When to apply for SSN after entry into US

[mdusa 0]

Hi

We have our approved fiance visa and are planning my fiance's move to the US. In looking at the K-1 flowchart, it states that for number 16. Get the SSN, 17 and 18. apply for marriage certificate and get married, and 19. go back and change name on SSN.

My question is... do we need the SSN to apply for the marriage cert and get married? Or can we get married and get the SSN afterwards so that we only have to go to the SSA Office once?

Thanks!

[amykathleen2005 441]

You should not need a SSN number to get married.

[gvt 0]

You don't need a SS # to get a marriage certificate. You can wait until after getting married to get a SS#.

However the SS office will only issue a SS# if there is a sufficient amount of days remaining on your I-94 or until you either have your Work Authorization EAD approved.

[Audy_Rob 26]

I am not sure about the previous answers. Marriage certificates (actually licenses) are issued based on state and county specific regulations. Marriage licenses are not under Federal jurisdiction. You need to search the net (use Google or whatever) for the state and county requirements to apply for a marriage license. If there is a requirement for a SSN by the state or county, you will do your marriage plans according to that information. Otherwise you can follow the plan you have first outlined.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Alla applied for her SSN the morning after she arrived. She had the number less than 48 hours after arriving and the card in her hand in 6 days. No need to wait longer than the next day.

Get the card in her MAIDEN name exactly as in the passport. She is entitled to receive an SSN from the day she arrives until day 76 of her I-94. DO NOT leave the SS office until you have a receipt for her application. Speak to as many levels of supervisors as you need to until you find a trained monkey at SS. After she has a green card in her married name (if she changes her name) go back and get a new SS card using the green card as ID.

You can go to the office the next morning and get your number. The card is useless, really, the only thing needed is the number. Alla was added to our bank account less than 48 hours from when she arrived.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I am not sure about the previous answers. Marriage certificates (actually licenses) are issued based on state and county specific regulations. Marriage licenses are not under Federal jurisdiction. You need to search the net (use Google or whatever) for the state and county requirements to apply for a marriage license. If there is a requirement for a SSN by the state or county, you will do your marriage plans according to that information. Otherwise you can follow the plan you have first outlined.

SS numbers are no longer required for marriage licenses as of June 2008. In any state, per Supreme Court ruling. States/counties can ask for the SSN but you can enter "none" if you have none. SS numbers have nothing to do with immigration status and therefore cannot be required of non-citizens seeking to get married. Marrying a US citizen does not, in itself, grant any benefits or immigration status change, so requiring a SSN to get married is facetious.

[gvt 0]

Alla applied for her SSN the morning after she arrived. She had the number less than 48 hours after arriving and the card in her hand in 6 days. No need to wait longer than the next day.

Get the card in her MAIDEN name exactly as in the passport. She is entitled to receive an SSN from the day she arrives until day 76 of her I-94. DO NOT leave the SS office until you have a receipt for her application. Speak to as many levels of supervisors as you need to until you find a trained monkey at SS. After she has a green card in her married name (if she changes her name) go back and get a new SS card using the green card as ID.

You can go to the office the next morning and get your number. The card is useless, really, the only thing needed is the number. Alla was added to our bank account less than 48 hours from when she arrived.

I agree that it is best to get a SS# as soon as reasonable because there could be delays. At the POE they mispelled my wife's first name and my wife's last name when entering it into the system. SS had to then do a name verification with DHS since the names did not match her passport from what they saw in their system. It took 6 weeks to get a number/card.

We then changed her name when applying for AOS using her last name to mine as well as her new middle name (she did not have one before). We got the Work Authorization card with both her middle name and married name spelled correctly. We then went to the SS office to have her name updated and they told us once again they need to do a name verification with DHS. It now is 1 week. We are expecting it will take just as long as before. IT is frustrating because the DMV won't issue a driver's license until SS office changes her name to what is on the 797 form.

We also know others who did the exact same thing and got cards and name changes in less than 2 weeks.

The point is that while others get issued cards rapidly, some take weeks to over a month. So my advice for the OP is to get a SS # as soon as they can because there may be delays.

Also for the OP, you don't need a SS# to do a lot of things even for employers (a Taxpayer ID also is sufficient: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Taxpayer_Identification_Number). Many banks don't even require a SS# for joint accounts. And then there is the debate whether SS# numbers legally can be used for identification purposes but that is a whole other topic/debate.

[ivyzone 0]

I entered the US not a week ago and was trying to apply for a SSN.

I was told here that I would need to wait 30 (!!!) days to be in the system, OR, if I wanted to apply earlier, to have my translated or international birth-certificate together with my passport and K-1 visa.

Also, I understand that it is more complicated to apply after marriage. So, I will try to get my birth-certificate and to apply after 2 weeks... we'll see if I am then in "their system".