Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Work Permits in the context of CR-1 or IR-1 visas. So generally speaking we see Spousal Visas processed here at our firm through the Embassy. These are Spousal Visas, these are spouses of United States citizens looking to go into the United States as immigrants; so they are Immigrant Visa holders and upon arrival they are actually granted an I-551 stamp which grants them Lawful Permanent Residence at the time of entry. Now in the case of the CR-1, that is conditional Lawful Permanent Residence; in the case of the IR-1 it is unconditional Lawful Permanent Residence. 

More to the point, and I am going to go ahead and throw this up on screen, this is a screenshot. Apparently it is from Fox News but I have seen it floating around the ether of the internet in the context of folks talking about US Immigration Policy especially regarding the so-called border crisis, the crisis at the border where we have got people just sort of streaming in across the border. There was a time when I kind of viewed people who said this to be somewhat hyperbolic. I don't think there is any question about this; I have seen footage of Elon Musk down there; I have seen other footage from other folks. Look at the end of the day there is a real problem at the US Southern border, I don't think anybody can deny that. But apparently the present Administration’s, one of their "solutions" for this is to provide work authorization to all of these illegal entrants to the United States. 

Now the question posed by this video as it pertains to Immigrant Spouse Visas is "Is there any type of work authorization that is required in order for the holder of a CR-1 or an IR-1 Visa to work in the United States after arrival?" And I bring this up because in the context of the K-1 Fiancé Visa, yes that is a non-immigrant Visa as well as the K-3 for that matter, and those visas do require work authorization; they do not have inherent work authorization associated with them. That is not the case in the case of the CR-1 or the IR-1 Visa. Those visas have inherent work authorization inherent to them and again upon entry to the United States, once stamped in, that person is considered a Lawful Permanent Resident, either conditional or unconditional depending on the length of the marriage as of the time of the entry to the United States. 

So the thing to understand is it is really not an really not an issue, the issue of work authorization or work permit when you are talking about Immigrant Spouse visas, IR-1 or CR-1, because those folks enter with Lawful Permanent Residence, in essence they are Green Carded if you will from the moment they enter.