tilz

Bit of a how longs a piece of string question ...

Has anyone got their SSN in London and if so how long did it take on the day?

It says they open at 0930 is it worth getting there early i.e. are queues normal?

Do you get the SSN at the time or do they post it to you afterwards? i assume posted ? how long does that take

Thanks as always

(background is , my wife is USC lived in Uk since she was 4 and parents tell us that she never got an SSN?? dont ask me why, we want to move to the USA next year so first step is her getting one so she can do her taxes and then i130etc)

OzExpat

I was in the exact position of your wife and also did this in London...the US didn't used to issue SSNs at birth, they were issued on your 18th birthday or when you got your first job, whichever is sooner.

Firstly, due to the Patriot Act this is not just simple process, so the SSN will be sent to your wife in about 6-12 weeks after you visit the embassy. Have her be prepared to go with proof of her residency overseas for her entire time outside of the USA. I had to take things like school reports, tenancy agreements, bank statements etc.

It's ironic that it's actually harder for a USC to get the SSN than for a new migrant / green card holder!

fatbrit

Are you talking about obtaining an SSN or documenting citizenship? You seem to be confusing the two.

OzExpat

Obtaining SSN as a US citizen.

There was no question of my US citizenship - I had my US birth certificate and US passport.

fatbrit

Weird!

meauxna

Not so much.. look at item 2
http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new...q_fbu_ssn.html

tilz

Thanks Ozexpat , yes sounds like exactly the same thing !

How long were you in the Embassy? I only ask as she needs to get some time out of work to go and I was wondering is this like a 30 min interview type thiing or a lot longer?

OzExpat

I actually can't remember, but I don't think I was there for more than an hour or two.

I think you can download the form online and fill it out. I'd call the embassy first an explain the situation so they can confirm whether or not you need all the supporting docs that I did.

OzExpat

Yeah, I guess they're trying to prevent people who already have SSNs getting another to create new fraudulent identities.

danielson

I got my SSN from the London embassy about this time last year, it was a very easy process, the hardest part was having to travel all the way from manchester to do it. I went during a week day so it was not busy at all, I went straight up to the social security counter and gave in the form and showed my passport, I was probably in the building for about 5 minutes altogether. They said it would take about 6 weeks but I recieved it after just a couple. Hope that helps.

JAJ

What happens if most or all such records have been lost/destroyed?

tilz

So an update to this, wife went in this morning they photocopied everything ! and then send it off to Baltimore ... so this was old passports, school reports, old medical stuff etc (she needed to prove that she had been out of the USA since she was 5 ! )

They said it could take up to 6 months to get the SSN I am hoping this is just a very very worst case scenario

She was literally in there like 15 minutes which was good

Phase 2 out of the way now ! once she gets it back then its taxes and then the i130 ! (phase 1 was getting married ;-)

meauxna

Congrats on the wedding!

FYI, I don't recall your timing issues, but you don't have to do the tax return before the I-130. The I-130 takes several weeks/months to process and the tax returns are not required until a couple of months after that.

scrubbedexpat099

Just wondering if you could use an ITIN for taxes?

meauxna

No, because if she is eligible for a SSN, she has to get one. ITIN is only for those ineligible for a SSN.