How Does My Foreign Fiance Get a Work Permit?
The U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services is the federal entity responsible for providing immigration services, such as visas, as well as some services to U.S. citizens, such as adoption of a non-citizen child. Non-citizens can apply for services inside the U.S. with the U.S. Citizenship And Immigration Services, such as work permits, visas and naturalization.
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Work Permit as a Fiance
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If your non-citizen fiance needs a work permit to work in the U.S., you have several options. The way you can directly help him to get a work permit is through marriage and adjustment of status. However, he may also have other options available, depending on whether he is already inside the U.S. -- and in this case whether he is legal or not -- or outside. If he is a student, he may apply for a work permit through his student status. The way you choose to help your fiance depends completely on his intentions regarding whether or not he plans to stay in the U.S. in the long term.
Work Permit Through Marriage
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Your fiance can apply for a work permit through applying for permanent residency, which is an adjustment of status. This can only happen if you and he legally marry. Once he is married to a U.S. citizen, he may fill out an application for permanent residency, which is Form I-485, and attach a work permit application, which is FORM I-765. Once he receives his permanent residency, he can work in the United States without any problems. However, the USCIS office requires proof that the marriage is legal and that you and your fiance really intend to make it work. If the USCIS finds that you and your fiance are faking your marriage so he can work, he might be deported.
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Work Permit Through Universities
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If your fiance is an individual who has been accepted as a student in the U.S., you can help him apply for a work permit through his student status. To do so, he must be enrolled full-time in a university approved by the USCIS. A student work permit is only available to work on campus. However, after your fiance's first college year, he may qualify for an off-campus permit under three possible circumstances: Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Optional Practical Training. Your fiance must go through all of the processes required by his school.
Work Permit Through a Job
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If your fiance is outside the United States, you might help him to get a job inside the U.S. Once he has a job offer, he can apply for a work permit based on that job offer. In this case, the employer would need to fill out the forms requiring the presence of your fiance in the country to work for him. The employer must fill out Form I-129. If the work permit is granted, it is as a non-immigrant, and it does not guarantee he can stay in the country unless you actually marry each other.
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