Why Use This Process?

If you apply for a Social Security number (SSN) card when you apply for an immigrant visa, you can save yourself time and worry. If you use this process, you won't have to:

• Find a Social Security office near your new home;

• Go in person to the Social Security office;

• Wait in line;

• Apply for a Social Security number; or

• Wait for the Social Security number card to come in the mail.

Instead, the U.S. government will use the same information that you give to apply for an immigrant visa to apply for an SSN. Then, once you arrive in the U.S., you can expect your SSN card at your mailing address in about 3 weeks.

One less thing to worry about as you settle in your new country!

What Social Security does for workers and their families.

Why you need a Social Security number.