Recent and Imminent POEs

[hobokenworkingman 4]

Ok so we decided to go to the SS office today and the SS lady was nice enough to give us our # - woo hoo! we got our SS #! the card was mailed out on the 12th and we should get it either tomorrow or by Friday. So while we've got all our cards and #s, we still have to get the name situation sorted out (yup the SS folks screwed up on her name, ie lumped in her middle and last name both as her last name). that'll be another trip to the SS office, but its ok, since we've finally got our # and my wife can finally get paid! :dance: :dance:

[sachinky 464]

Sorry, I've been MIA lately, I just started my new job as a KG teacher at a private local academy here. I love it but it's exhausting and I barely have any free time.

Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary--we spent most of the day at work, then bank and then filling out applications for a new car.

Hope everyone is well!

[bextavaz 4]

I guess I should be in here POE 9/13/10

[HappyRs 8]

I guess I should be in here POE 9/13/10

me too ; POE just one day after you, Sept. 14

Good luck to everyone!

[yohino 22]

Ok so we decided to go to the SS office today and the SS lady was nice enough to give us our # - woo hoo! we got our SS #! the card was mailed out on the 12th and we should get it either tomorrow or by Friday. So while we've got all our cards and #s, we still have to get the name situation sorted out (yup the SS folks screwed up on her name, ie lumped in her middle and last name both as her last name). that'll be another trip to the SS office, but its ok, since we've finally got our # and my wife can finally get paid! :dance: :dance:

That's great! That you got the number I mean, not that they screwed the name up. That's what this process is, just people making stupid mistakes that involves peoples lifes!

Can't wait 'til 3 years from now when I'll be so done with them!!

Sachi - good to see you again! I hope New Mexico is treating you well!!

[TheMatrix 6]

So the wife's POE was on July 26th. But we haven't received anything in the mail yet - No Welcome Letter, No SSN and No GC.

What's the deal with SSN? I see several people going to the SSN office after the POE. Wasn't it supposed to be issued automatically?

If we go to the SSN office now, what do we say? Do we apply for a new one? Or can they look up and tell us what number was issued to us?

I don't want to interrupt any processes that may already be going on, like USCIS talking to SSA.

But so many things are on hold till she gets the SSN. Drivers License, Health Insurance, Joint Bank Account, Amended Tax Return.

And we need her GC fast too, as we would like to travel to Europe before it gets cold!

Why, oh why does it take such a long time?

[yohino 22]

Well, in the best of worlds your SSN should show up, but it isn't the most bulletproof thing in the world.

We went to the SS-office, told our story ( I immigrated, was told that I would be automaticly issued a SSN, but that it hadn't showed up), she put some stuff in the computer, said she couldn't see I was assigned one, put in my info, told me I should get it in 2 weeks. Came in 6 days.

I got my GC 47 days after POE, so it takes a while. And I'm not the one who has been worst off.

You don't need the GC to travel though, the I-551 (or something like that, to many numbers in my head now) stamp in the passport, on the visa, or the page next to it, gotten at POE, acts like a temp-GC for up to 1 year, good to travel on that!

[TheMatrix 6]

We did get the welcome letter today, and with the tracking number we could see online that the card has been ordered! Finally, something moved!

She will pay a visit to the SSA office tomorrow and tell them that we haven't received the SSN yet.

We want her GC fast so we could apply for a visa to Europe for her. Travelling back to the US should be fine with the stamp but when we apply to, say, the French embassy here they would likely want to see the physical GC.

[mrs. wife! 3]

Ok so we decided to go to the SS office today and the SS lady was nice enough to give us our # - woo hoo! we got our SS #! the card was mailed out on the 12th and we should get it either tomorrow or by Friday. So while we've got all our cards and #s, we still have to get the name situation sorted out (yup the SS folks screwed up on her name, ie lumped in her middle and last name both as her last name). that'll be another trip to the SS office, but its ok, since we've finally got our # and my wife can finally get paid! :dance: :dance:

My name wasn't matching to my SSN either (since I added my husband's last name and I already had a previous SSN on my maiden name) so when my company inputted my info on their system, of course it didn't match to the SSN info, so they gave me a I-verify paper that obligated me to go to the SSN office and have them fixing my info there. So I went to the SS office (they give you 8 federal days to go) and the lady did what she had to do to fix it and gave me a receipt, so I could bring it to the company to prove that I took care of it. If the company gives your wife the E-verify paper, she has got to go to the office otherwise they can terminate her employment if she doesn't take any action. My card was on the mail in 3 days after that.

I don't know if the same will happen to her if the system comes up with a different name, I just wanted to give you a heads up, so you know what to do if it does happen.

Let me know if you have any doubts and good luck! This process really sucks, it was a nightmare to me the whole GC and SSN issue, hope you have better luck than I did =)

[hobokenworkingman 4]

So the wife's POE was on July 26th. But we haven't received anything in the mail yet - No Welcome Letter, No SSN and No GC.

What's the deal with SSN? I see several people going to the SSN office after the POE. Wasn't it supposed to be issued automatically?

