Asylees to Receive Unrestricted Social Security Cards

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

IRCA Employment Verification and
Antidiscrimination Protections

ASYLEES TO RECEIVE UNRESTRICTED SOCIAL SECURITY CARDS
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 15, No. 3, May 10, 2001

A change in the Social Security Administration's (SSA's) policy will result in aylees being able to get jobs faster and to participate fully in the Office of Refugee Resettlement's (ORR's) programs, since they will now be eligible for an unrestricted Social Security card without the notation "Valid For Work Only With INS Authorization." The new SSA policy comes as a result of the Immigration and Naturalization Service clarifying that individuals granted asylum have permanent work authorization by virtue of their asylee status and that the SSA should treat them as permanent residents for purposes of issuing Social Security numbers (SSNs). Asylees will no longer need to apply for an employment authorization document (EAD) before applying for their Social Security card and will therefore not be affected by the INS's delays in issuing work permits.

To apply for an unrestricted Social Security card, an asylee must fill out an application (SSA Form SS-5) for an original or replacement card and provide proof of his or her asylee status. An asylee can present any of the following documents: (1) an I-94, which may or may not bear the annotation "Employment Authorized"; (2) an EAD (either Form I-688B showing "274A.12(a)(5)" on the face of the card under the heading "Provision of Law" or Form I-766 showing "A5" on the face of the card under the heading "Category"); or (3) an order from an immigration judge granting the individual asylum. The SSA should accept an order granting asylum if the INS has waived its right to appeal the order. However, if the order states that the INS has reserved its appeal rights but more than 30 days have passed since the person was granted asylum, the INS must accept the order as proof of asylee status and should call the Executive Office for Immigration Review to confirm that the INS did not appeal.

The policy also instructs SSA employees to use the INS's SAVE (immigration status verification) system to verify with the INS that an individual applying for an SSN has indeed been granted asylum. If the immigration document is the only documentation the asylee has, the SSA should accept this and not request further identification even if this is the only evidence of the person's age. If, however, the asylee does have another document in addition to the immigration document he or she presented, the SSA must request that he or she submit it. The ORR encourages those asylees who do not have any other forms of identification in the U.S. to apply for an EAD, although now this does not need to be done prior to applying for an SSN.

Asylees who currently have a restricted Social Security card can go into a local SSA office to apply for a replacement card without the restriction. The ORR recommends that asylees bring a copy of the new SSA policy instruction with them when applying for an unrestricted SSN. This new policy applies only to individuals already granted asylum, not to those applying for asylum or awaiting a decision. The new policy went into effect Apr. 4, 2001.