EatBulaga

Hello Everyone, I just want to follow up that we finally received the updated Social Security card in the mail today with no "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION". Did anyone else have the trouble of going to the SSO more than once to remove the restriction? Thanks.

It is your choice to fill it out or not. My experience is that unless the foreigner LPR is receiving a LOT of interest dividends from the US bank, then the W8-BEN paperwork is worth the trouble to fill out. If the bank interest is less than say 1000, then withholding 30% isn't worth filing the W8-BEN. Most joint filers mix the 30% bank withholding in the IRS filing return anyway. I had asked similar questions for my K1-to-AOS spouse a while back at https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/790033-w-8ben-for-k1-to-aos-filer/

Greetings everyone, we are K1-to-AOS who had previously tried to update the Social Security card (SSC) with the I-551 permanent resident card (2-year green card). Just want to share with others some difficulties we are experiencing in case anyone else is going thru the same. We first went to the SSO in 2023-06 with no appointments after receiving the green card to remove the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" on the SSC. The previous SS agent rushed us by inputting the green card info into the computer and barely looked at the SS-5. Then she said we should be getting something in the mail. But we never got any confirmation and we never received the updated SSC in the mail. We went again recently (2024-05) to the SSO with a scheduled appointment to update the SSC with the green card. This time the SS agent was more meticulous and took our SS-5 and gave us a confirmation letter with a reference number and a stamped copy of the SS-5 showing the received date. The confirmation letter stated: Before we can issue you a Social Security, we must verify the document(s) you gave us to show your Alien status with the Federal, State, or local office in the United States that issued the document(s). This may take up to 4 weeks. The SS agent said that USCIS probably did not respond to the previous SS request to verify the green card. This second request to verify the green card can take up to 6 to 8 weeks. So if any of you had problems with removing the DHS Authorization restrictions for work on your Social Security card, just be persistent and you may have to go to the SSO more than once. Just keep grinding.

Thanks for the reminder!!!

I read a while back that the Social Security Office could verify the I-94 electronically now. So you don't need to wait 2 weeks. You can maybe wait 1-2 days after printing out your I-94 to take it to the SSO, along with the passport, birth certificate, and filled out SS-5 form.

I think one bottleneck that many K1-to-AOS don't realize is the time to receive the marriage certificate (not marriage license). Depending on which state or municipality, the marriage certificate can take 30 days or more to receive. We avoided the wait by going to Las Vegas for the wedding where we got the marriage certificate the same day as the wedding. Also, you can start collecting the documents for the I-864 like the last 3 years of tax transcripts, payslips, etc., A couple of other fairly important steps to plan for the K1 beneficiary is opening a US bank account and getting the state Real ID or driver's license, which rely on the SSN and marriage certificate (for name change). But as a rule of thumb for the super-prepared, if you can file the I-485 within a month after US entry, then you are balling. You can see the step-by-step of what we did at our Timeline or Profile. https://www.visajourney.com/profile/386517-eatbulag

Greetings Everyone, My wife is a K1-to-AOS conditional green card holder. For the situation where the green card expires 02/01/2025 and resident since 02/01/2023, she plans to travel outside the country for say 4 months (less than the 6 months needed to reapply for entry). Will the 4 months outside the country affect the ROC approval? Or the resident since date? Or the date calculation for filing N400 (either 3-year or 5-year)? Thanks in advance for any response.

Ideally, the airlines gate/boarding agents should know that K1 visa is a one-way ticket. But that does not mean they are all well-versed on all the different US entry documents. My K1 visa beneficiary had more interrogating questions from the gate agent than the Port of Entry US CBP. I did anticipate some of the hassles and called the airline a couple of days before to leave a note on the flight reservation for the gate agent that the US entry document is K1 visa and a one-way ticket. This might help if your K1 beneficiary is from a weak passport country.

Yes, we have a Philippines Report Of Marriage. Yes. Maiden name passport and Green card marriage name with US marriage certificate to show name change is probably the way to go. Theoretically, buying 2 one-way tickets may work with Eva Air, which will cost a little more. Departure ticket in maiden name from US to the Philippines using Philippines passport with maiden name. While in the Philippines, update to new Philippines passport with marriage name. Return ticket in marriage name from the Philippines to the US using the new Philippines passport with marriage name. Eva Air also has an option to input the green card (marriage name) in lieu of passport in their online ticketing.

I checked with Eva Air. They do not change name on the original ticket. The option is to buy a new ticket with updated marriage name that matches the updated passport. Or don't change the passport name until you can buy a new ticket.

Yes. Wife has Philippines passport in maiden name, and will buy round-trip ticket with an airline in maiden name to the Philippines. While in the Philippines, wife wants to update to a new passport with marriage name. If she gets the new passport expedite, she needs to return with the new passport with the marriage name. Remember flight ticket is in maiden name. Will the airlines or US immigration have a problem with the new passport in marriage name? She will have US marriage certificate and Philippines Report of Marriage along with Green Card (marriage name), cut-up old Philippines passport (maiden name), new Philippines passport (marriage name). Is there anything else we need to avoid misunderstanding with the airlines or US immigration? Thanks

Yes. But do all the airlines understand the difference?

Yes. This is why I am asking. The ticket will be issued in the maiden name and the old passport. Updating to the new passport with the marriage name, would carrying the old passport along with the new passport be enough for the airline since the return ticket will be in the maiden name and old passport? Has anyone ever experienced this? Thanks

The regional Philippines embassy for Atlanta is Washington D.C. so it's no more convenient than just update while back in the Philippines. The other option is just not update the passport till expiration or repatriation after US naturalization.

Hello everyone, my Filipina national wife's marriage name on her green card (unexpired) is different from her Philippines passport name (maiden name). And she will travel to the Philippines with both the US marriage certificate (marriage name change) and the Philippines Report Of Marriage while traveling to the Philippines. If she updates to a new Philippines passport with her marriage name in the Philippines, will she have problems (with the airline or US immigration) traveling back to the US? Keep in mind that her original K1 visa and the I-485 AOS were filed with the maiden name Philippines passport. Should she at least travel with both the old passport (maiden name) and the new passport (marriage name)? Thanks in advance for any response.

Hello Everyone, Has anyone ever had negative experience traveling to the Philippines and back to the US with Eva Air in terms of all the various US entry documents like boarding foil, expired green card with Removal Of Condition letter, etc. Are Eva Air gate agents well-versed with the US travel documents? Thanks in advance.

Ok. I didn't know US embassy will take biometrics for USCIS? If the green card does get lost, the only items my wife will have that are relevant for US reentry are: Philippines passport and US marriage certificate, and her US drivers license (Real ID). Hopefully, those are enough to apply for the I-131A?

Hello Everyone, I'm trying to anticipate some of the worst-case scenarios for my Filipina national wife if she travels back to the Philippines. My wife's marriage name on her green card (unexpired) is different from her passport name (maiden name), and she will have with her both the US marriage certificate (marriage name change) and the Philippines Report Of Marriage while traveling to the Philippines. For the case of a lost/stolen green card (unexpired), has anyone ever applied for the I-131A with the US embassy in the Philippines? https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizenship-and-immigration-services-uscis-manila/ Would anyone who has gone thru this process please share your experience of applying for a boarding foil to return to the US? How long was the process? Is there anything to look out for or prepare for in this scenario? My nightmare is that the US embassy won't believe she is married to US citizen or has a green card, and we have to start over with IR1/CR1? Thanks in advance for any response.