Social Security Card

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

Hello, my husband was granted his immigrant visa on September 22nd.  We live in his home country and since being granted the Immig. Visa he has been applying for jobs online while we also sell all of our stuff.   He has been offered a Job and he is to start mid December and we plan on entering the US on Dec. 1st.   He had requested a Social Security number on his D-260 and know that this request will "activate" as soon as he enters the US.   Exactly how long does it take for the SS card to arrive in the mail?  2 weeks seems like a long time.  We don't mind the actual Green Card since we know that he can work for a year as long as his immigrant visa is stamped on his passport upon entry but we all know the SS card is essencial to actually get a paycheck since we need a actual number and correct me if I'm wrong but the actual number won't be given to my husband when he enters the US.   Would it be faster if he just visited the local Social Security offices to request a number and have a card sent to him even though we have the option of waiting for the initially requested SS card?   Does anyone have information about this?   Thanks in advance!! 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Gisselle Villegas

[arken 4,197]

15 minutes ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

2 weeks seems like a long time.

Two weeks is long!!! He'd be lucky if he gets that fast.

 

17 minutes ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Would it be faster if he just visited the local Social Security offices to request a number and have a card sent to him even though we have the option of waiting for the initially requested SS card?

He can visit the SS office to apply in person regardless of what you checked on DS-260. Even in that case, he should be lucky to get the card in two weeks. He may not even get the appointment to visit the office in that time frame as i believe walkins are not currently allowed, by appointment only.

[JeanneAdil 6,220]

• We don't require you to have a Social Security number before you start work. ... While you wait for your Social Security number, your employer can use a letter from us stating you applied for a number, and your immigration documents can prove your authorization to work in the United States.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10107.pdf

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

7 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

• We don't require you to have a Social Security number before you start work. ... While you wait for your Social Security number, your employer can use a letter from us stating you applied for a number, and your immigration documents can prove your authorization to work in the United States.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10107.pdf

Thank you for the info!  Now how do we go about getting a letter from the SS office?  Does my husband have to go personally and would they give him the letter immediately?  

[Crazy Cat 39,362]

*** I moved this thread to the SSN forum area*****

[Mike E 11,723]

1 hour ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you for the info!  Now how do we go about getting a letter from the SS office?  Does my husband have to go personally and would they give him the letter immediately?  

Getting that letter will take at least 2 weeks.  

[Adventine 3,187]

33 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Getting that letter will take at least 2 weeks.  

Probably more. When I booked an in-person appointment at my local SS office, the earliest appointment slot they could give me was 1.5 months away. I tried all the SS branches in my city, but that was the earliest I could get.

 

The good news is, once I presented my documents at my in-person appointment, I got the SS card in the mail in 1.5 weeks.

 

@Gisselle Villegas your best bet is to set the SS in-person appointment now (yes, even if it is still October) so that your husband secures his slot ASAP. Once you land in the US, he can immediately go to the SS office in person, apply for the SS card, AND get an official letter that he applied for it.

 

If all goes well, he will have the SS card in hand by the time he starts his job in mid-December. If not, he will at least have the letter proving he applied for it.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Adventine

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

17 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Probably more. When I booked an in-person appointment at my local SS office, the earliest appointment slot they could give me was 1.5 months away. I tried all the SS branches in my city, but that was the earliest I could get.

 

The good news is, once I presented my documents at my in-person appointment, I got the SS card in the mail in 1.5 weeks.

 

@Gisselle Villegas your best bet is to set the SS in-person appointment now (yes, even if it is still October) so that your husband secures his slot ASAP. Once you land in the US, he can immediately go to the SS office in person, apply for the SS card, AND get an official letter that he applied for it.

 

If all goes well, he will have the SS card in hand by the time he starts his job in mid-December. If not, he will at least have the letter proving he applied for it.

Thank you for the advice.  Just a question:  Did you apply to have a SS number on your DS-260?  Supposedly this makes it automatic for the SS office to send you the card by mail after reviewing your profile through the Home Land Security system once you enter the US.

[HRQX 4,145]

9 minutes ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

Thank you for the advice.  Just a question:  Did you apply to have a SS number on your DS-260?

@Adventine did not fill that out since she went through Adjustment of Status: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=368269

Edited October 28, 2021 by HRQX

[Adventine 3,187]

@HRQX is correct. I never requested for an SS number on my DS-260. I applied for the SS after I got my physical green card.

[Gisselle Villegas 15]

49 minutes ago, Adventine said:

@HRQX is correct. I never requested for an SS number on my DS-260. I applied for the SS after I got my physical green card.

My husbands visa was an IR-1.  Seems everyone that commented here didn't really apply for a SS card during the DS-260 filing process (or filled the DS-260 at all) which I understand simplifies and allows the immigrant to get the SS card in a more timely manner.

Edited October 29, 2021 by Gisselle Villegas

[Adventine 3,187]

There is a topic on this forum about this exact subject (see below).

 

You'll see from the posts on that thread that the turnaround time for receiving the SS card varies wildly, which is why people here have been advising you that it's best for your husband to go to the SS office in person:

 

 

[Loren Y 2,732]

If you go to the office in person, you get the letter with the stamp on it with the date, time, and officer initials who processed it. You get that before you leave, as you need that if you don't see your card in the mail. My friend did his fiancee SS card 6 weeks ago at the office ( Took him a week to get in with an appointment), and as of yesterday he still hasn't received his card. They told him 8 weeks before he returned to check the status. My wife had hers exactly a week after we applied back in November 2018, Pre covid of course.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

6 hours ago, Gisselle Villegas said:

My husbands visa was an IR-1.  Seems everyone that commented here didn't really apply for a SS card during the DS-260 filing process (or filled the DS-260 at all) which I understand simplifies and allows the immigrant to get the SS card in a more timely manner.

 

There have been mixed results.  Some get it within 2 weeks, some get it within a month, some get it in a few months.  And some don't get it at all.  When my wife arrived, we waited 3 weeks and then called SSA.  They said there was no request in the system for her SSN.  We filled out and mailed the SS5.  A week later they called us and scheduled an interview for the following week to review the original documents (we only sent photocopies of her passport and green card).  She got her SSN card in the mail 8 days later.

 

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by SteveInBostonI130

[mam521 1,739]

As per the I-9 work instructions, you do not require a SSN to begin working.  The MRIV in the passport serves as the ID and status requirement as listed on the I-9 instructions.  The SSN is required to report earnings to the IRS.  A company can hire your husband and update his social once it's been received.  

 

The bigger challenge we personally ran into was the local SSA not believing that the MRIV was sufficient evidence to issue the SSN.  They were under the assumption that the physical greencard needed to be in hand.  Untrue according to the SSA and SSA website.