Ok we're somewhat stuck in a bind here ... we waited to get her social security number until after we got married so it can be under her married name. Now that we are married, I wanted to put her as a dependent on my company health plan but the HR department says they need a SSN ... and it needs to be filed WITHIN 30 DAYS of the marriage!! Of course that is Dec 31 and there's only 2 more weeks of work. Since we just got married last weekend, we haven't even put in for the marriage certificate which I assume she would need to bring with her to the SS office to have a SSN under her name.

Please help - any advice greatly appreciated.

[edit] For what it's worth, she was given employment authorization (stamped in her passport on separate sheet) upon entry into the U.S.

That doesn't sound right. Our plan, Blue Cross, enrolled my wife right after we were married, using her name/birthdate only. Asked for proof of marriage only. She's not even in the country.

First of all, that's a ridiculous rule. Tell your company that.

Second, contact the county court house and tell them you need a marriage certificate. They should be able to make it in one day for you. Get multiple copies. Then just go down to the SS building. You should be fine.

Not a ridiculous rule, most insurance companies work like that. You only have 30 days after a valid change of status to add someone to an existing plan - a valid change of status involves losing a job, getting married, etc. If it were a new job, with new insurance, you can add your spouse at that time, but if it's a job you've had, you get married, and 3 months later decide to add them, 99% of the time you'll be out of luck until open enrollment.

And while not all insurance companies require an SSN, some do. My insurance company required one but the way the HR system was when I entered my husband into it, it let me bypass the SSN, and I updated it when he was issued one. The system we have now didn't let me bypass the SSN (I wasn't 100% sure what it was), and I was required to enter it before I could enroll him.

To the OP - go down to the courthouse and get a copy. We were married in the courthouse, and had 2 copies the very same day. Then go down to the SSA, try to avoid it around lunchtime because that's a bad time (ask me how I know took me over an hour to get my name changed). And sometimes, you can go to the SSA a few days after and get the NUMBER. They can't issue you a card, that's done somewhere else, but a lot of the time they can at least give you the number.

I was able to add my husband without SS# and he wasn't even in the country...my friend couldn't add her husband health plan wanted SS#...I guess it just depends

We didn't have to supply SSN at the time I added my husband to my plan. I'd ask HR to contact the insurance company and explain the situation. Health insurance is too important not to address it now. You should be able to add her to your plan with a name and birth date, or perhaps a temporary ID number of some sort, until she gets the SSN. You shouldn't have to put off getting her insured because of this. The SSN is for identifying individuals and doesn't have a purpose other than that in this instance (i.e., it says nothing about legal status or anything like that). The uniqueness of SSN makes it the most straightforward individual identifier, but for the purposes of health insurance, it should not be a requirement. I'd pursue this with HR and insist that they resolve it. It doesn't sound like they're being very helpful.

The requirement to add your wife within 30 days of the marriage sounds about right.

It's still a ridiculous rule in my opinion. We don't have health insurance right now so I didn't know how it worked. Therefore, it sounded (and still does) ridiculous to me.

I was able to add my husband even when he was not here in the US (pending application) and without a SSN. You are the main beneficiary and all your dependents will be under your SSN, as I was advised by our HR.

When did she arrive? Timeline shows visa issued September 4th. If she arrived right after that she's out of luck on getting an SSN without an EAD card or I-551 Should have applied as soon as she got here and worried about the name change later.


September 9, 2007
and
December 12, 2007

94 Days

Requiring the SSN to enroll her is totally up to the insurance company. Best bet might be to contact the company directly to see if some other number could be used in the meantime.

Ooh, I didn't notice that.

OK now I see when she arrived. Strange I see if I'm not logged in, but I can't see it when I am.

75 Days Between...

September 29, 2007
and
December 13, 2007

Time's up she now needs an EAD card or I-551 stamp or card to be assigned a work authorized SSN.