SSN

[Chica79 15]

I sometimes hear of people getting their immigrant spouse a ssn.  I thought we needed to get a work permit first before we could apply for a SSN.  Is this true?

[Ayrton 965]

10 minutes ago, Chica79 said:

I sometimes hear of people getting their immigrant spouse a ssn.  I thought we needed to get a work permit first before we could apply for a SSN.  Is this true?

K1 holders can get a SSN in the first 74 days of the I-94, with just the passport, visa and I-94.

 

[SalishSea 18,011]

12 minutes ago, Chica79 said:

I sometimes hear of people getting their immigrant spouse a ssn.  I thought we needed to get a work permit first before we could apply for a SSN.  Is this true?

No.  If adjusting from a K visa, best thing is to apply immediately after arriving, even before marrying.

 

The SS card they first get will say "not valid for work without DHS authorization."

[Shadow P 0]

44 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

No.  If adjusting from a K visa, best thing is to apply immediately after arriving, even before marrying.

 

The SS card they first get will say "not valid for work without DHS authorization."

Can confirm this, We applied for SSN 3 weeks after my wife arrived in the US (applied on 5/5/2021). My wife's K1 expired recently (few days ago), so they now tell us that the SSN application is invalid until immigration provides some kind of approval.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Shadow P

[Trutta 103]

On 7/15/2021 at 7:46 PM, Shadow P said:

Can confirm this, We applied for SSN 3 weeks after my wife arrived in the US (applied on 5/5/2021). My wife's K1 expired recently (few days ago), so they now tell us that the SSN application is invalid until immigration provides some kind of approval.

I couldn't get one at all. All local SS offices are closed "due to Covid" (but casino across the street is fully open) and to get a social security number you have to show documents like passport to an agent IN PERSON. I called about this over 10 times. Never got an answer. But they did hang up on me a few times.

[MJ&YY 133]

54 minutes ago, Trutta said:

I couldn't get one at all. All local SS offices are closed "due to Covid" (but casino across the street is fully open) and to get a social security number you have to show documents like passport to an agent IN PERSON. I called about this over 10 times. Never got an answer. But they did hang up on me a few times.

Sorry that happened to you.  The SS offices vary drastically in how receptive they are to scheduling in-person appointments, and even when successful, struggle understanding what they can and can't do with K-1s.  We were lucky that the one near where I live reluctantly agreed to have an appointment for my wife to come in and present those documents once they realized we couldn't send them her passport due to immigration status.  Even then it took a couple months for us to get her new card while they validated her existence/status (we managed to get her SSN updated with her married name - she fortunately already had an SSN from prior time in the US).

[Trutta 103]

8 hours ago, MJ&YY said:

Sorry that happened to you.  The SS offices vary drastically in how receptive they are to scheduling in-person appointments, and even when successful, struggle understanding what they can and can't do with K-1s.  We were lucky that the one near where I live reluctantly agreed to have an appointment for my wife to come in and present those documents once they realized we couldn't send them her passport due to immigration status.  Even then it took a couple months for us to get her new card while they validated her existence/status (we managed to get her SSN updated with her married name - she fortunately already had an SSN from prior time in the US).

Sounds like a combination of luck and effort helped! Good for you guys, glad you could get one.