SSN for Child Born Abroad

[canadavisa22 202]

With offices closed, is it possible to get an SSN for a child born abroad (and still currently living there)?

 

I've read there is a tax refund available for US citizens abroad with a dependent child that is fairly significant, so wondering if it's possible to do all this remotely.

 

Any insight would be appreciated. And if this is the wrong sub-forum please let me know - thanks!

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

Have you processed a CRBA for the child?

[canadavisa22 202]

31 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

Have you processed a CRBA for the child?

Yes a couple of years ago. Have a passport for her as well.

[geowrian 22,338]

To clarify, it's not a tax refund. It's a refundable tax credit. If your tax liability is less than what you paid + credits, then you would get a refund when filing your taxes.

If this is for the 2019 tax year, I'm unsure if you will get the advance rebate...it seems mot of that has been processed already but there is no hard-set cutoff date. But you could get the full tax credit amount via the 2020 tax return when that gets filed.

Edited May 11, 2020 by geowrian

[Just Paul 4,595]

1 hour ago, canadavisa22 said:

With offices closed, is it possible to get an SSN for a child born abroad (and still currently living there)?

You have to file it on paper.    

 

When the US Embassies reopen you can go to the Federal Benefits Unit to file

 

https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5fs.pdf

[canadavisa22 202]

10 minutes ago, geowrian said:

To clarify, it's not a tax refund. It's a refundable tax credit. If your tax liability is less than what you paid + credits, then you would get a refund when filing your taxes.

If this is for the 2019 tax year, I'm unsure if you will get the advance rebate...it seems mot of that has been processed already but there is no hard-set cutoff date. But you could get the full tax credit amount via the 2020 tax return when that gets filed.

Yes, thanks for the clarification. My wife doesn't because of FEIE but we still file every year. Our accountant told us that we'd be in line for about $1400 with this refundable credit. However, when we did our CRBA the option for getting the SSN at the same wasn't available anymore - it had to be done at US SS office. So, we just kind of put it off until now when we were told about this.

 

I'm not expecting to get it for 2019 but would be nice for 2020. Unfortunately, getting into a US SS office right now is not possible and probably not at the top of our priority list even once it opens up. 

 

If we could somehow do it remotely, that would be great. 

[canadavisa22 202]

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

You have to file it on paper.    

 

When the US Embassies reopen you can go to the Federal Benefits Unit to file

 

https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5fs.pdf

Unfortunately this isn't the case for us in Canada.

 

"The Social Security Administration (SSA) has consolidated its overseas operations and will no longer be offering social security assistance through the United States Embassy or Consulates in Canada.  Individuals residing in Canada who require social security services or have questions about SSA benefits must contact their nearest SSA field office in the United States."