Hi All,
Last week I took my wife and step daughter to our local Social Security office to apply for their SSN and card. They received thier EAD a few days earlier and we had that and both Brazilian passports and ID cards from Brazil as well as the orininal Brazilian birth certificates as well as a certified translation of both. We were told it would take 6 to 8 weeks to receive thier card and number as they needed to translate the birth certificated with thier own translators and verify information with the USCIS. Is this normal or we just getting jerked around. Any one been told the same?

i had my SSN number less than two weeks after applying.

My Wife applied for her Social security card prior to our wedding, received the card a week later. After we got married she went back and applied for a name change, again the card came withn a week.

All she needed was her passport, I-94 and marriage license and certificate...

I was told that I will have my card in two weeks time, but I had it in my hand in just a week.

Yeah, they tell you 4-6 weeks but it's usually 1-2 weeks. Mine (and my son's) came one week after we applied for it.

When requesting an SSN card, the documents presented, as evidence must be either originals or copies certified by the issuing agency. We cannot accept uncertified or notarized photocopies as evidence.

“If the applicant has no immediate need for the SSN and the translation can be done promptly or the foreign language document is the only evidence available; have the document translated by an authorized translator and use the document as evidence.”

“If the applicant has a pressing need for an SSN, and evidence other than the foreign language document is available; request other evidence and process the application without the foreign language document.”

RM 00203.040 Reviewing SSN Evidence:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203040#B3

SSA translators comprise two groups:

-- Field office and Payment Center employees who volunteer their
services as translators
-- Central Translation Section translators who hold actual translator
positions.

GN 00301.340 Authorized Translators Defined:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200301340

Translation shouldn't take long, since Portugues is pretty close to Spanish and SSA has plenty of people that can translate Spanish.

What could take a while is the immigration status verification and 6 to 8 weeks seems to be the stock answer on processing SSN applications. I would check back with the officer every couple weeks.

I haven't heard of such a thing before. In fact they didn't even want to see my husband's birth certificate, they just asked for his passport! I hope all will go well and you will get the SSN within a week or two.

The birth certificate (BC) is the primary proof of age, but most offices will take either the passport or BC.

"If a foreign-born person has the foreign birth certificate (BC) in his/her possession or can easily obtain a copy, he or she must submit it as proof of age. When a person is foreign-born, a BC may not exist, may not have been recorded shortly after birth, or the probative value of the document may not be high. In these situations, SSA can accept alternative evidence of age in order of probative value. The alternative evidence of age may be less than a year old, e.g., a DHS document or passport."

You can find detailed information regarding evidence that establishes age on the SSA Website at:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203110

Thank you to all that commented it is appreciated.