Social security for K1

[Leo&Farah 0]

To apply for a SSN you will need to go to your local SSA office and bring the documents below. These

documents are proof of your eligibility to file for a SSN:

1. The SS-5 form you downloaded and filled out (they have some at the office if you forget).

2. your Passport (with the K-1 Visa in it)

3. your valid I-94

4. another form of valid ID (as defined in the SS-5 instructions)

5. You should also bring the document RM 00203.500 that you printed out

Hi guys, I'm US now and waited for two weeks per the guide for me to get on their SAVE-ASVI system.

My question is, the guides tell you to bring your passport and another form of valid ID as defined in SS-5. SS-5 states that to show age, you can bring your birth certificate. To show valid proof of ID, SS-5 states:

IDENTITY: We must see evidence of identity in your legal name. Your legal name will be shown

on the SSN card. Generally, we prefer to see documents issued in the U.S. Documents submitted to

establish identity must show your legal name AND provide biographical information (your date of

birth, age, or parents' names) and/or physical information (photograph, or physical description--

height, eye and hair color, etc.). Additionally, if you send a photo identity document but do not appear

in person, the document must show your biographical information (e.g., your date of birth, age, or

parents' names). To protect your Social Security card and number, identity documents must be of

recent issuance.

only thing I can think of that shows legalname and parents name is a birth certificate. But then the SS-5 continue to say:

WE CANNOT ACCEPT A BIRTH CERTIFICATE, HOSPITAL SOUVENIR BIRTH CERTIFICATE,

SOCIAL SECURITY CARD OR CARD STUB, OR A SOCIAL SECURITY RECORD as evidence

of identity.

I'm so lost. So I can;t show my bc as proof of identity and I already am bringing my passport but it wont show parents name for the purpose of evidence of ID. That's all I have at this point: bc and passport. I have a Malaysian equivalent of social security which is an identity card, but that does not show parents name either. Are they just not rigid in the application of this guideline even though its clearly stated? Will a bc and passport be enough?

Sorry for the confusion and all the questions but the nearest SS office is an hour away, so I wanna be sure. I dont want to call them as I heard most clerks arent even aware that a K1 fiance is entitled to a SS number, so that would be pointless.

I just want to doublecheck I have everything ready when we go down there tommorrow or next week.

PS: Also, how long did it take to receive your SS card in the mail? The guide says 2 weeks but my fiance's mom told me her friend's son's SS# took months to process.

[payxibka 10,045]

another form of ID beyond the passport was not needed for us

Edited November 19, 2009 by payxibka

[SWA2 1]

It was over two years ago so I can't remember exactly what we used, but all we would have had was my wife's passport with I-94 and K1 visa, our marriage certificate, and a certified copy and translation of her birth certificate. Notice that the instructions say OR parents names, not AND parents names. It only took us two weeks to get her Social Security card.

In Minnesota only one person needs to be present to apply for a marriage license so I was able to obtain a marriage license two weeks before she arrived in the country. I used her certified copy and translation of her birth certificate to obtain the marriage license. We were married just a couple of days after she arrived so we had our marriage certificate by the time we applied for her social security card.

[NCWife 0]

Are you married yet? If you are, you can use your marriage certificate. I think I brought my passport and my birth certificate with the official translation. But they only looked at my passport bio page and visa. My card arrived like 10 days later. Well, that was last year, not sure if things have changed.

Good luck.

Cheers...

[Leo&Farah 0]

Hi, thanks for all the responses so far guys.

No, we are not married yet. In NC you need a SS# to get a marriage certificate from both parties and both parties must be present. I contacted a clerk at Burke county and she confirmed it. She said if one party could not get a SS#, they would have to sign an affidavit saying they couldnt.

Since K1's are technically entitled to it, I doubt I could sign the affidavit since that is untrue and I know it. So our steps have been to get the SS#, apply for marriage license and then get married.

Hoping to pull it off and get SS# before 10 December, because we both want to be married on that date for sentimental reasons, hence asking how long it took to receive.

Done the two week waiting thing to get it in the system, so now hoping to do SS# tomm or next week to meet the deadline of 10 December. I hope we can make it =/

[trillium13 84]

Hi, thanks for all the responses so far guys.

