Social Security Number Issue

[achubhai 0]

Hello All,

My fiancee (now my wife) who came here on her K-1 visa is having issues with getting her Social Security Number. She arrived 7/20/09 at JFK. We applied for her Social Security Number around the middle of August. We then got married here on 9/1/09. We will apply for her Green Card today.

After applying for the second time for SSN, (first time it did not get approved), we have been told by SSN office that they cannot approve her SSN because of the following:

1. Her status from the Homeland Security is showing as religious worker for some reason

2. Birthdate discrepancy

We met with the Immigration Office and verified all her information and was all correct (correct birthdate and K1 status). The SSN office is now saying that they cannot approve the SSN until her K-1 visa date get's extended (they don't issue SSN with 1 month left on validity of visa).

Does anyone have any advice on what to do as this point. Both Immigration and the SSN office have the correct birthdate information.

Any ideas????

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

moved from K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures to working and traveling forum - this new forum deals with ssn issues.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello All,

My fiancee (now my wife) who came here on her K-1 visa is having issues with getting her Social Security Number. She arrived 7/20/09 at JFK. We applied for her Social Security Number around the middle of August. We then got married here on 9/1/09. We will apply for her Green Card today.

After applying for the second time for SSN, (first time it did not get approved), we have been told by SSN office that they cannot approve her SSN because of the following:

1. Her status from the Homeland Security is showing as religious worker for some reason

2. Birthdate discrepancy

We met with the Immigration Office and verified all her information and was all correct (correct birthdate and K1 status). The SSN office is now saying that they cannot approve the SSN until her K-1 visa date get's extended (they don't issue SSN with 1 month left on validity of visa).

Does anyone have any advice on what to do as this point. Both Immigration and the SSN office have the correct birthdate information.

Any ideas????

Typical untraine SS worker. Your mistake was

1. Get the SS the day after she arrives

2. Get the SSn in her maiden name (same as her passport)

3. NEVER leave until you suceessfully have her number. She is a K-1, She GETS a number. You need to find people who know what they are doing and NOT leave until you do.

The visa was CANCELLED when she entered the US. They are speaking of her I-94. They will not issue a SSn within 14 DAYS of the expiration of the I-94 (not one month) If the SSn is not issued within 14 days of the I-94 expiring you will have to wait until after she has an EAD or green card.

Her I-94 should expire 10-17-09 which means you still have time. Go to the office, pitch a tent and DO NOT LEAVE until you have her card. Printout the SS guidelines so you can educate their employees for them

[I'm Gone 60]

Go to the office, pitch a tent and DO NOT LEAVE until you have her card.

Well he's going to be there a might long time, since SSN cards all come from SSA Headquarters.

[rebeccajo 14]

Go to the office, pitch a tent and DO NOT LEAVE until you have her card.

Well he's going to be there a might long time, since SSN cards all come from SSA Headquarters.

Don't interfere with the transmission from outer space. You'll further disrupt the brain waves.

[TBoneTX 44,679]

Don't interfere with the transmission from outer space. You'll further disrupt the brain waves.

[I'm Gone 60]

Hello All,

My fiancee (now my wife) who came here on her K-1 visa is having issues with getting her Social Security Number. She arrived 7/20/09 at JFK. We applied for her Social Security Number around the middle of August. We then got married here on 9/1/09. We will apply for her Green Card today.

After applying for the second time for SSN, (first time it did not get approved), we have been told by SSN office that they cannot approve her SSN because of the following:

1. Her status from the Homeland Security is showing as religious worker for some reason

2. Birthdate discrepancy

We met with the Immigration Office and verified all her information and was all correct (correct birthdate and K1 status). The SSN office is now saying that they cannot approve the SSN until her K-1 visa date get's extended (they don't issue SSN with 1 month left on validity of visa).

Does anyone have any advice on what to do as this point. Both Immigration and the SSN office have the correct birthdate information.

SSA will not assign an SSN if her status is within 14 days of expiring. K-1 status is good for 90 days, so that gives her 75 days to be assigned an SSN based on her K-1 status and using her I-94 as evidence of employment authorization.

However, SSA must verify her K-1 status and with the SAVE system having her status and date of birth incorrect, there is a pretty good possibility that the SSA office is going to need to mail a copy of the front and back of her I-94 along with Form G-845 for manual verification of her status.

