Final Rule on Non-Work Social Security Numbers
Posted Oct 03, 2003

The Social Security Administration (SSA) issued a final rule on September 25, 2003 that was published in the Federal Register, regarding eligibility of foreign nationals in non-working statuses to obtain social security cards. The final rule, which will be effective October 27, 2003, also changes the age at which a mandatory, in-person interview is required to obtain a social security card and eliminates a waiver of identity documents for children under seven years of age.

Eligibility for SSNs to Limited Applicants

Individuals who are in non-working statuses can only obtain social security cards if requests are made for, what the SSA has determined to be, valid "non work reasons." The need for a social security number (SSN) in order to get a driver's license is not a sufficient reason, and has been an area of controversy. See our March 08, 2002 MurthyBulletin article, SSNs No Longer Available Solely for Issuance of Driver's Licenses. The final rule defines the only valid non-work reasons for assigning a social security number. First, an SSN may be issued to satisfy a federal statute or regulation that requires the foreign national to have an SSN in order to receive a federally funded benefit (such as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) to which the foreign national has otherwise established entitlement. Second, the SSN can be issued to satisfy a state or local law that requires the foreign national to have an SSN to receive public assistance benefits if the foreign national has established eligibility for those benefits. SSNs will not be assigned to non-work authorized individuals for any other purpose.

Change in Age for In-Person Interviews

The regulations also require an in-person interview of all applicants age twelve (12) or older. Parents and guardians may accompany their children to these interviews and it is expected that they will provide most of the information. Prior to this regulation, the age for an in-person interview was eighteen (18) years. The in-person interview will attempt to determine whether an SSN was previously issued for the individual. If there was no earlier SSN, the SSA will try to determine the reason an SSN was not requested earlier. Of course, for immigrants the request may not have been possible any earlier. Most U.S.-born children will obtain an SSN prior to their first birthday, as it is needed for tax filing purposes, health insurance, and, later, for school enrollment. This change in the interview aspect of the process is designed to reduce fraud.

Evidence of Identity of Children Required

The regulations now require evidence of identity for all SSN applicants. The regulation eliminates the waiver of evidence of identity for children under seven (7) years of age. This is also a fraud prevention measure. The identity document must contain sufficient biographical or physical information to identify the applicant. A birth record alone is not enough to establish identity. The SSA acknowledges that not all children will have photo identification. This is not required. They suggest hospital records, daycare records, religious records and the like to establish identity. Although not noted in the comments, most foreign nationals will have foreign passports for their children to travel to meet family abroad. For children born in the U.S., it is possible to apply for the SSN as part of the birth registration process and avoid the complications of documenting the identity of an infant.

Non-Availability of SSNs is Matter of Concern

The driver's license issue continues to be a problem area. Many people in non-working status, such as H-4s, may have the need for drivers' licenses. They need to drive to take care of family errands, transport children, and other such valid activities. Some of them attend school or undertake volunteer work. The SSA's response to this is that the SSN has a primary purpose to track earnings over a worker's lifetime. The goal is to prevent fraud and misuse and they feel that the rule changes are appropriate to that purpose. They indicate that they have encouraged states for several years to develop identification documents for use as an alternative to the driver's license requirement. In essence, it appears that the SSA position is that they should not change their practices and potentially undermine their purpose due to the use of the SSN by the states for driver's license identification, as the driver's license has nothing to do with the purposes of the SSN. They note that many states have changed their policies in this regard. They also point out that, at present, only seven states require SSNs for drivers' licenses. They are working with these states to develop an alternative system. We hope that these remaining states are able to resolve this issue, so foreign nationals who are lawfully in the U.S. in a non-working status can obtain drivers' licenses if they so wish.