Ozzidoc

I write on behalf of a friend. I am seeking potential solutions to the following situation.

Background
Born in a country south of the USA, in a very small village.
Born sometime in the 1980s, on eg 1st of the month.
Father went to the birth registration place the next day.
Common practice was to register the birth on the day of attending the "registration office" leading to friend having an "official" birthdate ("2nd" of the month) and an "actual" birthdate ("1st" of month)

Fast-forward to sometime in the future.

Friend becomes a legal perm resident of the USA (via his/her father somehow, who arranges the paperwork as he/she is a minor).
Friend has a greencard, passport and Calif D/L all with the official birthdate, not actual.

Friend has a SSN but has lost his/her physical SS card.

Friend's SS details and her physical (lost) card have his/her actual birthdate on it. IE The birthdate shown on this documentation does not match (and the card did not match) all official paperwork.

How can he/she replace her lost/misplaced SS card? He/she advises me that her "extensive research" reveals he/she MUST show his/her (foreign) birth cert, which does not match the SS details.

Any words of wisdom or pointers in this situation please?

Many thanks!

ian-mstm

This all seems to revolve around replacing the lost card... but it should be possible for him/her to simply apply for a new SSN using his/her existing birth certificate. If that's not possible, perhaps it's possible to amend his/her existing documents to reflect the actual date of birth and not the official date of birth.

Your friend may need an attorney who is familiar both with the SSA and with his/her local customs re: birth registration.

Ian

Ozzidoc

Thanks Ian.

I was wondering if my friend should somehow attempt to have his/her social security records reflect the "official" birthdate, as every other document correlates with that information.

Then he/she could have an official birthdate and a social/family one. Like the Queen

Best wishes

Rete

If all their documentation shows the incorrect birthdate and only the social security card shows the correct, but unofficial birthdate, I wonder how they managed to do that? What did they show as proof of their birthdate when they applied for the original social security card if all documentation shows a different date of birth?

Ozzidoc

A good question. I suspect that there was either a transcription error, or the parent accidentally wrote the unofficial date on some paperwork and that was accepted in error.

I think the way forward is for my friend to get access to the immigration file, if that is a legal possibility.

augigi

I would try just filing the SS-5 form to replace the card - it also has a place on there to correct info that is wrong with SSA. Assuming he/she wants to "correct" to the date listed on ID, maybe they would both correct and reissue card.

Certainly it would be the simplest way to start, wouldn't it?

Ozzidoc

Thanks. Yes, I agree. Since I started the post, I found out that the friend has discussed the case with one of their immigration friends, who suggested applying for the file to see where the mistake first occurred. ie Is it a simple transcription error. This means getting the govt to show their hand first, as it were...