Assistantship without Social Security Number

[Casper14]

Hi all

I am applying for grad school admission Fall 2013. In order to fund my studies, I would have to get

a TA/RA position. Even though I am a US citizen, I have lived outside of the US for most of my life, and

therefore I do not have a social security number. According to the SSA website, I would have to go to their office in person to get one. Naturally, it is not a viable option for me to fly to the US to get a SSN

before I know that I am admitted somewhere.

Therefore my question: is it possible to apply for a TA/RA position without having a SSN? i could always get a SSN once I arrive in the US, but I want to make sure that my lack of one won't keep me from being considered for these positions.

Thanks!

[kka34]

It won't keep you from being considered for TA/RA positions. There are many others that don't have an SSN when applying, like international students (me). However you will be required to provide an SSN before the payroll can process your stipend, otherwise you'll get your cheque a month late. At my university, the deadline for submitting this was about 3 weeks before school starts.

[Casper14]

It won't keep you from being considered for TA/RA positions. There are many others that don't have an SSN when applying, like international students (me). However you will be required to provide an SSN before the payroll can process your stipend, otherwise you'll get your cheque a month late. At my university, the deadline for submitting this was about 3 weeks before school starts.

Thanks for your reply! That clears things up a bit. So the implication of this is that I will have to be in the US at least a month before classes start so that I can apply and get a SSN before the 3-weeks before classes deadline?

[Ennue]

It depends on the university I think. Getting an SSN can take a while, but at my university it's enough to initially have the receipt showing that you applied for one, afaik. Then as soon as you get the actual SSN you have to show it to payroll. I think you have to get the paperwork sorted before your appointment starts, which is one week before classes starts.

However, I think arriving about a month before classes start is a good idea in general, there will be introduction activities and that way you could get used to the lay of the land before starting classes!

[TakeruK]

I just recently got my SSN (as a non-citizen). According to the International Student Program here, International students need to already have a job lined up before you can get a SSN -- in fact, we can not apply until we have been in the US for at least 7 days and we can only apply within 30 days of the first day of work. You also need a letter from your school to support your application. My school informed me that I would not get paid until they have a SSN.

For US citizens, I am guessing you can apply anytime (in person). In any case, the turnover time is 10 business days, although if you really really need the number you can return in person after 5 business days. I got my card in about 6-7 days. In any case, this is something you don't have to worry about until you've already started/arrived, as far as I know. Even in Canada, when I apply for jobs, I always leave the SIN (our version of SSN) field blank until they actually hire me -- you don't usually need those things to just apply.

[fuzzylogician]

As far as I know it should be possible for you to apply for a SSN at the US embassy where you currently live. Check out the embassy website or contact them to find out the details. Here is the information for the US embassy in the London: http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/faqs/faq_fbu_ssn.html