[sak9645]

Social Security is a federal function, so the rules are the same for all states.

You DO need a SSN for your child in order to claim him/her as a dependent, to apply for the adoption tax credit, and so on.

You CANNOT use the ATIN, or Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number, for internationally adopted children. The ATIN may be used only in domestic adoptions, where a family has custody of a child who already has a SSN, and thus can claim the credit, but won't be told the SSN until the adoption is final. It can also be used in the rare domestic case where a new SSN will need to be issued because of a sticky birthparent situation.

But this is really no big deal. In most cases, you can be told your child's new SSN the same day you apply. And in any case, the SS card will arrive in the mail about two weeks after you apply.

Here is something I posted on another site, which should help you as you apply:

Just wander down to your local SS office. Bring originals of your child's birth certificate, adoption decree, and foreign passport. Also bring some identification for yourself, such as your passport.

If you happen to have already done a legal name change or obtained a Certificate of Citizenship for your child, bring those documents, too. However, you don't really need them just to get a number.

Fill our a form to request an SSN and wait till you are called by the clerk. When you are called, he/she will photocopy your documents and hand them right back to you.

You should be able to find our your child's SSN that day. In any event, you should get your child's new SS card within about two weeks.

Do remember, however, a few important things:

1. If your child's American name is not on any of his/her foreign documents, the card will probably be issued in his/her foreign name. Once in a while, a clerk will take pity on you and issue the card in the American name, regardless, but don't count on it. But this is no big deal. For tax purposes, just put the American name with the foreign one in parentheses, or vice versa, when you list your dependents. Once you do a legal name change, through readoption or some other mechanism, bring the order indicating the name change back to the SS office and fill out a name change form. The clerk will photocopy your document and return it to you. Your child's SSN will stay the same, but a new card with the corrected name will be sent to your home.

2. If you do not yet have a certificate of citizenship or a U.S. passport for your child, you can get a SSN for your child, but the Social Security Administration's records will list him/her as a resident alien, not a citizen, even if he is one. The SSA is NOT allowed, by law, to "adjudicate status" -- determine who is or is not a citizen. Only the USCIS or the State Department can do that. For internationally adopted children, the SSA MUST see EITHER a COC or a U.S. passport to list your child as a citizen. (A state birth certificate does NOT prove citizenship for foreign born people.)

But this is no big deal either. If your child comes home on an IR-3 visa, you'll get a COC automatically in the mail. When you get it, go down to the SS office with it and fill out a status change form. The clerk will copy the document and return it to you immediately. Your child's status will be changed in the computer, but his/her SSN will stay the same. You may or may not be issued a new card.

If your child comes home on an IR-4 visa, he/she does not become an automatic citizen until you readopt him/her in your state OR until you do a "recognition" of the adoption, if your state allows it. So he/she can't get a COC or U.S. passport until you do one of these things. Once you have done a readoption or recognition, you can file the N-600 to obtain a COC and/or obtain a U.S. passport for your child. Then you can go back to the SS office, fill out a status change form, and have his status listed correctly.

Although most people get a SSN for their children with no trouble at all, some HAVE run into difficulties because of ill-informed clerks. While the SSA did extensive training of staff after the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 was passed, some clerks may have forgotten or may be new.

Here are some of the types of misinformation you may hear:

1. You need to do an adoption or readoption in the U.S. to get a card. NONSENSE. You can get a card for a child brought home from overseas as long as he/she is in your legal and physical custody and you have documents (foreign adoption decree, foreign passport) proving it.

2. Your child needs to be a U.S. citizen to get a card. NONSENSE. People can get SS cards as long as they are legal permanent residents. Now, if you have not shown the clerk a certificate of citizenship or a U.S. passport for your child, it is true that the SS Administration MUST list your child as a legal permanent resident, and not a citizen, in SS records, but a card can still be issued.

3. You need to show your child's green card. NONSENSE. All that the SS folks need from the green card is the "A-number" (Alien Registration Number), which is the same one that is in your child's passport, and which proves that he/she entered the U.S. legally. Many internationally adopted children never get green cards, because nowadays, kids coming home on IR-3 visas get certificates of citizenship issued automatically instead.

4. You need to have your child's paperwork translated by an official U.S. translator, which will delay the issuance of the card a few weeks. NONSENSE. You have a translation of your child's adoption paperwork that is official. It is the one that was accepted by the U.S. State Department and the USCIS when your child was granted a visa to enter the U.S. You have absolutely no need for another translation, and Social Security regulations do not require one. DO NOT let a misinformed clerk get away with this one.

5. You need proof that the child mentioned in the foreign adoption paperwork is the same one that's mentioned in the readoption decree. NONSENSE. This one is just plain off-the-wall. You've got documents referencing a child with the same birth date, the same adoption situation, the same parents. An American judge has signed off on the whole thing. What more do you need?

6. You need to provide vaccination records to show that the child has had all his shots before a SSN can be issued. NONSENSE! Thank goodness I've heard of this argument only once. The SSA has NOTHING to do with immunizations, and the request is a total invasion of privacy, and probably illegal.

Here is what you should do, if you hear any of these or any other misinformed comments:

1. Print out a copy of the part of the Social Security Administration's website, which gives instructions for getting a SSN for an internationally adopted child. The home page address is www.ssa.gov. Under "Get Help With Your Situation", click on "more situations". Then click on "adopt a child -- foreign born". Carry the document with you when you go back to the
SS office.

2. Ask to see a supervisor. Explain your situation and then show him/her the website printout. Many supervisors are better informed than their staff, and can clear up a situation easily.

3. If the supervisor is no help, consider going to another SS office. Why raise your blood pressure?!There is probably another office within 20 miles of your home or office. Chances are, the personnel at the other office will be able to help.

4. If this doesn't work, call your homestudy agency or, if local, your placement agency. Many good agencies have excellent contacts in places like the SSA, the USCIS, and the Passport agency, and can troubleshoot problems for their clients. You may even find that your agency has already heard similar complaints before, and has resolved them.

5. If your homestudy or placement agency (regardless of where located) does not have good contacts, check to see whether it is a member of the Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS). If it is, ask your agency's Executive Director or other senior staffer to contact JCICS and ask it to help troubleshoot a problem. JCICS is a renowned adoption advocacy
group, and the largest membership association of international adoption agencies in the world. It has excellent contacts in various branches of government, as well as elsewhere. Do not call JCICS directly, as it does not have the staffing to allow it to troubleshoot problems for individuals or non-member agencies. It does a great job of helping member agencies solve problems, however.

6. If JCICS can't help, then by all means call your Representative or Senator, especially if he/she is a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. While it isn't a good idea to bother these people unnecessarily, they ARE there to help constituents who have tried every other possible way
to solve a problem.

Sharon__________________