Stunned by Social Security Administration

[toniopigafetta 0]

Something rather bizarre happened to me.

A month ago, on February 14, I became US citizen.

The very same day, I walked to my local Social Security Administration building to report my change of citizenship.

I believe nothing unusual happened while the SSA officer took care of my case (She got the naturalization

certificate, made my swear to tell the truth, etc ...)

Anyhow, fast forward to yesterday (March 15th), look at the text of the letter (below) I got from SSA where they claim that DHS cannot verify my immigrant status ...

Of course, I am a US citizen now! Anybody ever experience anything close to this?

We cannot issue you a Social Security card at this time because:

The Department of Homeland Security is unable to verify the immigrant document

you submitted as evidence of your lawful alien status. You should contact that

agency to clarify your current immigration status.

Please contact us when:

You can give us the document(s) we need.

This notice is not proof of ineligibility for an SSN or card.

If You Disagree

If you think you should get a Social Security number or card based on what you

have given us, you can ask us to review your case. Someone who did not look at

your first application will review it. Please call, write or visit any Social Security

office to ask for a review.

If You Have Any Questions

If you have any questions, please call us at the number shown at the top of this

letter. We can answer most questions over the phone. You can also write or visit

any Social Security office.

If you do call or visit us, please have this letter with you. It will help us answer your

questions. Also, if you plan to visit an office, you may call ahead to make an

appointment.

Field Office Manager

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

She took you Naturalization Certificate, or did she just make a photocopy of it, and hand it back to you? You need to go back to the field office and have this squared away. It takes a few weeks sometimes for the DHS to update their records, so maybe that is what happened here.

[ACINLOVE 2]

It's completely normal! The SS offices will receive records of your naturalization 20 days after the Oath. The officer at the ceremony suggested us to wait at least 3 weeks before visiting SS! Try again! Good luck!

[Barca 10]

I think this is why it makes sense to apply for the passport before contacting SS office!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I think this is why it makes sense to apply for the passport before contacting SS office!

We updated the wife's social security file the same day as the oath, without any problem. The person that handled our paperwork was intelligent enough to wait until the wife's information was updated with the DHS before before continuing with the process. The wife received a new card about a month later.

[Barca 10]

We updated the wife's social security file the same day as the oath, without any problem. The person that handled our paperwork was intelligent enough to wait until the wife's information was updated with the DHS before before continuing with the process. The wife received a new card about a month later.

I understand that, but the advantage of applying for a new SSN with a passport is because they don't have to verify anything from what I know. For sure having a competent person changes the experience

[NickD 203]

Has to be the individual you dealt with at your SS office, every so often can run into a hard head for lack of a better word. You already have an SS card, SS keeping track of your immigration status is relatively new. I took care of both my girls with SS from the very beginning, EAD card, green card, and certificate of citizenship. Did meet one hard head once, a little dip of a guy that couldn't even speak English very well. Good thing his supervisor came by and corrected him so I didn't have to.

Beside that, 14.8% of my income goes to SS and the way these politicians are talking, may never get it back, they are working for us, not we for them. Even with the DHS, thing, still have to bring in your certificate, not only to SS but to the DOS as well. DHS is just another form of BS.

Anyway, after this DHS stuff, took my stepdaughter's certificate in the day after, she signed the form that I changed the date and immigration status on, went in, took a photocopy of the certificate, handed it back to me, kept the form, and that was it. A couple of weeks latter she received a new card in the mail.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I updated my SSA records the next day after my naturalization. Something went wrong in your case, which is not surprising, given that the SSA employs more retards than any other government agency in the United States.

[sbi 0]

Can someone please explain to me why do you even need to report to SS after becoming a citizen? We did that after getting our green cards and we received new cards with no restrictions on it, looks like a normal SSN card.

Is there a difference in status (in Social Security) between permanent resident and a citizen? AFAIK there is no difference and you can live here all your lives as P.R., and you are still eligible for benefits (is you are eligible to begin with, meaning if you paid into it).

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Can someone please explain to me why do you even need to report to SS after becoming a citizen? We did that after getting our green cards and we received new cards with no restrictions on it, looks like a normal SSN card.

Is there a difference in status (in Social Security) between permanent resident and a citizen? AFAIK there is no difference and you can live here all your lives as P.R., and you are still eligible for benefits (is you are eligible to begin with, meaning if you paid into it).

I asked that same question of the SSA, and I was told it had to do with survivor benefits. However, when I checked the website, I only found that non-citizens cannot receive benefits overseas, while a citizen can.

http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/512/related/1

[sbi 0]

I asked that same question of the SSA, and I was told it had to do with survivor benefits. However, when I checked the website, I only found that non-citizens cannot receive benefits overseas, while a citizen can.

OK, so it is pretty much to our benefit, if we want to retire outside the U.S., but it is not mandatory.

Thanks.

Edited March 21, 2013 by sbi

[DaveE 178]

If you have children it gets involved also. When you submit FAFSA for college age children, they use social security info to determine citizenship.

FAFSA kicked back my daughters documentation saying that she was not a citizen. She presented her US passport to the school, and the school accepted it the first year. Second year same thing, and this time the college was worried some underhanded stuff was going on. We had to take her US Passport to the Social Security office and prove she was a citizen. Once we did that, they corrected some data in their system, and no issues since.

[sbi 0]

If you have children it gets involved also. When you submit FAFSA for college age children, they use social security info to determine citizenship.

FAFSA kicked back my daughters documentation saying that she was not a citizen. She presented her US passport to the school, and the school accepted it the first year. Second year same thing, and this time the college was worried some underhanded stuff was going on. We had to take her US Passport to the Social Security office and prove she was a citizen. Once we did that, they corrected some data in their system, and no issues since.

But with FAFSA you need to be either a citizen or eligible permanent resident, so even if she wasn't a citizen she was a permanent resident, was she not?

[DaveE 178]

But with FAFSA you need to be either a citizen or eligible permanent resident, so even if she wasn't a citizen she was a permanent resident, was she not?

Doesn't matter. My daughter was a citizen and filled out her FAFSA as such. When FAFSA verfied the data, it did not match and her scholarships were being held up the second year because of the mismatch. If you don't want annoying issues, update social security with your new citizenship info. From the FAFSA website:

"If your citizenship status has changed from an eligible noncitizen to a U.S. citizen, you should contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update your citizenship status. If you do not update your citizenship status with the SSA, it could delay processing your student financial aid."

http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/help/fotw15a.htm

[Darnell 8,478]

Can someone please explain to me why do you even need to report to SS after becoming a citizen? We did that after getting our green cards and we received new cards with no restrictions on it, looks like a normal SSN card.

Is there a difference in status (in Social Security) between permanent resident and a citizen? AFAIK there is no difference and you can live here all your lives as P.R., and you are still eligible for benefits (is you are eligible to begin with, meaning if you paid into it).

ya, the benefits for a citizen are different than that of a permanent resident.