Social Security Confusion

[Think~Pink 0]

Hi all, sorry if this has been addressed a million times, but the search result links are broken and do not direct me to the relevant page.

Basically, I arrived in the US on a CR-1 visa on March 16th.

I have received my green card which was issued on April 11th.

Now on the DS-230, I checked the box that asked if I wanted a SS number issuing, and according to the USCIS website, I do not need to apply for a SS number since I did this.

The SS office says I DO have to apply and had no idea where I got the information that I didn't.

I know it usually takes a while, but is the waiting from POE or from the date the green card was issued and how long should I wait until I deem it isn't arriving?

I tried calling my local SS office and after 10 minutes going through automated responses, they cut me off...I just can't seem to get to talk to a person.

Can anyone advise on when I should receive the SS#/should apply for the SS# and is there another number I can call who can give me relevant information about my case..the USCIS and SS Administration didn't even ask me any details to check if I was in the system.

Thanks in advance.

[Darnell 8,478]

I suggest, instead of 'looking it up on the internet'

or 'making a phone call'

that you go into a SSA office, bring passport and apply.

If the clerk mumbles 'need additional time for DHS verification' - stop.

Get a supervisor, ask the supervisor to look you up in the SAVE database, and go forth with the application.

[I'm Gone 60]

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has entered into agreements with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of State (DOS) for those agencies to assist SSA by collecting as part of the immigration process the information SSA needs to assign Social Security numbers and issue Social Security number (SSN) cards. DHS electronically forwards the data to SSA once the person is admitted to the United States (U.S.), to assign Social Security numbers and issue SSN cards. SSA calls this data sharing process Enumeration at Entry (EAE).

RM 00202.315 Enumeration At Entry:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100202315

Individuals applying for an immigrant visa and completing Form DS-230 “Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration,” should answer “yes” to questions 43a and 43b on the form if he or she wants to be assigned an SSN or issued a replacement card.

The individual should receive his or her SSN card within 3 weeks after arriving in the United States. The SSN card will be mailed to the same United States mailing address that is used to mail the Permanent Resident card (Form I-551).

If you answered “yes” to being assigned an SSN on Form DS-230 when applying for an immigrant visa, and have not received your SSN card within 3 weeks of being admitted to the United States, we suggest that you go into one of our offices.

If you have been assigned an SSN, the office can provide you with the number. However, if you have not received your card within 14 days of your SSN being assigned, normally you will need to apply for a replacement SSN card.

After 3 weeks, if no SSN has been assigned or application is found pending, you will need to submit an SSN application at one of our offices.

You can obtain the address and directions to Social Security offices from the Social Security Office Locator, which is available on the Internet:

http://www.ssa.gov/locator

Applicants who live or receive mail in the Brooklyn, NY, Queens, NY, Phoenix, AZ, Orlando, FL, Sacramento, CA, or Las Vegas, NV area should apply at their local Social Security Card Center.

Individuals residing in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN area should apply at the Twin Cities Card Center.

Card Center Information:

http://www.ssa.gov/cardcenters/cardcenterinfo.html

Be sure to take proof of age, identity and work authorization when going into a Social Security office to inquiry about the status of your SSN or to submit an application.

Applicants need to provide at least two documents as evidence to establish age, identity and work authorization.

Example: If the immigration document, for example, I-551, is used to establish work authorization and identity, the alien must provide another document to establish age.

Proof of age is not required when applying for a replacement SSN card.

When requesting an SSN card, the documents presented, as evidence must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. SSA cannot accept uncertified or notarized photocopies as evidence.

If an acceptable evidence document is in a language other than English and no other acceptable document is available, we will have the foreign language document translated by an authorized translator.

SSA translators comprise two groups:

-- Field office and Payment Center employees who volunteer their

services as translators

-- Central Translation Section translators who hold actual translator

positions.

GN 00301.340 Authorized Translators Defined:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200301340

If a foreign-born person has the foreign birth certificate in his/her possession or can easily obtain a copy, he or she must submit it as proof of age. In some situations we can accept alternative evidence of age. The alternative evidence of age may be less than a year old, for example, a foreign passport.

