Social Security Citizenship Status

M

marballe

Registered Users (C)
To change social security citizenship status, what is the proper procedure?

A few months back, I just walked in my local SS office, presented them my certificate, and then the folks did something on the computer and said that it is done. I didn't get/receive confirmation or anything for proof.

Today, my brother had to fill out a form in his local SS office (a different one), and the folks there told him that he will receive a new card.

Neither of us change our name (and I know that SSN definitely won't change). Should I be worried that my SS office didn't change it? Any # I can call to verify that it has been changed? Thanks.
 
Does your current SS card have a stipulation on it? If it doesn't, you don't need a new card. If you want to double check your status, go back and ask them.
 
Your brother probably had an SS card with the employment restriction wording on it, whereas your card doesn't have the restriction. So they sent your brother a new card without the restriction, and let you keep the same old card that doesn't have the restriction.

If your SS card still has the employment restriction, they should have sent you a new card and you should go back to request a new card with the restriction removed.
 
Our SS cards look essentially the same (other than the name and #). I don't think we have any restrictions, as I don't have any problems with my employer.
We moved to US with our parents together as PR; and put in the original SS card application together in the same place.

I just wonder why he needs to fill out a form to do a status change, but I don't...

If I go to my local SS office, can I just ask "what is my citizenship status on your system?" Would it sound like an identity thief asking random question...
 
marballe said:
Our SS cards look essentially the same (other than the name and #). I don't think we have any restrictions, as I don't have any problems with my employer.
We moved to US with our parents together as PR; and put in the original SS card application together in the same place.

I just wonder why he needs to fill out a form to do a status change, but I don't...

If I go to my local SS office, can I just ask "what is my citizenship status on your system?" Would it sound like an identity thief asking random question...
Click to expand...

It appears that the procedures used by different SS offices (and even by different clerks in the same office) are not very uniform.

You can go to your local Social Security office (and bring your naturalization certificate and/or U.S. passport), tell them that you are a recently naturalized U.S. citizenship and that you want to double-check that your status in the Social Security database has in fact changed
from an LPR to a U.S. citizen. If you bring proper documentation with you, nobody is going to suspect you of being an identity thief.
 
Was his card falling apart from wear and tear? Did one of laminate and the other didn't? Did one of you sign it wrong originally and the other didn't? Did one of you spill coffee on it and the other didn't? Did one of you deal with a newbie at SS and the other didn't?

Think harder.
 
BigJoe5 said:
Was his card falling apart from wear and tear? Did one of laminate and the other didn't? Did one of you sign it wrong originally and the other didn't? Did one of you spill coffee on it and the other didn't? Did one of you deal with a newbie at SS and the other didn't?

Think harder.
Click to expand...
What you listed would be a reason to issue a new card, but it still does not explain why the OP's brother had to fill out a new form whilst the OP did not.

As for me, I did a name change, and I had to fill out a new form. My parents had to fill out a new form too even though they did not change their names. This was 2009.
 
König said:
What you listed would be a reason to issue a new card, but it still does not explain why the OP's brother had to fill out a new form whilst the OP did not.

As for me, I did a name change, and I had to fill out a new form. My parents had to fill out a new form too even though they did not change their names. This was 2009.
Click to expand...

My impression is that there is some degree of non-uniformity in how Soc. Security offices process these kinds of requests.
In my case there were some people from the local Social Security office present at my naturalization ceremony, and after the ceremony, when I asked them to update my status from that of an LPR to that of a U.S. citizen, they had me fill out some kind of a form. As it was more than 2 years ago, I don't remember much about this form, but I did not think that I was requesting a new card. I remember being very surprised when a new card did arrive by mail a couple of weeks later.

My old Social Security card was fine: it was not lost, laminated or mutilated, did not have any special notations on it indicating restricted employment eligibility and had my name written in exactly the same way as my name was written on the naturalization certificate.
However I do not think that I actually had my old social security card with me at the oath ceremony (and I don't think I was asked to show it), so it is possible that the people in the Social Security office somehow assumed that there was a problem with the the old card and that it needed to be replaced.
 
marballe said:
Our SS cards look essentially the same (other than the name and #). I don't think we have any restrictions, as I don't have any problems with my employer.
Click to expand...

Restricted SS cards normally don't cause a problem with employers if you show the GC.

The restriction we're referring to is some wording like "Valid for employment only with DHS authorization" or "Not valid for employment" on the front of the card. If you have an SS card with that, when you start working for a new employer you have to show a GC or some other immigration document that confirms your authorization to work. If your card doesn't have that restriction, you can show the SS card plus another ID like a driver's license, without having to show the GC.

You said your SS cards look the same ... you're comparing what to what? His new post-naturalization card to your old card? Or his pre-naturalization compared to your card? Did his pre-naturalization card have the employment restriction?
 
baikal3 said:
My impression is that there is some degree of non-uniformity in how Soc. Security offices process these kinds of requests.
Click to expand...
It seems that even the same office does not process SSN requests uniformly. My wife and I naturalised at the same time and applied for the SS cards at the same time (same day as the oath) - her card came in the mail 2 days later and mine... 4 weeks later. Apparently, the SSA was waiting for the USCIS confirmation about my citizenship status all this time. It still puzzles me.
 
König said:
It seems that even the same office does not process SSN requests uniformly. My wife and I naturalised at the same time and applied for the SS cards at the same time (same day as the oath) - her card came in the mail 2 days later and mine... 4 weeks later. Apparently, the SSA was waiting for the USCIS confirmation about my citizenship status all this time. It still puzzles me.
Click to expand...

