I-485 Has SSA ever officially issued a SSN card

[Ana & TJ 25]

My Fiance and I were married 2 weeks ago (k1). We went to the SSA office and applied for a SSN. I have 2 questions related to this topic. When we were in the SSA office the SSA officer said that my wife was approved and she could work. I said "no is not allowed to work". He said , y8es she is and pretty much dismissed my concerns. I did not push the subject any furnther. We were told she would receive her number and card within a couple of weeks. I am now filling out I-485 AOS Part 1 question 14 reads "Has the Social Security Administration (SSA) ever officially issued a Social Security card to you?" if yes provide SS number

 

First question, should we be concerned that the SSA officer said she can work?

Second question, how do I answer the question on I-485 as she has not received a card and does not currently have an SSN? 

 

Thank you

[Timona 4,208]

Hasn't been issued. So, NO

[P055UM 286]

13 minutes ago, Ana & TJ said:

First question, should we be concerned that the SSA officer said she can work?

Other than having a general concern that SSA employees don’t really seem to know the rules, you needn’t be concerned. As you know, she cannot work until the EAD/GC is obtained. Provided your wife doesn’t work before then, you don’t have anything to worry about.

 

Btw, don’t be surprised if the card doesn’t turn up within a couple of weeks, either: they tend to take a lot longer than that for K1s. 

[powerpuff 6,744]

~ Topic moved from AOS K1/K3 Progress Reports to Process ~
 

3 hours ago, Ana & TJ said:

Second question, how do I answer the question on I-485 as she has not received a card and does not currently have an SSN? 

The answer is no 

 

3 hours ago, Ana & TJ said:

First question, should we be concerned that the SSA officer said she can work?

She technically is eligible to apply for an EAD immediately after arriving as a K1 but that EAD would only be valid for the duration of the I94 (so 90 days). So it would be a complete waste of time to apply under that category. So technically, the SSA employee was (sort of) right but his suggestion is neither realistic nor practical. 

Edited March 26, 2022 by powerpuff

[Ana & TJ 25]

Thank you everyone for the responses. AOS package sent out yesterday, now we wait.....

[Scott-Ilyn 82]

Hi,

 

Just to give you an idea of how long it took us to receive the SSN, we applied for my fiance's (no my wife) SSN on January 19, 2022.  the SSN arrived today (3/28/2022).

[Ana & TJ 25]

8 minutes ago, ScottLangbehn said:

Hi,

 

Just to give you an idea of how long it took us to receive the SSN, we applied for my fiance's (no my wife) SSN on January 19, 2022.  the SSN arrived today (3/28/2022).

Wow, that was a long wait. We applied on March 18 and received the card on March 26. The card did have the “allowed to work only with authorization” typed across it.

[Scott-Ilyn 82]

4 minutes ago, Ana & TJ said:

Wow, that was a long wait.

Yes.  Tell me about it.  We closely monitored the Save Casecheck system and called weekly during the last month or so to make sure we weren't forgotten. 🙂

Edited March 28, 2022 by ScottLangbehn
added word for readability

[parami 2]

We filed our SSN application on February 11, 2022 and checked the SAVE CaseCheck system every few days for updates. We also called our local SSA every week so that they did not forget about us (not sure if this made such a difference because it seemed as if we were talking to different agents every time we called.) Once we saw that our case changed from Case Under Review to Case Returned to Agency for both verification attempts, we called the SSA a week later on March 24, 2022 and informed them about the verification.

 

As soon as we mentioned that, the SSA agent looked into their system and said: "Your card is approved. You should receive it within the next 5-7 business days." We received our SSN card on March 30, 2022.

In total, it took us 47 days to get our card from application.

 

Things to note:

• We were surprised at the quick response of the SSA agent on 3/24 and wondered if we hadn't mentioned the verification process, would we have received the SSN card when we did?
• One more reason our SSN card might have been processed on 3/24 might have been because our EAD card was also produced on the same day, which we received on March 28, 2022.
• The help you received depended on the SSA agent that picked up your phone. Some were helpful, while others did not seem that knowledgeable.

 

[Scott-Ilyn 82]

12 hours ago, parami said:

The help you received depended on the SSA agent that picked up your phone. Some were helpful, while others did not seem that knowledgeable

I definitely agree!!

[Commish10 427]

On 3/28/2022 at 9:46 AM, ScottLangbehn said:

Yes.  Tell me about it.  We closely monitored the Save Casecheck system and called weekly during the last month or so to make sure we weren't forgotten. 🙂

My fiancee now wife never appeared in the save check so we did not apply. We just filed her AOS, EAD, etc. When we get our NOA1's, will she appear in the Save Check? Should she apply for her SS when she gets the NOA1's?

[P055UM 286]

9 minutes ago, Commish10 said:

My fiancee now wife never appeared in the save check so we did not apply. We just filed her AOS, EAD, etc. When we get our NOA1's, will she appear in the Save Check? Should she apply for her SS when she gets the NOA1's?

You don’t appear in Casecheck until you apply for the SSN. The Casecheck database is basically a list of checks on you that benefit granting agencies have done - they won’t do one until you apply, thus you won’t appear until that point. 
 

As for whether to apply, it can’t hurt - worst that will happen is that she doesn’t get it before her I-94 expires and will have to wait until EAD/GC.

Edited March 31, 2022 by AW1704

[Commish10 427]

4 minutes ago, AW1704 said:

You don’t appear in Casecheck until you apply for the SSN. The Casecheck database is basically a list of checks on you that benefit granting agencies have done - they won’t do one until you apply, thus you won’t appear until that point. 
 

As for whether to apply, it can’t hurt - worst that will happen is that she doesn’t get it before her I-94 expires and will have to wait until EAD/GC.

Her I-94 expired in February. Can she apply when she gets her NOA from the AOS and EAD?

[P055UM 286]

Just now, Commish10 said:

Her I-94 expired in February. Can she apply when she gets her NOA from the AOS and EAD?

Unfortunately not, sorry. They will not issue SSNs during the authorised stay period that filing AoS gives you after the I-94 is expired. The next opportunity to get it will be when the EAD or GC arrives, whichever is sooner. 

[powerpuff 6,744]

47 minutes ago, Commish10 said:

My fiancee now wife never appeared in the save check so we did not apply. We just filed her AOS, EAD, etc. When we get our NOA1's, will she appear in the Save Check? Should she apply for her SS when she gets the NOA1's?

She should have applied in person first thing when she came to the US. Only after that you would be in the save system since they’re verifying her status. Unfortunately, she will have to wait until she gets her EAD or GC in hand to apply. Hopefully the SSN card will arrive if you applied for it in the forms you sent to USCIS, but there have been reports when people did not receive it and had to go in person.