marriage.

I strongly disagree. 

 

Hundreds of millions of women since FDR have gone decades with an SS card in their maiden name and waited until they were married to change their surnames. And managed just fine.  

 

As as others have noted, some SS clerks deny SS cards to married K1s that don’t have EADs.  So now getting bank account just got much harder. 

 

Get the SS application in now.  It isn’t that hard.  

Edited February 1, 2019 by Mike E

[Brazil/US2018 43]

13 hours ago, Scandi said:

Definitely before, there's absolutely no reason to wait with something that important. You can go any day you like after POE, I applied for my SSN and picked up our marriage license on the same day, that was day 4 after entry.

 

Many SSA employees seem to believe the conditions of the K-1 Visa changes once you get married and that you're no longer eligible to get a SSN. There's no reason to put yourself in a situation like that, if that happens you will have to wait for the EAD to arrive, which is around 6 months after filing. That means 6 extra months without a SSN, and that can cause extra issues in itself.

So let me ask you this then...did you have any issue with applying for the SSN AND getting married on the same day?? Is that ok to do? Will that cause any issues? So, if I get married after applying for SSN but before getting the physical card....

[Weston 4]

21 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?

Hi Brazil,

 

Not sure if you've got an answer for your request yet or not? I recall that i didn't wait for 2 weeks for applying the SSN. I submitted it after about 2 days when entering the USA. Hope it could be a little help for you.

 

[junkmart 320]

19 hours ago, C90 said:

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. 

FYI - You don't need a SSN to open a bank account. Some banks may require it, but not all, it's up to the bank. There are no regulations that say a SSN is required.