Applying for your Social Security Number
A Social Security number is required to ensure your wages are properly paid. After checking in with GeoVisions, you will need to apply for a Social Security Number. Please note, you should wait ten days before applying for your Social Security Card. Social Security offices are not usually found in smaller cities. To find the office nearest you, visit the following website: Finding a office
To apply for a Social Security card, take the following items when you fill out an application:
The letter you received from GeoVisions Summer Work/Travel to the Social Security Administration
Your DS-2019 Form
Passport with your J-1 Visa
Printed copy of your I-94 Admissions Record
A copy of the letter offering you employment in the United States (your job confirmation form)
Use one of the following addresses on your social security application:
Your address in the United States. Be sure to include your apartment number.
Your employer’s address in the United States
When you apply, make sure you request a temporary certificate (form SSA-5030) from the Social Security Officer. This temporary certificate has no number, but it is proof that you have applied for the card. You may call the Social Security Administration’s toll free number 1-800-772-1213 approximately ten business days after applying for your card in order to find out the status of your application.
You must report your Social Security number to your employer immediately after receiving it. If you leave a place of employment after receiving wages, but before receiving your number, you are still required to report the number to your former employer.
Common Social Security Questions
Why doesn’t Social Security have your information if you have already checked in?
You’ve applied too early. When you complete your Arrival Check-In with GeoVisions, we activate you in SEVIS. We access a database shared by State Department and the Department of Homeland Security. The Social Security Administration does not have “live” access to this site, so information gets downloaded from SEVIS to the Social Security database, and it can take up to TEN days for this to happen.
Your employer is hesitant to hire you before you have received your Social Security Card.
Please have them call us, and we can try to help – 1-888-830-9455. You are allowed to work once you have applied for your SSN. You just need to be sure you have the temporary certificate (form SSA-5030) to show them, as proof of your application. Some employers use Payroll Services that have difficulty issuing paychecks without Social Security numbers. It is one reason you are required to bring at least $800 in funds with you in case you need money while you are waiting to be paid.
You haven’t received your card, but your friends have.
Don’t panic! The Social Security Administration tries to process SSN’s within two weeks of your application, but the process can take much longer than that. The Social Security process differs with each individual application. They sometimes need to run additional checks, or they are just very busy. If you have not received your card after 10 business days, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 to check on its status.