Government shutdown affecting issuing new SSN's. What to do? (K1)

[zetafunk 0]

Hey everyone,

We went through the POE on the 18th of September, and as recommended here at VJ waited two weeks before applying for a new SSN for my fiancee. Now today we have the government shutdown and on the Social Security site it says that they cannot issue new or replacement cards as part of the shutdown (http://www.ssa.gov/shutdown/).

Does anyone have any thoughts about what to do in this situation? I know this is a rare situation, but timing of it coincides with her K1 stay and I'm not sure how it will affect not only the obtaining of an SSN, but beyond that doing an AOS and getting the green card.

Should we wait it out? Should we call or go down to the SS office in person to ask questions? I'm hoping the govt can come to a resolve soon and get some services back online.

Anyone else caught in the same boat?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Cheers!

[Harsh_77 718]

You can try the office in person but if they cannot issue the SSN, there is not much you can do.

[magali_23 0]

Theres really nothing to do but wait.. at least thats wat i was told when i went to the office..

[Lynkali 163]

We're in the same boat, we had actually planned to go to SS office this morning, since it's been just over 2 weeks since his POE. But obviously we didn't bother going, since their webpages explicitly say they won't issue new cards during the shutdown.

There is quite a long grace period -- supposedly they'll issue the SSN from 2 weeks after POE up until about 2-3 weeks before the 3-month expiration of the I-94, so ... we're just hoping for a quick resolution to the shutdown, and we'll go when we can. If it starts drawing out into next month, THEN I'll start to worry.

[zetafunk 0]

Right, we will play it by ear I suppose, see how this thing pans out over the next couple of weeks. So maybe we skip the SSN for now and get married first? I don't think a marriage cert requires a SSN, but I haven't done my research into that step yet.

Here's hoping the conflict is resolved soon!

[Bayareaguy 156]

You can also mail in the application....the problem with that is that you need to also mail your passport and birth certificate (I think)...only originals. they will send them back, but in the mean time you may need to wait to get a drivers license (or state ID), joint bank account, etc, if those require the passport, as well as the SSN.

This sucks, we were supposed to go to the SSA on friday, but our time was completely blown out due to the county medical appointment for the TB follow up, in which all they did was schedule another appointment, no examination or looking at the records.

[Lynkali 163]

You can also mail in the application....the problem with that is that you need to also mail your passport and birth certificate (I think)...only originals. they will send them back, but in the mean time you may need to wait to get a drivers license (or state ID), joint bank account, etc, if those require the passport, as well as the SSN.

Are you sure that mailing in the application would be processed during the shutdown? It's my understanding that new SSN applications are completely halted, so even apart from the inconvenience of missing original copies, I don't think you'd actually bypass the shutdown that way. Maybe I'm wrong ... and we're just going to wait a while and see what happens. And yes, that means also waiting on joint accounts, state IDs, utility bills, and lots of other necessities. I'm not happy about it, and just hoping for a quick resolution.

[Bayareaguy 156]

Are you sure that mailing in the application would be processed during the shutdown? It's my understanding that new SSN applications are completely halted, so even apart from the inconvenience of missing original copies, I don't think you'd actually bypass the shutdown that way. Maybe I'm wrong ... and we're just going to wait a while and see what happens. And yes, that means also waiting on joint accounts, state IDs, utility bills, and lots of other necessities. I'm not happy about it, and just hoping for a quick resolution.

I am not sure now, thanks for pointing this out.

I went to the SSA office today (even though I figured it would be a waste of time) and tried to get this question answered. I never got past the guard (Ima Dumbguard was his name I believe), so I would say DON'T send for a card in the mail unless you hear otherwise from an official source.

Right, we will play it by ear I suppose, see how this thing pans out over the next couple of weeks. So maybe we skip the SSN for now and get married first? I don't think a marriage cert requires a SSN, but I haven't done my research into that step yet.

Here's hoping the conflict is resolved soon!

Yes, you can get married without a SSN. We did last week.

[TeamM&M 4]

You can also get the card after you are married.

Worst case scenario you are past the last 2 weeks of I-94 validity is you need to wait for your EAD card (without which you cannot work) before going in for the SSN.

Edited October 3, 2013 by TeamM&M

[Bayareaguy 156]

And now it looks like the furloughed workers will get their back pay...gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling that we can't get out SSN/card, but they still get payed for nothing. Must be nice to get money for nothing.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Just so everyone is clear. It sucks that people can't get SSNs right now, but you don't need a SSN to get married or to file for AOS. So overall it won't make too much of a difference. It will make getting "joint" things more difficult , but it's not the only chance to get the SSN. Don't delay filing AOS over this issue, and good luck to all.

[Naddy&Mikey 2]

My POE was on the 8th August, I waited for some weeks hoping my SS# would arrive but it didn't. The first thing that I received through the post was my green card. I went to the Social security office on the 17th September and applied for SS#. Was told it could take up to four weeks as they need to do checks on my alien status. Three weeks have now gone by so I just called the toll free number. The lady on the phone checked on my SS# status and said they still haven't heard back from homeland security so I should wait a few more weeks. This is getting beyond a joke!!! I need to take my driving test and can't do so until I have SS# in hand.....I'm starting to get somewhat peed off with all of this......

[exogenesis 2]

My POE was on the 8th August, I waited for some weeks hoping my SS# would arrive but it didn't. The first thing that I received through the post was my green card. I went to the Social security office on the 17th September and applied for SS#. Was told it could take up to four weeks as they need to do checks on my alien status. Three weeks have now gone by so I just called the toll free number. The lady on the phone checked on my SS# status and said they still haven't heard back from homeland security so I should wait a few more weeks. This is getting beyond a joke!!! I need to take my driving test and can't do so until I have SS# in hand.....I'm starting to get somewhat peed off with all of this......

Did you call the 1-800-772-1213 hotline for Social Security? The person with whom I spoke said they did not have access to pending applications.

When my wife and I stopped by my local social security office the officer turned us away and said that due to the shutdown they could not check on the status of pending applications. We applied for the card on September 9th and haven't heard anything.

We are desperate to get my wife's social security number as she is applying for jobs and some potential employers have requested the number during the screening process. We don't even need the card right now (which they're currently not issuing due to the shutdown), we only need the number. Does anyone know if it's possible to obtain the number during the shutdown?

[Naddy&Mikey 2]

Did you call the 1-800-772-1213 hotline for Social Security? The person with whom I spoke said they did not have access to pending applications.

When my wife and I stopped by my local social security office the officer turned us away and said that due to the shutdown they could not check on the status of pending applications. We applied for the card on September 9th and haven't heard anything.

We are desperate to get my wife's social security number as she is applying for jobs and some potential employers have requested the number during the screening process. We don't even need the card right now (which they're currently not issuing due to the shutdown), we only need the number. Does anyone know if it's possible to obtain the number during the shutdown?

Yes I called the social security hotline on the number you posted. The woman on the phone said she could do a status check on my SS# by giving her my DOB and full name. She was gone a few minutes and returned saying that ' Homeland security haven't confirmed my immigrant status and that I should wait the full six weeks from the date I applied' If this is so, then I have another three weeks to wait, but it doesn't look promising if there's a government shutdown and SS# aren't being produced......

[Bayareaguy 156]

And now it looks like the furloughed workers will get their back pay...gives me such a warm and fuzzy feeling that we can't get out SSN/card, but they still get payed for nothing. Must be nice to get money for nothing.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3020205/fast-feed/government-shutdown-good-for-taskrabbit-which-saw-13000-applications-in-one-day

And moonlighting on the side...double dipping!

Must be really nice!