[jamilahlashwe]

I know I've asked about this before but I am getting conflicting information from my local SS office ....
Do you NEED the COC? Is passport with the "I-551 evidencing permanent residency for 1 year" enough? All of our adoption docs and the BC are in Spanish - do you need official translations or what?

I am not an US citizen and I had no problem applying and getting SS# when I got to the country, why is it so difficult for our adopted kids?

Thanks so much!

Jamila

[becky]

An permanent resident can get a social security number. If you want your child to be listed as a US citizen, then they are going to want to see a C of C. The readoption paperwork, the stamp in the passport...none of that is enough. The C of C is what they will want...

[JoelPapi]

It's been a few years since I got our son's SS card. He came on an IR 3 visa and I ran into a clerk who said that we wouldn't be able to get a SS card since we did not have a US Birth Certificate. I bit my toungue and didn't point out to her that she and I were probably the only ones that had a birth certificate from the US in the entire office.

Be persistent, check the SS web site and make sure you have all the documents. If someone gives you a hard time ask to speak with their superior because there is a chance they may not know what they are talking about.

[Tammy2005]

We needed the final decree also, we brought all our paper work with us and they looked at what they needed, and we had her SS card in the mail the next week. And as stated above, yes you do need the COC so the child will be listed as an american citizen and not as a legal resisdent. Good luck, Also we had our paper work in spanish and english, i`m not sure if you will have to have it translated to english. Tammy

[DPline]

You do not need a COC to get a social security number. If you do not have one (a COC) your child will be listed as a permanant resident and not a citizen, but you can still get the number. And then you can go back later when you get the COC and have their status changed.

Here is a great post written by Forum member Sak9645 that tells all about what you need to get a SS#. And also all the misinformation given out by some Social Security offices.



It doesn't matter whether your child comes home on an IR-3 or IR-4 visa. You can get a SSN for your child as early as the day after you arrive in the U.S. with him/her.

Just wander down to the SS office with your child's foreign birth certificate, foreign adoption decree, and foreign passport, as well as with some identification for you. IF you have obtained a readoption decree/legal name change, state certificate of foreign birth, certificate of citizenship, or U.S. passport for your child, bring those items along, too; however, you do NOT need them just to get a number.

Fill out a form for getting a SSN. The number is immaterial; the forms will be in plain sight at the office.

Wait your turn and give the materials to the SS clerk. He/she will photocopy your documents and give them back to you. He/she will assign you an SSN -- you can usually get it on the spot -- and a card will be mailed to you in a few 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. Your cleaning woman or lawn service guy probably has one, even if he/she is not a citizen. 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.

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 it is 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.