If she has been here over 75 days, then forget about applying for the SSN until she has an EAD card (Form I-766) or I-551 stamp or card (Green Card).

[Jeff&Madz 0]

My situation is almost th same but my I94 expired last Sept 26. I started to apply 2 weeks after i arrive here. that was around july 21, anyways, the SSA had to redo my application August 12, but then they still had to verify my status wth the SAVE, until now, no news from DHS/USCIS. Does that mean, i should wait for my EAD or GC before I can reapply for SSN?

I can get a SSN even with just the EAD?

Im geting tired of the waiting and how they process the papers here. I've never experienced such disappointment from government workers.

One representative whom i spoke to named, Christy said she is going to transfer me to a supervisor,but then she transfered me to another representative...with a strong indian accent.and i asked the guy if he is the supervsior and he said no....its very disappointing....

Edited September 30, 2009 by Jeff&Madz

[Guitarlo 2]

Hello All,

My fiancee (now my wife) who came here on her K-1 visa is having issues with getting her Social Security Number. She arrived 7/20/09 at JFK. We applied for her Social Security Number around the middle of August. We then got married here on 9/1/09. We will apply for her Green Card today.

After applying for the second time for SSN, (first time it did not get approved), we have been told by SSN office that they cannot approve her SSN because of the following:

1. Her status from the Homeland Security is showing as religious worker for some reason

2. Birthdate discrepancy

We met with the Immigration Office and verified all her information and was all correct (correct birthdate and K1 status). The SSN office is now saying that they cannot approve the SSN until her K-1 visa date get's extended (they don't issue SSN with 1 month left on validity of visa).

Does anyone have any advice on what to do as this point. Both Immigration and the SSN office have the correct birthdate information.

Any ideas????

I don't have an answer to your situation but I'd like to share what I learned and was told from various sources and hopefully we can get this thread kicked off.

One of my friends who married a Pinay had SS# trouble. His wife's SS# application was denied because his wife's GREEN CARD hadn't arrived yet! He experienced a year delay. He applied post the I-94 expiriation and pre Green Card.

I was told that the first tip upon arrival of your K1 ( i don't know about K3) is to rush off and get a SS# before the I-94 expires. First, this news about being denied because of a 30 day rule is new to me. During the 90-day I-94 I was able to obtain a driver's permit/State I.D. for my wife. But the permit expired when her I-94 expired. It can be reinstated with the AOS notification letter. I was told by an immigrations attroney that you can apply for a SS# during the 90-Day I-94 period but it's only good for I.D. purposes not for a job. Therefore. if you need a SS# for a job you best wait for your work permit and green card to arrive because two reasons: The name on your spouses SS# may need to be changed and if it's for work you have to change the status of the SS# from ID non work related to work related. Phew, does that make sense? So, what's best? Rush out and get an immediate SS# or wait. I was told it's easier to get a name change than getting the number?

Stay with me - so if you applied for a SS# before you got your work permit/green card the SS# you got can't be used to work unless the status is changed?

The attorney advised me to wait until I got our work permit and green card (they now come together - which is new procedure) versus going back to SS# and having her name changed and status changed from non work reason to work authorized.

Does anyone have advice/experience when is the best time to apply for SS#?

I was married October 14, 2009 and filed AOS Nov 5, 2009.

[I'm Gone 60]

Does anyone have advice/experience when is the best time to apply for SS#?

When the SSA office is open. LOL

Seriously, if you are talking about an individual with K-1 status, I would say after you have been in the U.S. at least ten days, but 30 days before your K-1 status expires. Whether you should apply before or after you are married only matters if there will be a name change.

For a male where I assume there will not be a name change, if you apply after getting married, take of the wedding ring and keep your mouth shut about being married.

For a female, you can try after getting married with the married name. If you have a problem, try another office or just apply with the maiden name. My personal opinion is to apply after you have been here ten days. Once, you have an SSN and are married try for the name change, but at least 15 days before your K-1 status expires.

[Guitarlo 2]

Does anyone have advice/experience when is the best time to apply for SS#?

When the SSA office is open. LOL

Seriously, if you are talking about an individual with K-1 status, I would say after you have been in the U.S. at least ten days, but 30 days before your K-1 status expires. Whether you should apply before or after you are married only matters if there will be a name change.

For a male where I assume there will not be a name change, if you apply after getting married, take of the wedding ring and keep your mouth shut about being married.

For a female, you can try after getting married with the married name. If you have a problem, try another office or just apply with the maiden name. My personal opinion is to apply after you have been here ten days. Once, you have an SSN and are married try for the name change, but at least 15 days before your K-1 status expires.

I think there should be a Top 10 reason list why you would want to get a SS# ASAP as opposed to waiting for your EAD/Green Card.

Here's 1 good reason. And I regret now not getting a SS# when my spouse arrived.

1. With a SS# should your spouse wish to register for school and apply for a grant or loan you need a SS#.

Otherwise it's handy for ID reasons like a drivers permit and bank accounts (varies by State).

So what's quicker? Applying for a SS# upon arrival and later wait for the name change process or wait until you get a EAD/Green Card?

Thanks

[I'm Gone 60]

So what's quicker? Applying for a SS# upon arrival and later wait for the name change process or wait until you get a EAD/Green Card?

All depends on how long it takes to verify your immigration status. There is no set rule on the fastest way to be assigned an SSN. I say go apply as soon as you can. Having the SSN with whatever name you use is a valuable thing to have. I think it's dumb to wait until you are married or have permanent resident status just to save a trip to the SSA office.

[Guitarlo 2]

So what's quicker? Applying for a SS# upon arrival and later wait for the name change process or wait until you get a EAD/Green Card?

All depends on how long it takes to verify your immigration status. There is no set rule on the fastest way to be assigned an SSN. I say go apply as soon as you can. Having the SSN with whatever name you use is a valuable thing to have. I think it's dumb to wait until you are married or have permanent resident status just to save a trip to the SSA office.

Yeah, I was told the same thing by someone else who commented that probably half miss the fact that they can apply for the SSN before they're married during the I-94. I blew it (sigh). Let's see if my attorney is right when he said the AOS will take (3) months and

new this year is the EAD and Green Card arrive together. At that point the SS# he quoted could take a few weeks. So. without hiccups I hope I dont have more reasons to regret my mistake.

Thanks for your repsonse.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

So what's quicker? Applying for a SS# upon arrival and later wait for the name change process or wait until you get a EAD/Green Card?

All depends on how long it takes to verify your immigration status. There is no set rule on the fastest way to be assigned an SSN. I say go apply as soon as you can. Having the SSN with whatever name you use is a valuable thing to have. I think it's dumb to wait until you are married or have permanent resident status just to save a trip to the SSA office.

Yeah, I was told the same thing by someone else who commented that probably half miss the fact that they can apply for the SSN before they're married during the I-94. I blew it (sigh). Let's see if my attorney is right when he said the AOS will take (3) months and

new this year is the EAD and Green Card arrive together. At that point the SS# he quoted could take a few weeks. So. without hiccups I hope I dont have more reasons to regret my mistake.

Thanks for your repsonse.

My fiance and I went to the SSA office 2 weeks after his arrival, and they weren't able to find him in SAVE yet, evidently. She took photos of his ID, Visa and i-94 and said, "Wait for a letter from us".

Do people usually leave the SSA office with at least a number? I know they need to find a person in SAVE first, but if they do, do those people leave with SSN's or wait for a card to arrive?

[Guitarlo 2]

So what's quicker? Applying for a SS# upon arrival and later wait for the name change process or wait until you get a EAD/Green Card?

All depends on how long it takes to verify your immigration status. There is no set rule on the fastest way to be assigned an SSN. I say go apply as soon as you can. Having the SSN with whatever name you use is a valuable thing to have. I think it's dumb to wait until you are married or have permanent resident status just to save a trip to the SSA office.

Yeah, I was told the same thing by someone else who commented that probably half miss the fact that they can apply for the SSN before they're married during the I-94. I blew it (sigh). Let's see if my attorney is right when he said the AOS will take (3) months and

new this year is the EAD and Green Card arrive together. At that point the SS# he quoted could take a few weeks. So. without hiccups I hope I dont have more reasons to regret my mistake.

Thanks for your repsonse.

My fiance and I went to the SSA office 2 weeks after his arrival, and they weren't able to find him in SAVE yet, evidently. She took photos of his ID, Visa and i-94 and said, "Wait for a letter from us".

Do people usually leave the SSA office with at least a number? I know they need to find a person in SAVE first, but if they do, do those people leave with SSN's or wait for a card to arrive?

Hello - I don't know about SAVE. But I noticed you're from Minneapolis? Are you married to a Philippino?