question on FAQ

[junyeon82 0]

6.11.8)..Can I go get a "normal" Social Security card after AOS?

A..If you have a Social Security Card with "valid only with USCIS (INS) authorization" on it, then go to the Social Security office after AOS with your passport or green card and get a new Social Security card that does not have the restriction. You will still have the same Social Security Number. Do this as soon as practical. It is in your best interest to inform the Social Security Administration of your immigration status after Adjustment of Status.

We went there last week (we filed the AOS last week also), but they said we need to have an EAD card in order to change my wife's last name or to do what's above or anything... What's the proof that she has officially filed AOS before we get the EAD for few months? What do we need to bring to the social security office?

[belgrade09 0]

To change her name all you need is a certified copy of your marriage license.

To lift the restrictions ("valid only with USCIS (INS) authorization") you will have to wait for her EAD.

[junyeon82 0]

Ok.. I guess we'll wait for our EAD.. but we DID bring the certified and notarized copy of our marriage license to change the name.. they wouldn't do it..

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Ok.. I guess we'll wait for our EAD.. but we DID bring the certified and notarized copy of our marriage license to change the name.. they wouldn't do it..

First, don't worry about the notation on the card, it means absolutely nothing. Who do you ever show your social security card to? I LOST mine in 1973 and haven't replaced and haven't needed it. My wife, who did not change her name, has hers in the bottom of her sock drawer. All anyone ever asks for is the SSN and the green card. A SS card is not even valid ID.

Even US citizens need documentation to work, that is what the I-9 form is for. If you want to change her name, do so after you have an EAD or green card. Again, this is something to do at your leisure.

[JeremyR 8]

We went there last week (we filed the AOS last week also), but they said we need to have an EAD card in order to change my wife's last name or to do what's above or anything... What's the proof that she has officially filed AOS before we get the EAD for few months? What do we need to bring to the social security office?

Assuming your wife's I-94 has expired or has <14 days validity left, I think the SSA rep was correct - they cannot do anything for her until she can once again prove legal status with either an EAD or a green card. An NOA1 saying she has applied for either is not acceptable to them. The 'unrestricted' card (without the 'Valid for work only with DHS authorization' notation) is only available to her after she obtains her green card.

When you do business with the SSA as a foreign citizen, the immigration documents you present must match up with a USCIS database known as 'SAVE'. Once a K-1's I-94 has expired, the database will only say 'yes' again after the EAD has been issued (although it can take a week or two to catch up, which is why some people recommend waiting a while after receipt before visiting the SSA). As far as I know, the SSA are not allowed to do anything for non-US citizens unless SAVE says 'yes'.

[moonhunt 1]

6.11.8)..Can I go get a "normal" Social Security card after AOS?

A..If you have a Social Security Card with "valid only with USCIS (INS) authorization" on it, then go to the Social Security office after AOS with your passport or green card and get a new Social Security card that does not have the restriction. You will still have the same Social Security Number. Do this as soon as practical. It is in your best interest to inform the Social Security Administration of your immigration status after Adjustment of Status.

We went there last week (we filed the AOS last week also), but they said we need to have an EAD card in order to change my wife's last name or to do what's above or anything... What's the proof that she has officially filed AOS before we get the EAD for few months? What do we need to bring to the social security office?

Above FAQ writer may mean after AOS "approved".

Since SSA doesn't know whether it will be approved or denied, they can not process the request for SSN status from conditional to unconditional.

Probably you may have to wait until AOS (I-485) approved.

Even with EAD, it has valid expiry date in it, so you may get same restriction printed on the SSN card.

Edited June 10, 2009 by moonhunt

[junyeon82 0]

thank you ppl