You can find detailed information regarding evidence that

establishes age on the SSA Web site:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203110

The documents acceptable as evidence of identity are now based on three factors: (1) the applicant’s age, (2) the applicant’s citizenship/alien status, and (3) the relative value of documents.

Primary Identity Evidence for an alien:

-- Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card (includes temporary I-551

stamp/machine readable immigrant visa (MRIV) in combination with an

unexpired foreign passport when the I-551 Permanent Resident Card

has not yet been issued)

RM 10210.405 Evidence of Identity for an SSN Card:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110210405

RM 10210.420 List of Documents in Priority of Acceptability for Use as Evidence of Identity:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110210420

Employment Authorization Documents:

-- I-551 (stamp or card)

-- MRIV with temporary I-551 language

Note: The MRIV shows the alien's identification number (“A” number) as the “Registration Number” in the upper right-hand corner of the MRIV.

The MRIV in an unexpired foreign passport that shows the statement “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS TEMPORARY I-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR and is endorsed with an admission stamp is the same as a valid Temporary I-551 stamp and is valid for one year from the date of endorsement by the admission stamp.

Example:

If the admission stamp shows a date of entry into the U.S. as January 4, 2010, the expiration of the temporary I-551 status will be January 3, 2011. The expiration date on the MRIV should not be used to determine when the temporary I-551 status expires. The expiration date on the MRIV only shows how long the MRIV is valid not how long the alien's temporary I-551 status is valid.

RM 00203.410 Evidence of Alien Status for an SSN Card for an Alien Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203410

An SSN card should be received card in the mail within two weeks after the application and documents have been received and verified when applying within the United States.

However, when an alien requests an SSN or replacement card, SSA must verify his or her documents/current status with the appropriate bureau of DHS. If the initial online verification is not possible through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, SSA may need to send a Form G-845 to the appropriate DHS Status Verification Office (SVO) for manual verification.

Social Security field offices can submit an additional electronic online verification, which with the majority of applications eliminates the need to send a Form G-845 along with a copy of the applicant’s immigration documents.

However, some applications still require a copy of the immigration document(s) to be mailed to the appropriate DHS SVO along with Form G-845 for manual verification.

Our offices can also assist applicants by issuing a notice acknowledging the SSN application while documents are being verified.

RM 10205.215 Acknowledgement Requested for an Application for an SSN Card:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0110205215

All cards are mailed from Social Security Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.

You may also wish to review “Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers,” that can be found on the SSA Web site:

http://www.ssa.gov/employer/hiring.htm

You may find additional SSN and employment information on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Web site:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=129227,00.html

When am I legally required to provide my Social Security number:

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/ssa.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=78

[Think~Pink 0]

Thanks I Quit..I just found that info on their website and came to update my post

Funny how none of the people I spoke to at the SSA knew about this and kept directing me back to USCIS...got there eventually though.

Thanks for both of the replies.

BTW, Darnell, I wasn't looking it up on the internet per se, it is written in the 'Welcome to America' brochure I was told to read when I received my green card

[Darnell 8,478]

Think-Pink - seriously, was trying to save you some time.

EVEN IF YOU CHECKED YES on the DS-230 - receiving a SSN via postal mail is problematic - some get it, some do not.

Easiest/Fastest/Best way is to show up in person, and apply.

IF the number has already been assigned, a SSA employee at the counter can see that, as well as 'no number' status. Either way, go in person, get the SSN.

Good Luck !

[Think~Pink 0]

Thanks

Will be going today, although my local office isn't that local lol

Will report on how I get on...thanks again

Edited April 30, 2010 by Think~Pink

[iowaseabee 0]

Can anyone tell me how this process works for someone entering with a K1 visa?

[Darnell 8,478]

Can anyone tell me how this process works for someone entering with a K1 visa?

Sure !

Sometime between 15 and 74 days of POE entry date, go to SSA with passport and birth certificate,

then fill out the form.

If the clerk mumbles 'need DHS/UCSIS electronic verification'. Stop.

Ask for a Supervisor.

Then ask that Supervisor to look up the VISA NAME in the SAVE database.

If 'that name' isn't found - stop - come back in a week, try again.

Now, during the first 15 days, CBP's record of 'that entry' into the USA gets synced up with DHS via the SAVE database system. Updates are not in real time. If 'that name' isn't found in SAVE database on day 15 - come back in a week.

During the last 15-16 days, a K-1 visa holder LOSES eligibility to apply for a SSN, and if they haven't applied prior, must wait until EAD or GreenCard in Hand, to Apply Again.

You Must Go in Person, and expect the first clerk you talk to , to be mostly a chair warmer, not so knowledgeable about K-1 visa holders. You might get knowledgeable person, but , IMO, that's an anomoly.

Marriage Status Not Important, but DO APPLY in the VISA NAME.

Edited May 1, 2010 by Darnell

[I'm Gone 60]

Can anyone tell me how this process works for someone entering with a K1 visa?

It doesn't, Enumeration At Entry is only for people issued immigrant visas and all K visas are non immigrant.

[I'm Gone 60]

Sometime between 15 and 74 days of POE entry date, go to SSA with passport and birth certificate,

then fill out the form.

Where is the I-94?

By SSA procedure you can't be assigned an SSN or issued a card if your immigration status has expired or is within 14 days of expiring. With K-1 status being good for 90 days that gives you up to the 76th day after entry, but I don't advise you showing up a day or two before the 76th day. I would say to be safe give yourself a month or more to apply.

If the clerk mumbles 'need DHS/UCSIS electronic verification'. Stop.

Ask for a Supervisor. Then ask that Supervisor to look up the VISA NAME in the SAVE database.

I don't see a reason to leave after you have waited the initial 10 days after arriving. The secondary electronic verification responses come back in around a week and the majority of times that's all it takes to verify your status. Now there is always the possibility that the G-845 needs to be sent, but it that needs to be sent somethings wrong and waiting longer isn't going to help.

If 'that name' isn't found - stop - come back in a week, try again.

Now, during the first 15 days, CBP's record of 'that entry' into the USA gets synced up with DHS via the SAVE database system. Updates are not in real time. If 'that name' isn't found in SAVE database on day 15 - come back in a week.

During the last 15-16 days, a K-1 visa holder LOSES eligibility to apply for a SSN, and if they haven't applied prior, must wait until EAD or GreenCard in Hand, to Apply Again.

Even if you apply before the 14 day period, if you enter that waiting for your immigration status to be verified, you are still SOL.

You Must Go in Person, and expect the first clerk you talk to , to be mostly a chair warmer, not so knowledgeable about K-1 visa holders. You might get knowledgeable person, but , IMO, that's an anomoly.

Service rep is an entry level job and K-1s are somewhat of an oddball visa classification, so it's probably something most SSA employees have never seen or will see.

Marriage Status Not Important, but DO APPLY in the VISA NAME.

Until you are married the name on the I-94 is your legal name as far as SSA is concerned and that's the name you have to use. Once you get married have other options of variations of your and spouse's last names.

RM 10212.001 Defining the Legal Name for an SSN

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212001

RM 10212.055 Evidence Required to Process a Name Change on the SSN based on Marriage, Civil Union and Domestic Partnership

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212055

Edited May 1, 2010 by I Quit

[UnIqUe 4]

If I applied with EAD for SSN, what type of the card I would receive? Is it stating "Valid to work only with DHS authorization" mark?

I really appreciate if you guys reply.

Edited May 2, 2010 by UnIqUe

[I'm Gone 60]

If I applied with EAD for SSN, what type of the card I would receive? Is it stating "Valid to work only with DHS authorization" mark?

That's the type of card you should be issued with an EAD card as evidence work authorization

[Think~Pink 0]

Just thought I would add an update to this.

I went to the Social Security office and after being told the systems were down and to return the next day, I did just that.

I got there early and it was full already. I grabbed a number and waited to be called.

When my number was called, (over an hour later), I explained the situation to the lady behind the desk. She asked for my ID, keyed it all in and she said it automatically cross checked with homeland security to make sure my immigration was all legal.

She handed me a letter which stated I would receive the card in 2 weeks, but she told me it was going to be more like 4-6 weeks as they were on a backlog.

Well, this was on May 11th and exactly a week later I received my SSN. It was issued the same day I applied, so it seems I was already in the system.

[Darnell 8,478]

ah - great - alls well that ends well !!! YAY !