What to do if your SSA office is closed and you need a SSN

[Rocio0010 5,560]

Hello everyone,

In the last few days I’ve seen several posts of people that cannot get ahold of the SS office and don’t know what to do when they request you to mail your passport/ your green card. 
First, let me preface you with this: we permanent residents are legally bound to carry out GCs with us all the time. Therefore, you should never EVER mail it. Period. 
Second, perhaps this mostly applies to smaller States, but most likely the people that work at the SS don’t understand the importance of a green card, so they might not try to accommodate you for an in- person appointment.

Third, been there, done that. I tried calling my local SS for several days, and either they didn’t answer or they kept telling me to mail my documents. I cannot stress this enough: the U.S postal system can be unreliable, so please NEVER EVER mail your documents. 
Instead, what you do is to call your Congressman / Senator and tell them about your issue. Be sure to explain why you shouldn’t mail your card. I did it and I know that @Trutta did it too. We were both successful and got our appointments in less than two days!

[Adventine 3,187]

Thank you, this is very useful. I've asked the mods to consider making your post a sticky so that people can easily find it

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

To add to the above, the US law that requires LPRs to carry proof of immigration status, termed "certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt", is (INA) § 264(e) - Immigration and Nationality Act.

 

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title8-section1304&num=0&edition=prelim

 

[Chancy 6,233]

Thank you for the reminder that non-citizens are legally required to always have their original immigration documents on hand.  As such, SSA released memos stating that non-citizens must NOT be requested to submit their immigration documents by mail or dropbox.  If a misinformed SSA employee refuses to schedule an in-person appointment for an application that requires presenting your actual GC or EAD or foreign passport, ask for a supervisor or cite the following memos --

• EM-21041: Express Interviews for Evidence and Enumeration Actions -- https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/links/05262021015248PM
• EM-21056: In-Office Appointments Guidance -- https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/reference.nsf/links/09082021124856PM

[Rocio0010 5,560]

44 minutes ago, Adventine said:

Thank you, this is very useful. I've asked the mods to consider making your post a sticky so that people can easily find it

Thank you! It’s just that I’ve dealt with this stuff long enough to realize that just because USCIS and SS are both federal agencies, one necessarily knows about the other.

[PatLuvO 284]

1 hour ago, ra0010 said:

Thank you! It’s just that I’ve dealt with this stuff long enough to realize that just because USCIS and SS are both federal agencies, one necessarily knows about the other.

Thank you for making this post so that we can have this useful information in one place.

[Rocio0010 5,560]

1 hour ago, ra0010 said:

Thank you! It’s just that I’ve dealt with this stuff long enough to realize that just because USCIS and SS are both federal agencies, one necessarily knows about the other.

Meant to say they do NOT know how the other agency works!

[Letspaintcookies 2,202]

Before contacting a congress person one can also contact SSA per email on their website. This won't go to the local office but to the main SSA office and they can reach out to your local office to get an appointment scheduled. 

[powerpuff 5,884]

On 12/18/2021 at 1:37 PM, Letspaintcookies said:

Before contacting a congress person one can also contact SSA per email on their website. This won't go to the local office but to the main SSA office and they can reach out to your local office to get an appointment scheduled. 

I agree with this as I have done just that today. After trying to reach my local SSA office  for 2 hours and getting disconnected Every. Single. Time. I was understandably very frustrated. I called the main 1 (800) number and after being on hold for 40 minutes I managed to get a hold of a representative. At first, she told me I can mail my documents to which I said "No thanks" and explained that i have to have my GC on me at all times. Then, she tried to tell me that she cannot schedule an appointment for me and I have to keep trying the local office. I told her it's impossible to if I get disconnected every time. I asked to please reach out the local office and ask what is happening there. She did and after she spoke with them while I was on hold, she told me my appointment is March 10. To anyone trying to do the same, be very persistent!!! 

[Treegrower 4]

On 2/25/2022 at 10:13 AM, powerpuff said:

I agree with this as I have done just that today. After trying to reach my local SSA office  for 2 hours and getting disconnected Every. Single. Time. I was understandably very frustrated. I called the main 1 (800) number and after being on hold for 40 minutes I managed to get a hold of a representative. At first, she told me I can mail my documents to which I said "No thanks" and explained that i have to have my GC on me at all times. Then, she tried to tell me that she cannot schedule an appointment for me and I have to keep trying the local office. I told her it's impossible to if I get disconnected every time. I asked to please reach out the local office and ask what is happening there. She did and after she spoke with them while I was on hold, she told me my appointment is March 10. To anyone trying to do the same, be very persistent!!! 

 

Yeah, try to go through the department head office before contacting  your Congressman or Senator.  You want to save contacts to Congress when all else failed.   

 

You should feel free to write your local congress people on issues  that interest you and the district/state but to get going on a process, it's better to work through the department first.

 

[Rocio0010 5,560]

13 minutes ago, Treegrower said:

You want to save contacts to Congress when all else failed. 

I saw it as time- saving. I had no other way to do it than contacting my Congressman. Tried for about a month and a half without any response on my own. Contacted Congressman, had an appointment the week after.