After being naturalized...

[EllaRose 0]

Hello,

I was naturalized in August 2009, when I was interviewed and approved for my naturalization,I wasn't told I needed to

go to the Social Security Office to update my immigration status, is this necessary after being naturalized? Thanks for your info.

Edited March 3, 2010 by EllaRose

[HeatDeath 430]

The social security police won't come and drag you away or anything , and even if they give you a new card it won't look any different. So there's no crushing needto update your status with the SSA, that I'm aware of. It might be a good idea, as it might affect the way they collect SS payments or regulate payouts. I don't know for sure.

But they DO ask you to notify them every time your immigration status changes. That would definitely include naturalization. They probably have a reasonable reason to want to have up to date info on your status, but I don't know what it is. Whether you want to do what they ask is pretty much up to you. There probably aren't any really important consequences either way.

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

Notifying the SSA of your new status eliminates the 40 quarters work provision. Which could come in handy should you become disabled tomorrow and wish to file for SSDI benefits.

http://immigration.lawyers.com/blogs/archi...l-Security.html

Reporting this change is actually to the benefit of you, the new citizen. Why?

The social security database will be updated showing you as a U.S. citizen. This database is shared with all federal agencies and many state agencies further validating your U.S. citizenship status with the federal and state governments.

The Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify database of employment eligibility will be less likely to mistake you for employment eligibility and issue a non-confirmation.

With your social security records updated showing you as a U.S. citizen, it will be much easier in the future to apply for and receive all social security benefits entitled to you.

If you ever have to replace your social security card, obtaining a new card will be easier now that you are a U.S. citizen.

Lastly, in some states, certain disability benefits are only available to U.S. citizens. By changing your citizenship status with the Social Security Administration you will ensure you receive all disability, retirement and social security benefits for which you qualify as a U.S. citizen.

Edited March 3, 2010 by JohnnyQuest

[ziia 9]

Hello,

I was naturalized in August 2009, when I was interviewed and approved for my naturalization,I wasn't told I needed to

go to the Social Security Office to update my immigration status, is this necessary after being naturalized? Thanks for your info.

It is in your best interest to change it, one reason being that when you apply for a job you won't have to bring your passport with you at the HR office to prove you are a citizen. It doesn't take long if you go there first thing in the morning a few minutes before the SS office opens.

Edited March 3, 2010 by ziia

[lucyrich 20]

The biggest reason is probably e-verify. More employers are being mandated to use it. It gets its citizenship info from the social security database.

Wonderful geniuses, those bureaucrats. The USCIS is the agency that naturalized you, and they're the ones who run e-verify, but they can't get their computers to talk to their computers. They rely on the Social Security Administration computers to tell the e-verify database that you became a citizen. And the only way to update the social security computers is for you to walk down to the office in person with your naturalization certificate.

If you don't tell SSA that you became a citizen, then there's a chance that the next time you try to get a job, your social security number will come back as a mismatch and, at best, you'll have to run to the SSA office on short notice to straighten it out. Might as well go to the SSA office soon after being naturalized and straighten it out before it becomes a problem.

I wouldn't rank it right on top of the list of urgent things to do immediately after naturalization, but I'd sure make an effort to notify social security within the first month or two after gaining citizenship, quicker if you're actively job hunting.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

And just to add they do issue you a new card - and it does look different than your existing SSN card. This one has all sorts of fancy USA symbols on it .

[jcrom 2]

Hello my friend, this is my comment. You not only need to go to the SSA Social Security Administration to update your record. You need to update your record of your ID/Driver's License of the State you live, too. Besides, I recommend you to enroll right away in the Voter's registration and Please try to get your U.S. Passport right away. Why? the answer is sample. The only evidence that you are going to have that you are a U.S. citizen is updating all your important records; in a case of a loss of a record, that had happened before (nothing is perfect), you have plenty of evidence that you have U.S passport and Indeed, you are a U.S. citizen. Besides, it is important to update your SSA record, because that is the most important record with the ID/Driver's License, too. It appears there everything about your life; In case a problem, the police or any kind of application to any of the benefits to U.S. citizens can be verified right away, and it is easier to get a benefit. Remember that the 2 biggest databases in the U.S. are SSA, USCIS, and FBI. So you have updated with all this all your important records, you are done with all the things; I recommend you to update the bank records, too. It is a fact, that in case you want a financial loan or mortgage, it is easier if you are a U.S. citizen, of course, you have to have that on bank records. U.S. resident alien people can apply for any loan or mortage, but the thing is that the fact that they are not citizens that have more risk of going back to their home or origin country and not to pay back nothing, that is the assumption of the banks; so, U.S. citizens are not deportable people, and hence, there's less risk of giving a loan or mortgage to a U.S. citizen. Now, I can explain you what would happen in case of a very bad scenario which a person does not update his/her records and committ a crime that the person remains in prison for more than 6 months (I don't think that is going to happen to you of course); in that case, the person goes to prison, and because he/she doesn't have updated none of the records, he/she is going to go to an ICE deportation prison until the person can probe with evidence that he/she is a U.S. citizen; everything would have been saved if the person that goes to prison updates the records. You can now realize and watch all the advantages of being a national or citizen of this amazing country. I'm pretty sure that many people do not know all these things that I'm telling here. Thanks and bye,

[bradam2001 0]

I must have made a mistake in adding a reply. I did not mean to reply to this post but wanted to share what happened to my wife.

My wife was naturalized on 2/24/2010, and she went to SSA office a couple of days later. She was sworn in( she was told that she was being recorded) and she was also told that it would take for SSA 4 weeks to issue a new card and to update her status. I still do not understand why she had to swear in. They got a copy of her certificate , and I should say that my wife mentioned that she had felt so restless at the SSA office in Rockville, MD. Has this happened to anyone else?

She was told that she could apply for her passport anytime and she did so on the same day which is 02/26/2010.

We will see when she will get her card .

Thanks

Hello my friend, this is my comment. You not only need to go to the SSA Social Security Administration to update your record. You need to update your record of your ID/Driver's License of the State you live, too. Besides, I recommend you to enroll right away in the Voter's registration and Please try to get your U.S. Passport right away. Why? the answer is sample. The only evidence that you are going to have that you are a U.S. citizen is updating all your important records; in a case of a loss of a record, that had happened before (nothing is perfect), you have plenty of evidence that you have U.S passport and Indeed, you are a U.S. citizen. Besides, it is important to update your SSA record, because that is the most important record with the ID/Driver's License, too. It appears there everything about your life; In case a problem, the police or any kind of application to any of the benefits to U.S. citizens can be verified right away, and it is easier to get a benefit. Remember that the 2 biggest databases in the U.S. are SSA, USCIS, and FBI. So you have updated with all this all your important records, you are done with all the things; I recommend you to update the bank records, too. It is a fact, that in case you want a financial loan or mortgage, it is easier if you are a U.S. citizen, of course, you have to have that on bank records. U.S. resident alien people can apply for any loan or mortage, but the thing is that the fact that they are not citizens that have more risk of going back to their home or origin country and not to pay back nothing, that is the assumption of the banks; so, U.S. citizens are not deportable people, and hence, there's less risk of giving a loan or mortgage to a U.S. citizen. Now, I can explain you what would happen in case of a very bad scenario which a person does not update his/her records and committ a crime that the person remains in prison for more than 6 months (I don't think that is going to happen to you of course); in that case, the person goes to prison, and because he/she doesn't have updated none of the records, he/she is going to go to an ICE deportation prison until the person can probe with evidence that he/she is a U.S. citizen; everything would have been saved if the person that goes to prison updates the records. You can now realize and watch all the advantages of being a national or citizen of this amazing country. I'm pretty sure that many people do not know all these things that I'm telling here. Thanks and bye,

[ziia 9]

I must have made a mistake in adding a reply. I did not mean to reply to this post but wanted to share what happened to my wife.

My wife was naturalized on 2/24/2010, and she went to SSA office a couple of days later. She was sworn in( she was told that she was being recorded) and she was also told that it would take for SSA 4 weeks to issue a new card and to update her status. I still do not understand why she had to swear in. They got a copy of her certificate , and I should say that my wife mentioned that she had felt so restless at the SSA office in Rockville, MD. Has this happened to anyone else?

She was told that she could apply for her passport anytime and she did so on the same day which is 02/26/2010.

We will see when she will get her card .

Thanks

I don't remember if I had to swear at the SS office but I definitely remember that there was no mention of any recorded conversations. Perhaps they do things differently in each state but still, why would they record the conversation at an SS office? It doesn't make any sense to me?!

Look it up online, you might find your answer but if it's not an issue you and your spouse worry about, then that's alright.

The SS office I went to was so loud and I sat in front of a window booth. I could barely hear the person in front of me and she could barely hear me lol. I doubt that she recorded me through that thick glass and small breathing hole . The law in my state is that she lets me know beforehand but she didn't so I presume there was no taping of the conversation. I didn't talk much anyway...all they wanted to see were my documents.

Edited March 5, 2010 by ziia