delays in social security card

[robandbolor]

Does anyone have any information on why there is a delay in getting a social security card for a K-1 visa? my fiance (now wife married on 05/19) arrived on 05/15.

 

we went to the social security office on friday, 05/21, and were told there is a period that we would have to wait until 06/09 or longer, so that her visa information and homeland security information would have to be entered until she could apply for the social security card. this is weird since i thought by law, she could apply anytime after she arrived.

 

additionally, i will be filing the AOS form soon. (1) we have upto 3 months to get this in, right?

 

but since she also wants to work, i will be filing the I-765 employment authorization form first. (2) i dont understand if she gets a social security card why this is necessary since she supposedly has the legal right to work anyways?

 

also, when would she be able to travel outside the US? she would like to visit her parents soon - (3) but how could i make sure that its legal so that she can leave the US and come back without any problems and when could she do it at the earliest?

 

thanks. i fell in love with my wife when i first saw her in 2002 and it took us 2 years of visa delays to finally be permanently together. btw, here are our pictures!

 

cfl and the other sites dedicated to our loved ones waiting for guangzhou interviews have been a valuable resource and a blessing. thank you.

 

robert and bolor

first met in mongolia 2002

several trips to mongolia to be together 2003-2004

engaged march 2003

filed I-129 in april 2003

interviewed guangzhou april 2004

arrived may 15, 2004

married may 19, 2004

 

Pictures of Robert and Bolor

[kimnjake]

well a few things first....

wow, y'all didn't wait long to get marrried after she got here!

 

---she is legal to work, but she would have to have the authorization stamp in her passport, that she would have gotten upon arrival to the US in order for her to be able to work, but they do not issue these very much anymore in the airports upon arrival. actually, i haven't heard of anyone getting them lately, at all. without this stamp, you have to apply for temporary EAD, but it is taking so long to process that by the time you receieve it, the 90 day validity is up on her authorization to work. so therefore, to sum it up, she is legal to work, but cant!

 

---also, she could apply for SSN between day 14 and day 76 of her time here on her K1, BUT since you got married so quickly and didn't apply for it first, then now she will have to wait until she applies for EAD and receives it to be able to apply for SSN.

 

---she can travel outside of the US when she applies for AP (Advanced Parole) and receives it. If she leaves without AP, then she has abandoned her adjustment of status application and will not be allowed back in. If she leaves without applying for adjustment of status first, then she has just used up her one-time entry K1 visa and must reapply for now K3 since you are married, but nevertheless, cant get back in.

 

im sure a lot more people will chime in to correct any info i have given if it is not correct, and also to share more with you!

[Guest Long_strider]

On the delay on the social security card. If INS/BCIS/UCIS does not enter the data into the shared computer data bank with the Social Security Administration then there can be a delay. The entry data must be input and often their is a backlog of cases to be entered. SSA to deal with this situation will forward a request to UCIS to verify legal status in the US. when SSA received the verification, they will issue the SSN. The cards are issued centrally from Baltimore Maryland. Expect a few weeks..... It's not like waiting for the k-1 visa, but one more hurdle in this process.

 

Best step now is to put together all your AOS application materials, Including an application for an Employment Authorization EAD card. If there are also some plans for trip outside the USA, you should also apply for the Advance Parole card. Some BCIS offices allow direct application for AOS/EAD/AP, others require you send it through the mail.

 

More fees, more pictures, and more forms, just when you thought the process was near an end. However, keep in mind the best part is that the two of you are waiting together, not an ocean apart.

 

Long_strider