Catch 22

[TexaninTaiwan 0]

Hi, 

I am an American. My wife is French. We got married in South Korea 11 years ago. 

Right when we got married, she applied for and received conditional permanent residency. 2 years later, the conditions were removed. 

7 years ago, we moved to Taiwan for a short trip that turned into a long trip. We are still here now. We have 2 kids, both with US citizenship and passports. She has officially abandoned residency.

We want to move back to the US next spring. We are filling out the I-130. It asks for my wife's social security number. 

She doesn't have it or remember it. It's gone. 

To get a new SSN card, we have to show proof of her legal status as a resident, which she no longer has. So we need the SSN to apply for residency, but we don't have the SSN and we need residency to recover the SSN. 

How do we move forward? 

[Going through 5,671]

Take a look at your old tax returns (I assume you have still been filing US taxes while living abroad, as required).  Her SS# would be listed there.

 

[pushbrk 12,979]

54 minutes ago, Going through said:

Take a look at your old tax returns (I assume you have still been filing US taxes while living abroad, as required).  Her SS# would be listed there.

 

Correct.  If you cannot find it, simply hand write "unknown" in the space.  No problem.

[Boiler 45,670]

Presumably on your current tax returns.

[TexaninTaiwan 0]

2 hours ago, pushbrk said:

Correct.  If you cannot find it, simply hand write "unknown" in the space.  No problem.

Thanks for the feedback. If I may follow up...how certain are you that it won't be a problem? I would hate to have her form denied because it is considered incomplete by the bureaucracy. 

[Lemonslice 4,886]

Most immigrants do not have a SSN... no need to worry about it.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

4 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

Most immigrants do not have a SSN... no need to worry about it.

This. You're not required to have one.

[pushbrk 12,979]

5 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

Most immigrants do not have a SSN... no need to worry about it.

She has one.  She forgot what it was and lost the card.

[pushbrk 12,979]

8 hours ago, TexaninTaiwan said:

Thanks for the feedback. If I may follow up...how certain are you that it won't be a problem? I would hate to have her form denied because it is considered incomplete by the bureaucracy. 

If I'm not sure, I don't say it like I AM sure.  However, what IS going to be a problem at the NVC stage is your lack of tax returns for at least the past three years.  Her SS# is on past tax returns and you're going to need the number to file the last three if you haven't already.  If you don't have old tax return copies, then you'll need to obtain Tax Return Transcripts from the IRS, which can be ordered using only your SS#.  The IRS may even tell you on the phone, what your wife's SS# is.

 

You are both required to file tax returns even if you live and work abroad.  Unless you're earning six figures, you are unlikely to owe any taxes though.

[Boiler 45,670]

Would have been quicker to find it than post on here.

[Coco8 1,042]

If she does not find it, it will delay the process because the government will have to find it or figure out if she has one. It is not required to have one but it would be odd not to have one since she had a green card. 

 

Did she ever worked while she lives in the US? Do you have copies of the forms she used for the green card application? If she had one, the SSN should be on those. Other places to look would be IRS forms.

 

Also, make sure you filed taxes for the past 7 years. They will ask for it. 

Edited May 14, 2018 by Coco8

[pushbrk 12,979]

17 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

If she does not find it, it will delay the process because the government will have to find it or figure out if she has one. It is not required to have one but it would be odd not to have one since she had a green card. 

 

Did she ever worked while she lives in the US? Do you have copies of the forms she used for the green card application? If she had one, the SSN should be on those. Other places to look would be IRS forms.

 

Also, make sure you filed taxes for the past 7 years. They will ask for it. 

They already know that she has one and USCIS can find it in seconds.

The immigration process requires three tax return, not seven.  The IRS requires tax returns for every year, but that has NOTHING to do with the immigration process.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

17 hours ago, TexaninTaiwan said:

Hi, 

I am an American. My wife is French. We got married in South Korea 11 years ago. 

Right when we got married, she applied for and received conditional permanent residency. 2 years later, the conditions were removed. 

7 years ago, we moved to Taiwan for a short trip that turned into a long trip. We are still here now. We have 2 kids, both with US citizenship and passports. She has officially abandoned residency.

We want to move back to the US next spring. We are filling out the I-130. It asks for my wife's social security number. 

She doesn't have it or remember it. It's gone. 

To get a new SSN card, we have to show proof of her legal status as a resident, which she no longer has. So we need the SSN to apply for residency, but we don't have the SSN and we need residency to recover the SSN. 

How do we move forward? 

Look for your old US tax returns OR for photocopies of the forms she sent to USCIS for her original permanent residency. I hope you guys have photocopies of all that.

[D.Ba 85]

You can go to the American embassy in Taiwan, and they will find your SSN. That is what I had to do. But, mind you, when they have several consulates, you cannot just go to any. In Germany, for example, it is only the one in Frankfurt, not the one in Berlin.

The embassy is not going to tell you the SSN over the phone (ask me how I know). Your old university is not going to tell you your SSN over the phone (ask me how I know).  I HIGHLY doubt IRS will tell you your SSN over the phone.

[geowrian 22,337]

6 minutes ago, D.Ba said:

I HIGHLY doubt IRS will tell you your SSN over the phone.

Probably. But you can lookup your tax transcripts online on the irs.gov website, which does include your full SSN.