Category: SSA

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has added a new section to its Program Operations Manual System (POMS) providing instructions for obtaining legal opinions on the validity of foreign same-sex marriages in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor. The new POMS instructions include policy, process, and procedures for processing same-sex marriage… Read More

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced an E-Verify effort to combat identity fraud by identifying and deterring fraudulent use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) for employment eligibility verification. USCIS explained that an employer, for example, may enter information into E-Verify that appears valid, such as a matching name, date of birth, and SSN,… Read More

The Social Security Administration has updated its Program Operations Manual System (POMS), effective April 30, 2013, adding “admission stamp in unexpired foreign passport” to its list of acceptable primary evidence of identity. The updated SSA information, “List of Documents in Priority of Acceptability for Use as Evidence of Identity,” says that this is considered a… Read More

The Social Security Administration recently released guidance to staff, effective May 21, 2012, on employment authorization for nonimmigrants with respect to Social Security issues. Topics discussed include the policy for nonimmigrant employment authorization, evidence proving a nonimmigrant’s employment authorization, the validity period, automatic extensions of employment authorization documents (EADs), nonimmigrants with automatic EAD extensions, the… Read More

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report (PDF) in September on H-1B workers’ use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) that could result in more close monitoring of status violations by H-1B workers and potential liability for H-1B employers. Based on the results of the review, the OIG estimated that… Read More