Taxes, SSN & Financial Resources
- Taxes
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
- Money & Banking
- Scholarships, Fellowships, & Grants
- Emergency Funding
If you are authorized to engage in paid employment, your employer will request your Social Security Number (SSN). You will need an authorization letter from International Students & Programs Office (ISPO) to apply for your SSN. Review all steps below to understand how to request this authorization letter.
STEP 1 | STEP 2 | STEP 3 | STEP 4 | STEP 5 |
Review this page and eligibility. | Review below how this process may impact your visa status. | Submit a Letter Request (Social Security) in iPortal. | Submit your SSN Application to SSA, and wait to get your SSN in the mail. | Review below additional resources. |
Once you have confirmed eligibility to apply for an SSN, you will need to request a Social Security Administration (SSA) application support letter from ISPO by following instructions on our Verification Documents page.
For more information see the Social Security Administration (SSA) International Students And Social Security Numbers Information Sheet.
If the name listed on your I-94, DS-2019/I-20, or passport do not match one another, or if your name is too long for the SAVE system, the Social Security Officer will not be able to verify your identity using the online system. Instead, the Officer will have to fill out the DHS Form G-845 and the Supplement to the G-845 (if applicable) and manually submit your documents to DHS for verification. This process will take a couple of weeks. If your documents need to be manually verified, you will be given an acknowledgement letter that contains your case reference number. Keep this acknowledgement letter in a safe place as you will need the case reference number to follow up if it has passed the estimated processing time provided by the Officer.
Note: If the Social Security Officer tries to turn you away, saying he or she cannot verify you because your name is too long or because the names on all of your documents do not match due to the character limitations of the different forms, ask to speak to a supervisor! In no situation should they turn you away for these issues, instead they should submit your documents to DHS for a manual verification.
Individuals in F-1 or J-1 visa status are allowed to begin work as soon as their work authorization is valid, even if they do not yet have an SSN.
A valid SSN is not required at the time of hire in order to be put on payroll and to enroll in benefits.
The Social Security Administration has provided the following guidance in a Dear Colleague letter:
"An F-1 or M-1 student may work while the Social Security number application is being processed. Employers may wish to reference Social Security's fact sheet, Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers. This fact sheet contains information on how to report wages for an employee who has not yet received an SSN and is available online at Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers page. There is no provision in the Social Security Act (the Act) that employers must have their employees' SSNs before hiring them. Neither is there any provision in the Act that prohibits an employee from beginning work if he or she has not yet obtained an SSN."
IRS has provided guidance "Delays in Issuing SSNs to Aliens by the Social Security Administration"
"There is no federal law administered by any federal agency which prohibits the hiring of a person based solely on the fact that the person does not have a Social Security Number (SSN). Similarly, there is no federal law which prohibits the making of a payment to a person based solely on the fact that the person does not have an SSN."
IRS's "Employer's Tax Guide" contains the following instruction regarding paperwork filing requirements for employees who have applied for, but not yet received, a Social Security Number:
"If you file Form W-2 on paper and your employee applied for an SSN but does not have one when you must file Form W-2, enter "Applied For" on the form. If you are filing electronically, enter all zeros (000-00-000) in the social security number field. When the employee receives the SSN, file Copy A of Form W-2c, Corrected Wage and Tax Statement, with the SSA to show the employee's SSN. Furnish copies B, C, and 2 of Form W-2c to the employee. Up to five Forms W-2c for each Form W-3c may now be filed per session over the Internet, with no limit on the number of sessions. For more information, visit the SSA's Employer W-2 Filing Instructions & Information webpage at www.socialsecurity.gov/employer. Advise your employee to correct the SSN on his or her original Form W-2. Page 9, Publication 15, Circular E: Employer's Tax Guide".
USCIS's I-9 fact sheet for F-1 students contains the following guidance to students about I-9 validation: