[kzwief]

I'm confused about the post-adoption paperwork. Does this stuff EVER end?

Should I get a Social Security card BEFORE Kate's name is changed or after? That just isn't clear to me.

[avoel]

Depends how long it will take you to do the name change. If it is quick, you can wait. But you will need a SS# for tax purposes soon, so you may want to go ahead and get the number in her current name and then go back to the SS office and change her name once you get the name change documents later.

[Aveasmom]

I have been waiting for the name change for 8 weeks so far. I did not get a SS# yet because of that. Wow I never thought about tax reasons. I wonder when we would have to have it done by. I am going to call the accountant, he should know. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a SS#? I hope this all doesn't have to be done by the end of the year!!!

[kzwief]

Originally Posted by avoel

Depends how long it will take you to do the name change. If it is quick, you can wait. But you will need a SS# for tax purposes soon, so you may want to go ahead and get the number in her current name and then go back to the SS office and change her name once you get the name change documents later.

Just an FYI...you DO NOT need a SSN for Taxes. You just need an AITN Number...

Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number

[mevertin]

I applied for my little guy's S.S# last Tuesday and got the card this past Weds. so eight days. We did his readoption first and had the name change and the new state birth certificate when I applied. When we get his COC I will have to go back and change his status to "citizen".
Mary
mom to Bobby 11, Bridget 10, Angela 8, Eddie 4 (home from Guatemala in 2005) and Naldo 18 months (home since Feb.)

[cbmstephanie]

Both of our girls ss#'s have taken less than 2 weeks to get.

The thing with SS#'s is to be wary of the office you go to. Some will put you thru the test. They will tell you that you can't get it, they will tell you that you must do this or that....if they give you any guff, ask to speak to their manager.

At our office, the lady asked for the final adoption decree...I gave her the spanish version...she looked at it...acted like she was reading it, even though I knew she wasn't ....then acted like she was writing down pertinent info. She was just writing down page numbers...like that meant anything!! She didn't know what she was doing, but it was OK, I filled out the paperwork and I received the SS card in the mail a week to 10 days later.

[sak9645]

Personally, I would get one immediately in the name your child now has, and then return later to have it reissued in the new name. It's free, however you do it.

You need a SSN for purposes such as taxes and, often, your health insurance. So just wander on down to the SS office with your child's foreign birth certificate, foreign adoption decree, and foreign passport, plus some ID for yourself (such as your own passport). Fill out a simple form and wait your turn. When the clerk calls on you, he/she will photocopy your paperwork and return originals to you. He/she will often give you the NUMBER that very day, and the card will usually arrive by mail in a couple of weeks.

If you have to do taxes before completing a name change, it's no big deal. Just put your child's foreign name with the U.S. one in parentheses (or vice versa) on the tax form. It's the SSN that's important.

When you do a readoption, be sure to have your attorney request that the judge's order include a legal name change. If you do a recognition, instead of a readoption, you can't do a legal name change that way; you'll have to find out the general process in your state for doing a name change and go with that. Then bring the judge's readoption/name change order or the simple name change order back to Social Security and fill out a name change form. The clerk will photocopy your proof and hand it back to you, and you will get a new card in the mail in a couple of weeks, with the correct name.

Now, be aware that, if you do not show a certificate of citizenship or a U.S. passport for your child at the SS office, your child will be listed in SS records as a resident alien, even if he/she is a citizen. But that is no big deal.

Once you readopt or do a recognition (if your child came home on an IR-4), obtain a passport or COC for him/her. Then just take it down to the SS office and fill out a status change form. Show the passport or COC to the clerk, who will change your child's status in the SS records. You may or may not get a new card in the mail.

Do remember that getting a SSN is free, and changing information on an SSN is free. Also remember that your child's SSN does not change when you do a name change or status change. So there's really no huge issue with getting the card early and then changing it. It may be a minor inconvenience to make a second trip, but most people live within a fairly easy drive of a SS office.

Sharon

[ana-mom]

We got numbers for both our girls before re-adoption/name change. We weren't certain how long the re-adoption would take and it seems a SSN is required for just about everything these days.

It was a good decision for us since we decided to wait and do Ana's name change concurrent with J's.

[cborsa7]

Stephanie is 100% correct. It will depend on who you get at the local office. In our case we were refused the SS# because we had changed our son's name and not the C of C yet. They would not except any of the documents with the original name and we had no proof the new name would now be considered a citizen. We eventually went to USCIS and our local congressman to receive a number in his original name and it took several weeks and many hours. Social security was NO HELP as we were told it is up to the local office. ALSO, remember to do everything you need before applying for new C of C, it takes forever, and once you apply you will need to send the certificate back. Good luck!

[DPline]

Technically our children do not qualify for an ATIN. Yes, I know some people are able to get them, but our children, regardless of visa type, qualify for a SS# from the day they land in the US and do not meet all of the qualifications for an ATIN.

Some SSA offices are much better than others. Just like any govt. agency. Some know what they are doing and some don't.

If you do a search for Sak9645's user name and Social Security she has an excellent post about all the crazy things that people have been told by SSA and why they are wrong. So you can go in knowing exactly what your child's rights are.

We got numbers for both of our children within days of the time they came home as we needed it for insurance and to set up bank accounts/college funds. Then went back when their name changes were complete 6 months or so later.

Good luck!

edited to add: Check out Sharon's post (#3) on this thread. Lots of great info. What do we need for social security card

[sfalone]

Kim,

I second not getting the AITN number. I had a girl from our local group try to get one and was not able to and had alot of problmes with the tax return.

Get Kate's SS# now before the name chnage. That is what we did with Marco. I then went back and changed his name on the SScard and it was very easty to do.

Stacy

[acesmommy]

Kim, I have heard if one SS office gives you trouble, pack up all your papers and go to another one.
We had a great experience at our SS office. They gave us no trouble. We also did Ace's before his name change. When we got the official court papers I just brought them over and within 4 min we were done.
I also agree with Debbie about the ATIN#. Our kids do not qualify for them b/c they qualify for a SS#. You will have a lot less trouble when you prepare your taxes if you have her SS#.
Hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[cborsa7]

Just chiming in on the ATIN. When we were being denied our SS# we checked into this and in fact everyone is correct, we could not get one, but, I know people have. Yet just another thing that is not consistent with the process. Great advice if you have trouble, pack it up and hit another office, just make sure it is before they enter your info in the system. We were unable to do this because we submitted the form to this office first. I would think you should have no trouble if the name is the same on all docs including C of C.

[sak9645]

Thanks for the comment about the "crazy" things people have been told at Social Security. I'm reprinting them here, along with why they are wrong.

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. 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 twice. The SSA has NOTHING to do with immunizations, and the request is a total invasion of privacy, and probably illegal.

Sharon