If we go to the SSN office now, what do we say? Do we apply for a new one? Or can they look up and tell us what number was issued to us?

I don't want to interrupt any processes that may already be going on, like USCIS talking to SSA.

But so many things are on hold till she gets the SSN. Drivers License, Health Insurance, Joint Bank Account, Amended Tax Return.

And we need her GC fast too, as we would like to travel to Europe before it gets cold!

Why, oh why does it take such a long time?

yea the SSN that you ticked off yes to in the ds-230 is absolutely useless; perhaps it may show up 6 months from now, but if you want immediate action, you gotta go to the SSA and just apply for a new card. just make sure that there are no name screw-ups in your wife's passport. the indian passport authority screwed up my wife's name and lumped her middle and last names as just her last name, which is why the SSA took 3 weeks to get our SSN cuz they needed to verify her status with USCIS/NVC. and even after that they still ended up issuing the card with the erroneous name, even tho the GC has her name properly.

yes many things are on hold till you get the SSN - my wife's paycheck in our case!

what's the deal w/ the amended tax return? how are you going to amend it?

btw, you'll need a shengen visa to go to europe for your wife; so while that's a far better process here in the US, it's still necessary as she's an Indian citizen (assuming you're a USC)...hope this helps.

[hobokenworkingman 4]

My name wasn't matching to my SSN either (since I added my husband's last name and I already had a previous SSN on my maiden name) so when my company inputted my info on their system, of course it didn't match to the SSN info, so they gave me a I-verify paper that obligated me to go to the SSN office and have them fixing my info there. So I went to the SS office (they give you 8 federal days to go) and the lady did what she had to do to fix it and gave me a receipt, so I could bring it to the company to prove that I took care of it. If the company gives your wife the E-verify paper, she has got to go to the office otherwise they can terminate her employment if she doesn't take any action. My card was on the mail in 3 days after that.

I don't know if the same will happen to her if the system comes up with a different name, I just wanted to give you a heads up, so you know what to do if it does happen.

Let me know if you have any doubts and good luck! This process really sucks, it was a nightmare to me the whole GC and SSN issue, hope you have better luck than I did =)

well i hope it isnt as bad as it was for you! i think her company's not that bad, as they've been pretty cool about even letting her work w/o her SSN. So i guess we'll find out soon enough. what we do have to do is go back to the SSN and fix the name thing. this is what the nice SS agent told us to do when we pointed out that the name was listed wrong. that is not that big a deal; just getting the SSN is huuuuuuuge!!! and timely too, since my health insurance company also wanted her SS (wife's covered under my plan) and needed her # to continue coverage.

[TheMatrix 6]

Amended tax return is needed as I filed as 'Married Filing Separately' rather than 'Married Filing Jointly' because we didn't have her SSN and we didn't want to get into the ITIN process. It would have taken time and required her to visit the US consulate in Delhi to get a notarized copy of her passport. She was quite busy at the time winding up her job getting ready to move.

Do you think we could get a Shngen visa for her just based on the CR-1 visa stamp in the passport and the A#?

[TheMatrix 6]

My wife went to the local SSA office here and told them that she came on a CR-1 visa four weeks ago and that we hadn't received anything yet.

The SSA officer asked "Had you applied for an SSN in this office?" So obviously she was clueless about the whole DS-230 Automatic SSN assignment process.

My wife showed her the passport with the stamp and then the officer just said "Oh..." and took it to make some checks. She said they should have heard from USCIS by now but that she couldn't find anything in the records..

She said we will have to apply for a new one and she gave a form to fill out and bring back with the original DOB certificate.

Is that normal?

Should we ask them to look by A# or look in the SAVE database or something?

Edited August 20, 2010 by TheMatrix

[yohino 22]

When I went, they couldn't find me either, so she filled in all the info you would fill out on the form to apply for a new one in her computer and that was it. No need for anthing other then Passport w/ visa in it. Atleast that's all I needed.

[hobokenworkingman 4]

My wife went to the local SSA office here and told them that she came on a CR-1 visa four weeks ago and that we hadn't received anything yet.

The SSA officer asked "Had you applied for an SSN in this office?" So obviously she was clueless about the whole DS-230 Automatic SSN assignment process.

My wife showed her the passport with the stamp and then the officer just said "Oh..." and took it to make some checks. She said they should have heard from USCIS by now but that she couldn't find anything in the records..

She said we will have to apply for a new one and she gave a form to fill out and bring back with the original DOB certificate.

Is that normal?

Should we ask them to look by A# or look in the SAVE database or something?

its pretty normal; i wouldnt worry about it. you should definitely apply for a new card. what i AM surprised about is that they asked for the DOB?!?!?!?! the SS guidelines specifically say that they dont accept foreign birth certs as evidence; only US BCs. the passport and visa should be enough to apply. I would ask for another agent if you can, or at least talk to them on the phone before you go...

on a related note, we got our SS card in the mail on saturday. while they issued the # on aug 12th, they only mailed it out on the 19th (mailing authority is in baltimore according to the return address); took 2 days. so now we have to go back to the stupid SS office (for the last time hopefully!) to get the name change fixed...and then its her Indian passport...lovely!