That looks like an inconsistency with USCIS notifying SSA, not an inconsistency with the procedures of that SSA office.
 
I can see that if SSA is at the oath ceremony, they would not be able to just update a computer and would need something in writing to take back to the office. It is also a possibility that a computer system could have been down when one brother was at the SS Office but not when the other brother was there. It's really not a big deal and just proof that we are sort of bored with so little interesting in these blogs lately.......
 
Jackolantern said:
That looks like an inconsistency with USCIS notifying SSA, not an inconsistency with the procedures of that SSA office.
Click to expand...
Might be. However, the clerk that processed my wife's form said that the card will come within several days. In my case, it was a different clerk and she said that I should allow 6 weeks to get a card. If the request to the USCIS is sent electronically, then you should not expect such a disparagement, right? I do not know what the SOP for SSA employees is, but would it be possible if one particular clerk just accepted the original naturalisation certificate as a proof of citizenship and did not send a request to USCIS at all? That would explain everything.
 
König said:
Might be. However, the clerk that processed my wife's form said that the card will come within several days. In my case, it was a different clerk and she said that I should allow 6 weeks to get a card. If the request to the USCIS is sent electronically, then you should not expect such a disparagement, right?
Click to expand...

A big problem with USCIS's systems is that they require lots of manual intervention. That's why online case status updates are often so slow and inconsistent. One person applies for a green card or citizenship, doesn't get any updates after the initial status, while another person gets updates at each stage of the process. Apparently a human has to click something to tell the computer to update the online case status; the status doesn't update automatically based on other events and data entry.

Similarly, even though the notification from USCIS to SSA is electronic, it probably relies on somebody to manually tell the computer to send the notification for each individual, instead of all the notifications being automatically sent for everybody who completed the oath ceremony. As a result, if your case ends up with a slow employee, or an employee with a large stack of work on their desk, your notification may be sent much later than somebody else who did the oath on the same day.
 
baikal3 said:
My impression is that there is some degree of non-uniformity in how Soc. Security offices process these kinds of requests.
In my case there were some people from the local Social Security office present at my naturalization ceremony, and after the ceremony, when I asked them to update my status from that of an LPR to that of a U.S. citizen, they had me fill out some kind of a form. As it was more than 2 years ago, I don't remember much about this form, but I did not think that I was requesting a new card. I remember being very surprised when a new card did arrive by mail a couple of weeks later.

My old Social Security card was fine: it was not lost, laminated or mutilated, did not have any special notations on it indicating restricted employment eligibility and had my name written in exactly the same way as my name was written on the naturalization certificate.
However I do not think that I actually had my old social security card with me at the oath ceremony (and I don't think I was asked to show it), so it is possible that the people in the Social Security office somehow assumed that there was a problem with the the old card and that it needed to be replaced.
Click to expand...


Same here.I went there to update my status.And i personally told the clerk i'm not requesting for a card as my present one is in good shape.And the clerk told me they can only update my status if i filled out the form.So i did and few days later another card showed up.
 
I updated the SSN status today and the clerk asked me if I need a new card and I said NO. Then he printed the paper and asked me to verify my info on it and then took it away. Everything was done in 5min and I didn't have to fill out anything.
 
Addressing comment #6 and comment #14 above. To start with, I agree.

Think of USCIS and SSA not as USCIS and SSA, but as thousands of people. Some of these people joined in the 1970s when Reagan was still not a president (assuming 30+ years of work life, late 70s still sounds reasonable on my second reading of these numbers), some of them are joining now in 201x. While the rules and regulations are the same, some of the old ones carry the baggage of how they used to do things, some of the old ones skipped a training or 2, some of the news ones are too eager to do certain things, some of the new ones don't have the experience of making mistakes and then realizing why they should not do what they were already told not to do. You can find 100 other behavior patterns from your work life. Then some of them are in big offices and not only have handled a lot of cases, but also heard first hand from their colleagues some of the outlier cases, and some of them are in small offices and lack such worldly wisdom from colleagues. While I expect all of them to be using computers, I will not be surprised if there are some (big shots or whatever) who print their emails, write notes and then hand them to secretarial staff to enter in the computer. And before someone says ... race, race ... let's acknowledge that all of them come with their own personal values or bias.

Of course processing will be different from person to person, even for the simplest of things.

But I find it infinitely better than what I hear about their phone based operators who can only read what is there on the computer and can do nothing more.

When I naturalized, one SS office refused to handle our paperwork saying they will act only after CIS sends them the updates and it could take a couple of weeks to a month. I knew better about people operating differently, did not want to get into a supervisor / escalation route and went to another office. 30 minutes and done, no (process) questions asked. Cards arrived in a week or 2.
 
I needed to fill in new SS-5 document and present it with Original Naturalization Certificate to get SSN records updated as a USC.

The Clerk asked if we needed new cards , as part of the Change . On my enquiry, if anything was diiferent on the new cards - She indicated that the new cards had a new watermark and a printed date when the new card was processed. So i decided to go for new cards.

On comparing the old SSN cards i had all along with the new ones , after i got them saw 2 changes :

1. the embossed Watermark 'USA' just below the Signature field that changes color from yellow to green when you look at it from an angle.
2. the date when the SSN record was last changed is now printed on the card itself.
( coincides with the date when i visited SSN office to request the change.)

I thought i'll just share it with the group. Thanks !
 
Thanks for sharing. I hadn't heard about recent changes to the Social Security cards. I got mine replaced when I got the GCs, so it is a few years old and didn't seem to have a lot of security features.
 
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