petitefrancaise

Many of my colleagues all over the USA are reporting problems with ss number applications - especially L1 and L2 visa applicants. The issue is the ss office not being able to verify people through SAVE, Even waiting 7-10 days after arrival doesn't always help.
Apparently there was a software upgrade in April somewhere between USCIS/SAVE databases and it hasn't gone well.
People who applied in April and did not show up in the SAVE database, went into manual verification and in many cases, they are still waiting The companies I work with have advised anyone who applied in early April and hasn't yet had their social security number through to apply again. In many instances the applications from early April have been lost.
The advice right now, is to wait a minimum of 7-10 days before going to the social security office to try and avoid problems. If you end up going through manual verification it can take 4 weeks for the social security card to arrive.
If you are in this situation, it would be wise to alert your employer so that they can arrange to pay you without the social security number.

vindico

Frustrating news. I have just had my L1 petition approved and am hoping to get a SSN swiftly once I get out to the US shortly. So I need to wait 7-10 days after arriving in the country for the databases to update before applying for a SSN?

civilservant

As a minimum IMO.

rpjs

That ha always been the advice on this forum, for some years.

petitefrancaise

Well, reality has been that the system worked really well and if you could print out the i94 then you were almost definitely good to go the following day since the databases updated overnight.

I'm wondering if this latest disruption also affects DL applications? There was somebody on here a few weeks ago that couldn't get their DL because they couldn't be verified by SAVE.

petitefrancaise

I would wait.
Once you apply, if they can't verify you then you will have to be manually verified which means a 4 week wait. If you go at 7 days then you're more likely to be ok and in that case the cards are arriving about 7=10 days later. The most affected States appeared to be California and Washinton DC but now reports of difficulty are coming in from other places too.

Silvergirl

Jamackabi

Just adding my own personal experience. I arrived on an IR1 3 weeks ago today. I waited 10 working days and then headed to the SS office on this past Monday just gone. They had no record of me being in their system or of an application, so they made an application for me then and there. They said it would take 2 more weeks, but it arrived in the mail this morning, so 4 days after I applied. Not sure if the process is any different on an L1 or L2 Visa, so I apologize if my experience isn't relevant!

yellowroom

petitefrancaise

well I learned something new today...
concerning driver's license and this might be unique to Texas. You can sign an affidavit at the Texas driver's license office to say that you don'thave/can't have a social secuirty number on any visa providing you do it BEFORE you even apply for the SSN. This was told to me by an official when I asked how a client of mine could manage if his ssn doesn't arrive within the 90 days grace period for Texas.

LonSea

We arrived on Sunday and applied for SSN on Thurs (against the advice on this forum), my ssn arrived by the weds of the week after and my husbands about a week later on Tuesday. We applied on online and took in the papers to the office in NYC. No trouble at all. Now I'm hoping the EAD arrive as quickly, as the govt website is saying 7-9 months wait for that.

Edited: to say we are on E2 visas, there seems to be some general issues with L1/L2 visas from what I can see in this forum and from friends/others

cruise1

petitefrancaise

Normally, if you can print out the i94, then it's a fairly safe bet that you can go to the SSA the next morning. However, right now, due to this mess created by the software upgrade in April, many, many more people than normal are not being found in the SAVE database. The companies I work with relocate people all over the USA and have reported way above average problems with automatic verification - especially in California and DC. For the moment, we ( international relocation consultants) are being advised to wait at least 7 days before going to the SSA.

Phyzz

The earlier SAVE question was me. This may help understand the challenges I faced around April.
For additional info; PA DMV requires a SSN or a letter stating you are not eligible for one.

petitefrancaise

Hi, is the situation resolved for you?
I'm hearing of people still waitng from early april for ssn despite having SAVE casecheck saying it's been referred back to the ssa.