klawrence

We arrived in the US Jan 21, just over a month ago now. My husband's green card arrived in the mail a few days ago. We still haven't seen his social security card. I checked and we definitely clicked to apply with the DS-260, so thought it would've arrived before the green card. Does that thinking make sense? Any advice on what to do? Time to go into an office maybe? His employer keeps asking about where it is...

Pulaski

Well it's good that is green card has come already - that's quicker than we have been hearing recently, but yes I would have expected his SS card to have arrived by now. As you're certain that you checked the box to apply, I might wait another week, but it shouldn't take longer than six weeks.

klawrence

Yes we were surprised it arrived that quickly too. I was expecting closer to 3 months, but thought the ssn would arrive within 3 weeks! Thanks for the advice, we'll look to take some action by next week then.

Pulaski

Mine only took six weeks, but that was in 2001. It was also issued with two material errors - they changed my name - like "Jones" to "Bones", and changed my nationality .... to "Irish"!!!

lansbury

Even if you ticked the box to have the SS card issued it doesn't always get done, some get missed.

petitefrancaise

leave it 6 weeks and then either try to get someone on the phone or go to a local office. They won't want to know until then.

Rete

I would walk into the nearest SSA office with your passport and your new green card and inquire as to the status of your social security card. We've seen that it does happen that although the box is checked the SSA is never notified to produce the card or that it was mailed and lost in transit.

Pulaski

My local SS office doesn't take walk-ins, or the wait time can be long (I don't remember which) - either way, I would recommend that she makes an appointment.

Rete

WOW! That's news to me. I've (and Jim) have gone to two different SSA offices in Yonkers, NY and White Plains, NY and was always a walk-in. The last time was only 3 years ago.

Steerpike

I recently went to my local SS office in Phoenix AZ. I made an appointment ahead of time. I believe they operate like the DMV - they heavily favor appointments over walk-ins, so if you 'walk in' you may wait hours while an appointment-holding person will be serviced in minutes. The down-side is, the appointment you get today may be 2 weeks out.

And don't take a big bag ! I brought my laptop and a bunch of 'stuff' with me in my typical "IT Guy" Backpack so I could work / browse while waiting (anticipating a long wait). The security guard basically refused to search the bag and told me to go lock it up in the car! Since I'm unwilling to ever leave my laptop or valuables in my car, this was a bit of a challenge ... he agreed I could carry my laptop in 'loose' ... just leave the big backpack in the car. In the end, I didn't even have the time to open up the laptop, the wait time was so short! The guy I got to see was a complete Anglophile ... he chatted away with me for quite some time about UK and was more than helpful!

BenK91

I've found the walk-ins to be pretty lengthy, certainly a day off work type of deal (much like the DMV). They're usually pretty helpful though.

Pulaski

YMMV ... In Podunk, NC, there was no security guard, and the place was almost deserted. I made an appointment on a day to suit my schedule, both day and time, and got a time slot just 2-3 days later. When I arrived the office was very quiet. I arrived right at the scheduled time, and was seen immediately.

For comparison, when I arrived in NC and needed to swap a VA license and register my vehicles, it took under an hour for both tasks to be completed, start to finish, one after the other. ..... And the driver licensing office was about a ten minute drive from the vehicle registration DMV office!

lizzyq

None of us have needed an appointment at the SSA office in State College, and wait times have been less than 15 minutes each time. Our DMV is also pretty quick so long as you don't choose to go in within the first couple of weeks of the Penn State fall semester when it is full of foreign students with incomplete documentation and often a limited understanding of what is required.

Steerpike

Speaking of DMV ... I just got my 'Real ID' Driver's License. Again, I made an appointment (Scottsdale), and it was about 2 weeks out. When I got there, there was a mob scene ... but once I got past the initial 'gatekeeper' (who was just directing people to the right queue) I was put in the 'appointments' line. I was seen within 5 minutes, and as I left, I noticed a long, long line of people in the 'no appointments' line. A lady who arrived at the same time as me was about 15 people deep in the line! So I'm definitely a big fan of appointments!

InspiredLamb

I'm pretty sure that my Green Card came before the SS card. That was three years ago. Maybe follow up after six to eight weeks.