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THE
FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS ARE FROM THE US SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION AND IS THE INFORMATION BEING CIRCULATED TO ALL THE
SSA OFFICES REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NEW SSA RULE THAT
ALL F-1 STUDENTS MUST HAVE OFFERS OF EMPLOYMENT PRIOR TO SECURING A
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.
Dear Colleague:
I want to inform you of changes that the Social
Security Administration (SSA) is making in assigning Social Security
numbers and replacing Social Security cards, specifically for F-1
foreign students. Also, I would like to ask your help in providing
the necessary documentation to foreign students, and in referring to
SSA only those students who have, or have been offered, jobs on
campus or who are authorized for certain off-campus employment, as
permitted under Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations.
The integrity of Social Security numbers is of
great importance. Concerns about national security, along with the
growing problem of identity theft, have caused us to accelerate
efforts to protect the integrity of the Social Security number (SSN).
Changes That Affect F-1 Foreign Students
- SSA is verifying documents from all F-1
students, and
- F-1 students seeking SSNs for on-campus
work are required to provide documentation that they have
(or have been offered) an on-campus job, and to provide
verification of that employment.
Verifying Status
When a noncitizen requests an SSN, we now
verify the immigration documents before assigning a Social Security
number. We receive immediate online verification from DHS in most
cases. However, if verification is not available online, DHS will
check the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to
verify the status of international students. Successful
verification is dependent on the school’s registering or
“activating” their students timely in SEVIS. Verifying student
status utilizing SEVIS results in faster processing of SSN
applications while still continuing to ensure that only those
noncitizens who meet the requirements for receiving SSNs get them.
On-Campus Employment
An F-1 student requesting an SSN for on-campus
employment must now prove he or she has (or has been offered) an
on-campus job, and must show evidence of that employment or an
SSN will not be assigned. This is in addition to providing
evidence of age, identity, a SEVIS-generated Form I-20 A-B,
Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status,
and a current Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, showing
F-1 nonimmigrant status.
The following two documents are
required as evidence of F-1 student on-campus employment only
(it is not a requirement for F-1 students for curricular practical
training (CPT) or those students who have an employment
authorization document (EAD) from DHS):
- A letter – typed or handwritten – on
school letterhead from the designated school official (DSO) that
identifies the:
·
Student by name,
·
On-campus employer (e.g., book store, cafeteria,
biology department, library),
and
·
Nature of the on-campus employment (e.g., waiting
tables in the cafeteria, stocking shelves in the library, monitoring
lab experiments, receiving a scholarship or reduced tuition fees in
exchange for teaching or other services, etc.).
This letter must
include the DSO’s original signature, printed/typed name, telephone
number and date. The letter can be a form letter (see enclosure 1)
as long as the identifying information about the specific student,
the student’s employer and type of employment, and the DSO signature
are original entries by the DSO. SSA cannot accept a
letter that does not have an original DSO signature or that lists
more than one student.
In lieu of this
separate letter, a DSO may sign off on the information provided in
the letter from the employer (explained below). The sign-off must
contain the DSO’s signature, printed name, telephone number and
date.
- A recently issued pay slip or pay stub
from the F-1 student’s employer. If the student does not have a
pay slip or stub, the student must provide a letter from the
employer on the employer’s letterhead that provides employment
verification, namely:
·
Identity of student employee
·
Nature of job the student is, or will be, engaged in
·
Anticipated or actual employment start date
·
Number of hours the student is expected to work
·
Employer identification number (EIN)
·
Employer contact information, including the telephone
number and the name of the F-1 student’s immediate supervisor
·
Original signature and signatory’s title
·
Date
A sample letter is attached for your
convenience (see enclosure 2). If the employer is the DSO, the
letter verifying employment must come from a separate source, e.g.,
the department or payroll official that issues the paycheck and is
responsible for wage reporting.
Please note: All documents must
be originals. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of
documents.
Referring F-1 and M-1 Students to SSA
We ask that you refer to a Social Security
office to apply for Social Security numbers only F-1 students who
have or have been offered on-campus jobs, or are authorized for
certain off-campus employment, as permitted under DHS regulations.
Also, any F-1 student authorized for CPT should have the employment
page (page 3) of Form I-20 A-B completed. Any F-1 student
authorized for other off-campus work, including optional practical
training (OPT), must have an EAD from DHS. M-1 foreign students may
only work, if authorized, in OPT and must have an EAD.
F-1 and M-1 Border Commuter Students
F-1 border commuter students who are nationals
of Mexico or Canada may work, if authorized, in CPT or OPT. For CPT,
the employment page (page 3) of the Form I-20 A-B must be completed
by the DSO. For OPT, an EAD is required. M-1 border commuter
students may only work, if authorized, in OPT and must have an EAD.
Working While Awaiting an SSN
An F-1 or M-1 student may work while the Social
Security number application is being processed. Employers may wish
to reference SSA’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
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/employer/hiring.htm .
Also, employers are required to abide by
Federal and State laws with respect to the payment of wages to
employees who have completed the agreed-to amount of work. See the
U.S. Department of Labor website that discusses the basic
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/screen5.asp Also, different
States have different payday requirements. A comprehensive list can
be found on the Department of Labor’s web site at:
http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/payday.htm. We
strongly recommend that an employer and/or their payroll or HR
departments check Federal and State labor laws and their own legal
counsel before withholding wages from their employees. 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.
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