No, we are not married yet. In NC you need a SS# to get a marriage certificate from both parties and both parties must be present. I contacted a clerk at Burke county and she confirmed it. She said if one party could not get a SS#, they would have to sign an affidavit saying they couldnt.

That really sounds like a catch-22. I think that a lot of states don't require a SS number for a marriage license, I know Texas doesn't. So many K-1 folks seem to have issues getting a SS#, so this kind of sucks.

Not that you don't already know this, just thinking out loud. I didn't know any states had that requirement.

[NCWife 0]

Yikes... that sucks. I got married in MI and SSN wasn't required. Just birth cert and passport. Anyways, my advice would be calling the Social Security Office again and ask for advice. The clerk who serviced me seemed to know everything about K-1 so it was an easy application, no questions asked. If you really can't apply for SSC without the additional identification, then you have no choice but sign the affidavit for your marriage license saying that you can't apply for SSN because you have insufficient documents required for the SSN application.

December 10 huh? It's an awesome date... because it's also my birthday!

Congrats to both of you! Cheers...

Hi, thanks for all the responses so far guys.

No, we are not married yet. In NC you need a SS# to get a marriage certificate from both parties and both parties must be present. I contacted a clerk at Burke county and she confirmed it. She said if one party could not get a SS#, they would have to sign an affidavit saying they couldnt.

Since K1's are technically entitled to it, I doubt I could sign the affidavit since that is untrue and I know it. So our steps have been to get the SS#, apply for marriage license and then get married.

Hoping to pull it off and get SS# before 10 December, because we both want to be married on that date for sentimental reasons, hence asking how long it took to receive.

Done the two week waiting thing to get it in the system, so now hoping to do SS# tomm or next week to meet the deadline of 10 December. I hope we can make it =/

[Nik+Heather 121]

Nik only showed his passport. Check the SS requirements - the VJ ones seem to be quite conservative.

Also, while your passport is one thing, it contains at least two documents in it - your identity info (which meets all biographical requirements of name, age, photo etc), and also your I-94 which shows your legal status and your class of entry. Plus your visa is a photo document issued by the US government. Many people have been successful with only what's in their passport.

[SWA2 1]

When I downloaded the marriage license form from our county (Dakota) web site it said that the social security numbers of both parties were needed in order to issue a marriage license. I called an immigration attorney and asked him about K1 fiancees as they would not have a social security number. I was told it was a state law that was still on the books but almost all counties were waiving the requirement for holders of K1 visas. He told me the only county he knew of that had actually required it was Hennepin County (Minneapolis) and they no longer required it due to a threat of a law suit by the Minnesota Bar Association. I was told if Dakota County required a social security number that I should call him and they would gladly take the county to court on my behalf, but a more practical approach would be to simply apply for a marriage license in Hennepin or Ramsey County where the rule was waived. Went I went to Dakota County to apply for a marriage license they waived the social security number requirement for my fiancee. I see the state's new marriage licenses no longer require a social security number if you don't have one.

I see Burke County is surrounded by 6 or 7 other counties. I would call one of the other counties and see if they would waive the social security number requirement. Be sure to explain to them that your fiancee does not have a social security number as she just arrived on a K1 visa.

[MRStee 19]

Hi, thanks for all the responses so far guys.

No, we are not married yet. In NC you need a SS# to get a marriage certificate from both parties and both parties must be present. I contacted a clerk at Burke county and she confirmed it. She said if one party could not get a SS#, they would have to sign an affidavit saying they couldnt.

Since K1's are technically entitled to it, I doubt I could sign the affidavit since that is untrue and I know it. So our steps have been to get the SS#, apply for marriage license and then get married.

Hoping to pull it off and get SS# before 10 December, because we both want to be married on that date for sentimental reasons, hence asking how long it took to receive.

Done the two week waiting thing to get it in the system, so now hoping to do SS# tomm or next week to meet the deadline of 10 December. I hope we can make it =/

Since you are a K1, all you need is his birth certificate and passport with i-94 stamp... That's it. Make sure you wait 2 full weeks or a little more so he is in the system. Don't worry yourself to death. We did ours 11/19 and already received a receipt in the mail.. Good luck!

[MRStee 19]

Hi, thanks for all the responses so far guys.

No, we are not married yet. In NC you need a SS# to get a marriage certificate from both parties and both parties must be present. I contacted a clerk at Burke county and she confirmed it. She said if one party could not get a SS#, they would have to sign an affidavit saying they couldnt.

Since K1's are technically entitled to it, I doubt I could sign the affidavit since that is untrue and I know it. So our steps have been to get the SS#, apply for marriage license and then get married.

Hoping to pull it off and get SS# before 10 December, because we both want to be married on that date for sentimental reasons, hence asking how long it took to receive.

Done the two week waiting thing to get it in the system, so now hoping to do SS# tomm or next week to meet the deadline of 10 December. I hope we can make it =/

Funny the day we applied for SS# we went right to the courthouse to apply for marriage certificate.. I hope you make it because we were told verbally and by letter it would take 30 days..

[Leo&Farah 0]

Wow, huge thanks for the great and informative responses and support.

I got the social security card using just my passport. The officer said if I had used my birth certificate the translation would have to be done by the social security office itself and that would take some time so she was making my life easier for me using the passport.

After 2 weeks I was in the system but they had to shorten my name on the social security card and cut off my middlename since my name is too bloody long (How sweet it is to be blessed with a super long name that cant fit in credit and debit cards, most flight tickets and the like).

I got the SS card within 7 days of applying, it was awesome getting it. I finally felt like I was getting some roots here. Its funny how a little small card can give you a feeling of belonging. I imagine owning a bank account and lease will also do the same.

We are holding off joint stuff till after the marriage and hoping to go back to the social security office to change my maiden name on it to my married name (Which will be much shorter hallelujah!). We got the marriage license yesterday and gonna tie the knot tomorrow!

I have a new concern though regarding social security. When I asked the officer in advance, the lady said that to change my SS card to my married name, I would need to be able to work or something. Long story short, she made me understand that I would either need my green card or EAD to change my name. We want to start our jointness bank, lease, cards etc immediately after marriage and apply for AOS in my married name but have to joint only once SS card has changed.

I have read some stories where some manage to change their social security card after marriage successfully. Is this still true, outdated or does the clerk not know what she is talking about? I would rather change my name on the SS card, joint everything and then apply for AOS instead of joint everything in maiden name, get AOS and GC and then change name on SS card and everything.

It would save alot of steps as well as alot of headaches with all the institutions that try to mess with my long #### maiden name. As it turns out, my NOA2 has shortened it one way, the social security card has shortened it another way. If other institutions get creative and shorten it another way, it will be like there are 3 different people walking around and my identity will be diluted and ambiguous.

Thanks in advance and happy birthday tomorrow NCWife!

[NCWife 0]

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Farah.... And congratulations on your wedding tomorrow!! I hope you are all prepared.. you know dress, shoes, flowers... rings... hehehe!!

Well, I am not sure about the policy at the SSA but then I only applied for my SSC after I got married, so I didn't have to deal with name change again. When I applied, my I-94 was barely a month to expiration but the clerk never asked if I was able to work or anything and of course when my card came, it still has the "valid for work only with authorization from DHS" wording there so it doesn't make any difference. Anyways, I don't think that you have to prove that you can work in order to change your name on your SSC. To play safe, just give them a call again and see what they say. I believe you are still able to apply for a joint bank account as long as you bring your marriage certificate with you and tell them you intend to have your name change on your SSC soon. As for lease, they never asked for my physical SSC. I just had to fill out the form with all the information and they do a credit check based on the number.

Good luck!

[DaveTX 2]

We had her Thai National ID card in addition to the passport but they didn't ask for it. We had all the stuff printed out but the guy at the Social Security office did it all very quickly without any questions. It was quick and painless once we finally got to the window (long wait). I assume he already knew what the K-1 was.

[TracyTN 237]

I have a new concern though regarding social security. When I asked the officer in advance, the lady said that to change my SS card to my married name, I would need to be able to work or something. Long story short, she made me understand that I would either need my green card or EAD to change my name. We want to start our jointness bank, lease, cards etc immediately after marriage and apply for AOS in my married name but have to joint only once SS card has changed.

That is just not true. You can change what is called 'numident data' at any time, so long as you have the proper documentation to explain the reason for the name change (in your case, a marriage certificate).

M 00203.210 Changing Numident Name Data:

http://policy.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0100203210

(Thanks to IQuit for posting this info so regularly so that I could grab it )

Edited December 11, 2009 by TracyTN