Will I get my old SSN back
 

So I was here on a permanent resident card for 8 years until I messed up and had to return to the UK.

I am now back on a K-1 visa (getting married in 2 weeks) and will soon be filing change of status to allow me to continue to live and more importantly work in the USA.

One of the things I was trying to work out, is whether or not I would be re-assigned my old SSN when approved or whether I would be assigned a new?

I have no issue with the old one as my credit rating with that one is impeccable and so would prefer it, however my spouse seems to have been told that a new one would be assigned as this filing is seen as a brand new residency.

Does anyone have any experience with this or can offer any advice?

Thanks in advance

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

A social security number is for life and should not be changed (normally can not be changed) unless some serious unresolvable thing occurs. Even when it is changed, it always links back to the original socual security number.

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

The number is the same...you might need/want to get a new card, but till you get the greencard, it'll have the legend of needing to show work authorisation, so you'd need the EAD.

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

Thanks Guys.

I thought it would be the case, but my fiance had heard different.

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

Since you already had a SSN, you should have listed it (and should continue to list it) on any immigration paperwork that asks for it.

You will keep the same SS number.

If it's been 10 days since you arrived in the USA on the K-1 visa, go in person to your local SS office, bring in your old card, your passport with K-1 visa, and I-94. You will get a new card with the required legend on it saying you need work authorization from DHS.

If it's past your 76th day in the USA after your arrival on the K-1 visa, don't bother going to SS anymore, they can't help you. You'll need to wait for your EAD in order to update your SS card if it's beyond your 76th day in the USA.

Rene

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

Yup -- I was away from the United States for 12 years, and I surrendered my green card when I returned to the UK. When I came back to live in the US 12 years later, I resumed using the same SSN.. in fact I still have the same actual SS Card that I got in 1976. And of course my annual SS statement has my lifetime SS contributions with a gap of twelve years.

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

If someone has the old SS card (from being an LPR in the past), is there an obligation to register with the SSA this time, before starting employment?

Can one simply use the SS card from the past, provided one is in compliance with the immigration laws? Or does the verification system effectively oblige an update in visa status to be registered with the SSA?

Re: Will I get my old SSN back
 

Because the number is the same, I don't think it makes a difference. Immigration status is updated in the SAVE system that SSA uses to check status (updates done by USCIS). So, if you are a non-immigrant and become a PR, that fact is recorded in the system without you doing anything (I don't know why this allegedly does not work for naturalization.. maybe it does).

So the card is just a document, the number is what counts and remains the same.
If an employer uses E-Verify, they are running the SS# through the system, regardless of what the card says.


What is interesting about the OP's situation is that he potentially has a no-legend SS card (which does not prompt the employer to ask for an EAD). As a K-1, he won't be employment authorized, but he could fraudulently complete a form I-9 at hiring. It would still be unauthorized employment.