anyone4tea

Hello - I shall be flying to the US to be with my hubby on the 14th September, having just done DCF. However, I'm applying for jobs now, and many of them require a social security number.

When will I be able to apply for a social security number, and how long does it normally take for it to arrive? Failing that, where can I get this information?

Thank you!

Kath

sdmansour

Hi Kathy,

From my experience going through DCF with my husband, once you go through POE, your passport will be stamped with the I-551 which will allow you to work and travel. With this stamp in your passport, you can apply for your SSN at your local SS office. In my husband's case, we decided to do it the day after he arrived but many people here advise to wait for a couple of weeks before applying - what it really boils down to is that you need to be in the "system" for them to process your application.

Once your application is processed, it takes approximately a week to 10 days to receive your card in the mail.

You can apply for jobs without having a SSN but employers will usually require this before they will actually put you on the payroll for tax collection/disbursement purposes.

Michael D. Young

anyone4tea wrote:

    > Hello - I shall be flying to the US to be with my hubby on the 14th
    > September, having just done DCF. However, I'm applying for jobs now, and
    > many of them require a social security number.
    > When will I be able to apply for a social security number, and how long
    > does it normally take for it to arrive? Failing that, where can I get
    > this information?

RM 00202.315 Enumeration At Entry:

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

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 in enumerating aliens. These agencies will
assist SSA by collecting as part of the immigration process the information
SSA needs to assign Social Security numbers and issue SSN cards. DHS then
will electronically forward the enumeration data to SSA, after the person is
admitted to the U.S., to assign Social Security numbers and issue SSN cards.
SSA calls this data sharing process Enumeration at Entry (EAE).

Original SSN or replacement card applications are now taken at most United
States embassies as part of the immigrant visa application process.
Individuals applying for nonimmigrant visas currently are not eligible to be
assigned Social Security numbers through the EAE process., i.e. all K visas.

An individual applying at a foreign service post for an immigrant visa and
alien registration, i.e., completes the Form DS-230 Application for
Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration, should answer “yes� to the questions
33a and 33b on the form if he or she wants an SSN assigned or replacement
card issued.

The individual should receive his or her original or replacement 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 (I-551). SSN Areas 729 through 733 have been
allocated for Social Security numbers issued through the EAE process.

If you answered “yes� to being assigned an SSN on form DS-230 when applying
for an immigrant visa and you have not receive your SSN card within 3 weeks
of being admitted to the United States, go into your local Social Security
office.

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.

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

http://www.ssa.gov/locator

Be sure to take proof of age, identity, lawful alien status and work
authorization when going into an SSA office to inquiry about the status of
your SSN.

Applicants need to provide at least two documents as evidence to establish
age, identity, lawful alien status and work authorization. Proof of age is
not required when applying for a replacement SSN card.

The birth certificate is the preferred document an individual can provide
when proof of age is requested. However, SSA can accept a passport or
immigration document that shows a date of birth to establish age.

The following list includes some of the documents SSA normally accepts as
proof of identity:

-- Driver's license
-- Passport
-- U.S. Government or State employee ID card
-- School ID card or transcript
-- Marriage or divorce record
-- Health insurance card
-- Clinic, doctor, or hospital provided record
-- Military record or ID card
-- Court order for name change
-- Adoption records
-- Baptism or confirmation record
-- Life insurance policy
-- Immigration document, i.e. I-551 card

Employment Authorization Documents:

-- I-688B
-- I-766
-- I-94 (With visa status that allows work in the U.S.)
-- I-551 (Stamp or card)

Documents that establish lawfully admitted for permanent residence (LAPR)

-- I-551 card

NOTE: Some LAPR aliens have conditional 2-year I-551s (Alien Registration
Receipt Card), subject to the limitation that they must apply for removal of
the conditional basis 90 days before the second anniversary of the
admittance date to the United States. A conditional I-551 is identified by
an expiration date 2 years later than the admittance/adjudication date is
acceptable proof of permanent residency.

-- Temporary I-551

Temporary evidence of immigrant status is issued for an alien to use until
the permanent I-551 card is received. This may be a stamp in the
individual's passport or on the I-94.

Beginning Monday, June 28, 2004, the statement “UPON ENDORSEMENT SERVES AS
TEMPORARY 1-551 EVIDENCING PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR 1 YEAR� will be printed
in the body of the Machine Readable Immigrant Visa (MRIV). An admission
stamp will be placed on the upper portion of the MRIV, but a Temporary 1-551
stamp will no longer be place in the passport. A MRIV with the above
statement and admission stamp will be treated the same as a Temporary 1-551
stamp and will be valid for one year from the date of endorsement by the
admission stamp.

The type of card issued is based on the evidence submitted and the coding
entered into the Enumeration system.

To be issued an unrestricted card the PRA code of “Y� needs to be entered.
Refer the individual processing the application to section RM 00202.230 B5,
“Form SS-5 - Evidence Blocks,� of our Program Operations Manual System
(POMS), which can be found on the SSA Website at:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100202230

POMS section RM 00203.410, “Evidence of Alien Status for an SSN Card for an
Alien Lawfully Admitted for Permanent Residence,� can be found on the SSA
Website at:

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 SSN card, SSA will
verify his or her documents/status with the appropriate Bureau of the
Department of Homeland Security. If verification is not available through
the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, we will
send Form G-845 for manual verification. This may delay the assigning of an
SSN or the issuing of a replacement card by several weeks or months.

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