K1 visa- automatically entitled to work?

[geowrian 22,337]

3 hours ago, biglove1 said:

Hi . When my fiancée arrived in the US . Her I-94 said temporary work authorized . We applied and received her SS card . After that she worked for 2 months .. until her I-94 expired . Maybe that’s what you meant 

Where did it say this? I checked my wife's I-94 + I-94 history from when she first came (I saved PDFs of each of them) and there is no field regarding work eligibility on either.

I also checked the passport stamp with the same. Only exception would be if the CBP officer also provided an EAD stamp, which is possible but I have not seen it in years.

What did she do for the I-9 when she worked in terms of documentation?

[Indy Sab 174]

23 hours ago, Dervlyah said:

Hi everyone. 
 

I recently arrived into the US on a K1 visa and married my fiancé. We are in the process of applying for adjustment of status. 
 

I asked my lawyer about applying for my SSN and they made a discovery that K1 visa holders are one class of visa holders that are automatically entitled to work without EAD authorization or DHS authorization, according to the social security website itself. Please see following links: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211420#g

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211530

 

This means my social security card should not have “ valid for work only with DHS authorization” written on it. 
 

Every time I’ve googled this, every other source seems to say that DHS and EAD authorization is required prior to work. Even visa journey itself links ( https://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn/ )to one of these above website and states this, even though the website itself states the opposite. Has anyone else encountered this? 
 

My lawyer believes that I am entitled to work as soon as I get my SSN. And based off the information given on the SS website I would be inclined to agree!

 

@mmsamor READ THIS, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Boiler 45,837]

From memory the stamp at JFK was in your passport.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

  The stamp at JFK died out about 9 years ago.  But once again only good for 90 days and usually you social security took longer than that and you couldn't get you EAD through AOS quick enough to continue.   The reason the SS says the K1 is work authorized is it is one of the reasons to issue a number to a non US person.  But because you are a non US person until after AOS you get the card that says you need DHS authorization to work. ( like many of the other non family based visa entrants get )   So eyes you are authorized to get an SS number to work and you can work with DHS authorization for the 90 days your visa is valid for.  

[HRQX 4,145]

5 hours ago, geowrian said:

What did she do for the I-9 when she worked in terms of documentation?

I'd like to know their answer as well. There are a few instances where the I-94 is acceptable: https://www.hireimage.com/_resources/common/userfiles/file/Handbook for Employers M-274 _ USCIS(1).pdf K-1 isn't one of them.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Simple.  Run e-verify self check and let us know what is says. 
If it says not eligible then this thread needs to be closed.

[biglove1 1]

14 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

That's interesting, I've never seen that mention directly on the i-94.  If possible, could you please upload the i-94 and remove all identifying details?

Hi all . I guess I was kinda shooting from the hip earlier I was at work. When I got home and found the paperwork. It was on the papers we received at the social security office. But it had from DHS 

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, biglove1 said:

Hi all . I guess I was kinda shooting from the hip earlier I was at work. When I got home and found the paperwork. It was on the papers we received at the social security office. But it had from DHS

Thanks. Yeah, that makes sense as they are referring to the SAVE case check result.

[Villanelle 4,122]

There was only one thing incorrect in the OP postings and that was the statement about how the SS card should not say valid with Auth on it. 

 

The facts are K visas are authorized work during the status of the K visa but they still must get an EAD to do such. They are also eligible to get a SSN as  K visa holder but need at least 2 weeks left on it for there to be enough time for SSA to issue it. The SS card issued to the K visa holder will say valid for work with DHS auth on it. Current processing times do not allow for a K visa holder to get an EAD before their K expires. If they were to get one it would be an EAD category A06. 

 

Once the K visa expires (passes the 90 day mark) the alien does not have any status and is considered to be in a period of auth stay once they file for AOS . They can apply for a category c09 EAD to work. If they did not yet obtain a SSN they can then obtain one using the c09 EAD.

 

In general the SSA will only issue SSNs to aliens who have permission to work. This is why you can get one while on the K (its work authorized) but if you dont you need to wait until you get the EAD c09. Both situations would result in a SS card saying 'valid for work with DHS auth'. 

 

I believe the confusion the OP had was a result of misunderstanding how the SSA regulations interact with DHS regulations. SSA policy will allow a K to obtain a SSN (no EAD needed as the K itself is work authorized so they can issue the SSN with out the alien having an EAD card) however that is separate from DHS regulations which require the alien to obtain an EAD to work under the K status. Im not familiar with E-verify but from what I understand a K visa holder would not be cleared in the e-verify system w/o having the A06 EAD + unexpired i94. 

[Kaix 5]

And here we supposedly have a USCIS spokesperson being quoted as stating the following:

 

Quote

A USCIS spokesperson told INSIDER in a statement that technically anyone admitted to the US on a K-1 visa is already authorized to work — they just need to apply for a document that proves they already have that work authorization.

"A K-1 nonimmigrant is authorized to work upon admission in the United States and incident to status," the spokesperson said. "Under regulations, K-1s must also file a Form I-765 (application for an “Employment Authorization Document or 'EAD') with the corresponding fee, to acquire the document as evidence of such employment eligibility. However, again, authorization to work is not contingent on the EAD, but on admission as a K-1 nonimmigrant."

https://www.insider.com/us-citizenship-process-foreigner-to-american-2019-3#after-a-year-of-dating-yildiz-and-his-girlfriend-decided-to-get-engaged-and-move-to-the-us-they-chose-what-they-thought-would-be-the-fastest-immigration-process-for-yildiz-a-k-1-visa-but-quickly-learned-it-would-be-anything-but-simple-2

 

[aaron2020 11,651]

28 minutes ago, Kaix said:

And here we supposedly have a USCIS spokesperson being quoted as stating the following:

 

https://www.insider.com/us-citizenship-process-foreigner-to-american-2019-3#after-a-year-of-dating-yildiz-and-his-girlfriend-decided-to-get-engaged-and-move-to-the-us-they-chose-what-they-thought-would-be-the-fastest-immigration-process-for-yildiz-a-k-1-visa-but-quickly-learned-it-would-be-anything-but-simple-2

 

Good luck with that.  

Good luck with the I-9.  

[Boiler 45,837]

Not all jobs require an I9, important to realise that expecting all this to be thought through and logical is highly unrealistic..