gnasher12

Hi,

I went to the SS office today, he said i am not in the system, it has been nearly 3 weeks. he also said he rarely sees people in my situation, and if i re apply for a ssn number with a new form, there is a chance of being issued two different ss numbers if my documents gets processed seperatly via immigration, so he told me to wait.

any ideas?, also in order for me to get health insurance they are requesting a ssn, anyone know a way round that? i dont think my passport with my stamp is suffient. thank you

britishspouse

eek sorry hun..

I got in on a weds, went in the following weds and they told me immigration processed my papers on the previous monday, so they printed me out a copy of the number till the card arrived.

I think the SS office can still assign you one, if youve received your actual GC Immigration must have processed your paperwork, so not sure what the delay in your SS is. I would of thought the ss office could get you started, then if they tried to assign you one from immigration they'd look you up and see you had one already.

Ive heard of people in your situation and they dont end up with two, so id just go into the office and start the ball rolling

rpjs

When exactly did you arrive? The usual wait is at least ten working days, so if you've been here "nearly three weeks" and allowing for Labor Day being a federal holiday, you're probably not more than a day or three over that yet. I guess you could make an InfoPass appointment with USCIS if you've not turned up on the system by early next week.

Noorah101

I don't think a USCIS Infopass appointment will help him in this case.

My guess is that either not enough time has passed for his POE information to get in the system, or the box he checked for an auto-SSN got overlooked and he will indeed need to apply for a new number.

Rene

gnasher12

Hi,

I arrived on august 22nd 2011, and i haven't recieved anything yet, no GC, welcome letter or SSN. the guy at the SS office didnt know too much about this process, all he mentioned was i have a long name including middle names, he tried differentcombinations my first name, one middle name and my surname along with birth date, then he tried just my first name and surname with my birthdate and nothing showed on the system, maybe he should have tried my full name...i dont know, he seemed confused, then i got confused.

all i have is my passport, with visa and stamp.

I will wait until next week, and maybe call USCIS to see if i am in the system? or go to the ssn office again and re apply from scratch.

Noorah101

OK, it's been just over 2 weeks since your arrival, and there was a holiday during that time.

I'd give it another 2 weeks and then follow up if you don't get anything at all in the mail.

Rene

ian-mstm

My guess is they want a SSN because they don't know that what they actually need is a unique identifier - and your passport is sufficient for that. If the front-line person gives you any grief, ask to speak to a supervisor.

Ian

britishspouse

there are certain things where it just doesnt suffice. I couldnt apply for jobs without it, granted i could go into every place i applied at and explain it all but that would take time and money, and i dont have a license yet.

Also in order to get added to hubbys health plan they needed my SS.... same with the car insurance.

And to get started at creditkarma and get working on my credit score, many things which I need the actual number for

Noorah101

Ian was only referring to the use of a SSN as a unique identifier for the health insurance issue. I agree with him. They do not really need a SSN. Any unique identifier will do for now, to get you on the plan. You can give them your SSN whenever you get it.

I was able to add my husband to my health and car insurance before he obtained his SSN.

Rene

jeffreyhy

For these things a SSN number is not needed. What is needed is an identification number in SSN format to satisfy the computer software that is looking for a number in that format. The insurance companies can use a 'dummy' number, to be replaced with a real SSN when one is issued.

Regards, JEff

britishspouse

ah well hubbys car and health plan wouldnt let me be added without it. We said what about the ITIN number, but they said they needed to wait for the actual SS number.

jeffreyhy

As Ian's wrote, you needed to go higher up the food chain. As Rene has told you, and I and numerous others have had the same experience, we got our spouses added to our policies prior to them getting SSNs.

Insurance companies cannot make having a SSN a requirement for coverage. They use the SSN only as a convenient ID number, because most people in the USA have one.

Too late for you, perhaps, but others who run into this need to know better.

Regards, JEff

ian-mstm

A SSN isn't required to apply for a job; it isn't required to interview for a job; and it isn't needed to accept employment. Indeed, you can start employment without a SSN as long as you provide proof that one has been applied for.


That's because the US isn't set up to deal with unique identifiers other than the SSN. AFAIK, there are no regulations that specifically state that a SSN and no other type of unique identifier is required.

Ian

britishspouse

It is required to apply for jobs online though.... which I have been doing. The online forms will not submit if you dont put one in.... Yes I could go into everywhere I applied but that would take ages, and with hubbys work hours would be near to impossible atm.

I understand what you guys are saying.... I dont legally NEED one to apply or to accept employment, but in my case, Im glad I got it within a week, because I couldnt have applied for 3/4 of the jobs id applied for without it.

So I was just saying that for the sake of making life easier and not having to continually ask to speak to superiors and quote immigration law at them to prove Im employable and insurable...... it makes life easier having one sooner rather than later hehe.

So I wont go on, just wanted to make sure I wasnt coming across wrong. I know on this forum its important to give correct info, but just wanted to let the person know that yes they can go in and ask for their SS rather than just wait around. I did and got mine quickly, and office was empty so no waiting

jeffreyhy

You make a good point with this one. Doing things in the electronic era has its downsides when systems are set up to accomodate the usual situation and one is in an unusual situation.

Regards, JEff