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(CNN Spanish) --
The Social Security number is necessary to work and to receive certain government benefits, so it is important that you know it, that you do not disclose it unnecessarily and that you keep the card in which you receive it in a safe place. it's found.
If you need your number and can't remember it, the most obvious place to look for it is precisely on your card.
If you lost it, you can easily order a replacement.
The number may also be on some other documents, for example tax or bank statements, or even forms you have previously filed with Citizenship and Immigration Services.
You could also consult an employer, since this is precisely the number in which your earnings for your dependent work or self-employment will be registered.
How to obtain the Social Security number and card if you are a citizen?
To apply for a number and card, you must complete an application known as Form SS-5.
You will need to show the Social Security Administration (SSA) documents that prove your US citizenship, your identity and your age (you must have the original documents or copies certified by the agencies that issued them, since the SSA does not accept photocopies or notarized copies).
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The accepted documents are the following:
To prove US citizenship
: A US birth certificate or passport, a naturalization certificate, or a certificate of citizenship.
To prove age:
a birth certificate and, if none exists, a religious record made before your 5th birthday that has your date of birth, your birth record from a US hospital, or your passport.
To prove identity:
you will need a document with your name, information that identifies you and a recent photo preferably.
This can be a driver's license, a state non-driver's card, or a US passport.
If you don't have any of those documents, it could be an employee card, school card, health insurance card, or Army card.
The same document can be used to verify two categories, for example age and identity, but you must provide at least two different documents.
Once you have the application and documents, you can mail them to your local SSA office.
From the age of 12, you must also attend an interview in person (even in the case of minors in which a parent or guardian signs the application on their behalf).
Once the SSA has verified the documentation and has the number, the card will be mailed to you.
How to obtain the card if you are not a citizen?
If you're a citizen or permanent resident, you'll be issued a card that simply has your name and Social Security number.
However, there are two other types of card that can be generated if you are an immigrant without permanent residence and you processed the document.
If you have permission to stay legally on a temporary basis and authorization from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work, you will be issued a card with your name, number, and a statement that says "good for work only." with authorization from DHS.
If you have legal permission to be in the United States, do not have work authorization, but need a Social Security number for a valid government reason, you will be issued a card that has your name, the number, and the notation "not valid for to work".
If you are not an American, there are some changes in the documentation to present.
They will ask you for immigration documents that may be, depending on the case, the permanent resident card (Form l-551, better known as a green card), the work authorization card (form l-766) or the arrival/departure record with a valid foreign passport (form l-94).
To prove your age you need to present a foreign birth certificate or passport and green card or form l-94.
What is the difference between a Green Card and diversity visas in the United States?
How to get the number for your child
The SSA explains that it's a good idea to apply for the number when your child is born, which you can do at the same time you apply for the birth certificate.
In that case, the state agency that issues the birth certificate will share the information with the SSA, which will then send you the card with the number in the mail.
You can also apply later at a Social Security office, where you will be asked to provide documents proving the child's citizenship or immigration status, identity and age, as well as evidence of the relationship between them.
