Understand Enumeration at Entry

This channel connects information collected during immigrant-visa processing with SSA after admission to the United States. It is often called Enumeration at Entry. The initial request is made in the immigration process rather than through a separate visit to SSA.

It is a specific route for qualifying immigrant-visa applicants, not a rule that every person entering the country automatically receives an SSN. Students and other nonimmigrant visitors should check the guidance for their own circumstances.

Check your request and consent

SSA explains that the applicant must request the SSN/card and authorize the relevant information sharing. Review your own application information to establish whether you selected that request. Do not assume that obtaining a visa alone means an SSN request was included.

Use the Department of State's current application instructions for the actual form and screens. Some SSA explanatory material retains historical form names and agency terminology; this guide does not use those older references as current form-completion directions.

Verify the intended mailing destination

The card is mailed using the address provided through the immigrant-visa process. Before relying on that delivery, check the information you supplied and follow the relevant agency's instructions if it needs correction. Do not send an address correction or passport copy to this directory.

If you already had an SSN, disclose that history through the official application process. A card request should not be treated as permission to obtain an unrelated second number.

Use the route-specific follow-up

SSA's immigrant-visa instructions say to contact a Social Security office or Card Center if the card has not arrived within three weeks of admission. Explain that you requested it through the immigrant-visa route. Follow current appointment instructions before an in-person visit.

SSA may need evidence of age, identity and employment-authorized immigration status to resolve the request. The three-week follow-up reference is not a guarantee that every application is approved or delivered within that period.

Distinguish an application made inside the United States

Requests linked to USCIS work-permit, permanent-residence or naturalization applications use another process, commonly called Enumeration Beyond Entry. Its follow-up begins from different events. Use that guide if you requested the card on a USCIS application rather than in immigrant-visa processing.

SSA does not charge to assign the number or issue the card. Keep questions about visa eligibility with the relevant government agency.

Common questions

Is this the same as applying through Form I-765?

No. A request through a USCIS application inside the United States is a separate channel with different starting and follow-up events.

Should I immediately file a second request when I arrive?

First establish whether an SSN request is already being processed through the immigrant-visa route. Use SSA's timing guidance and ask SSA how to proceed if the card is overdue.

Related guides

Official sources

Source pages reviewed November 2, 2026. How this guidance is reviewed. Guidance and eligibility can change. Follow the live official service instructions for your circumstances.