Social Security Number - Please Help

Hello,
I am new to this forum so I am not 100% sure what to do so please bare with me if I'm posting in the wrong spot.

I recently got my TN Visa and the same day I went to apply for a Social Security Number. When I got there I was told I had to wait until my TN was in the system. Does anyone know how long this is?

Once I apply for the SSN how long does it usually take to be mailed to Canada? I have a friend who lives in the US so I could potentially send it to his place if that would be faster. I have tried calling the SSN offices to find out these answers but have had no luck. It either rings forever or it never connects for some reason.

Last question. Since I have my TN Visa I am able to work correct? My employer keeps pushing back the start date until my SSN arrives. I have never gone through these processes before to work in the US so I am confused and frustrated with everything.

Thank you in advance for your help, it is greatly appreciated

It takes a couple of weeks after crossing the border before your TN is in the SS system. However, you can apply for it now, and the SSA will issue you a reciept indictating that you have applied.

You do not need an SSN to begin work; the reciept is all the employer needs for now -- along with the TN I-94 of course -- to show that he has been diligent in determining that you are legal.

Most employers rather wait, however, as is there right. You may try to educate them.

You should have an address by now, or use the employer if you wish.

The SSA website has clear concise information that will be better than telephone.

Most employers rather wait, however, as is there right.

What is your basis for saying it is "their right"? In practice, of course, it is highly unlikely that someone trying to get a foothold in the USA is going to sue over a delay of a few weeks. But in theory, an employer is supposed to be bound by very tight rules regarding filling out the I-9 and W-4 forms--if the employee is within the law the employer doesn't have much discretion.

Again--if an employee actually threatened a lawsuit the employer would probably find another reason to let them go a few weeks down the road, so I don't advise it (I do advise politely trying to educate them), but theoretically once you have the TN and can prove you have applied for the SSN, you are good to go. You might have to wait for the actual SSN until they can cut you a paycheck, tho, but it should be retroactive to the start date.

no need to remind me of what constitutes legal work authorization, thanks. I've often and long advocated the use of TN alone as sufficent for I-9.

However, the majority of states are right to work states, where the employer is not bound to keep an employee for any reason.

Unlike H1-B, where the employer undertakes to pay a wage under the terms of an LCA beginning and ending on a particular date, there is no such LCA for TN, thus there is no prescibed "starting date" which the employer or employee is bound to.

So, as is the right of the employer, if they wish to delay the start date for whatever reason, they can. This would certainly not be a case of wrongful dismissal or illegal hiring practice. Absent a signed contract -- and a TN letter is NOT a contract -- It would simply be the right of the employer to choose, and later amend an employee's start date, just as it would be the employees right to simply not show up.

However, the majority of states are right to work states, where the employer is not bound to keep an employee for any reason.

Your original statement--that the employer has the right to wait for the actual SSN--may be correct. However the above statement definitely doesn't provide justification for your original claim.

In a "right to work" situation an employer has the right to fire or not hire for no reason or for almost any reason--but there are a few specific reasons that are specifically forbidden. An employer can fire someone, for example, because they are in a bad mood because they got up on the wrong side of the bed--but they can't fire someone because of the color of their skin.

My question--which I don't think has been answered yet--is whether the specific situation of refusing to hire someone with valid work authorization but a pending (not yet issued) SSN falls into one of forbidden categories. This might be considered discrimination on the basis of national origin, which is definitely illegal. But, then again, it might not, because a US citizen without a SSN (perhaps they've lived abroad their whole life) might be in the same situation.

It's possible that it would be very difficult to definitively answer my question, because someone in this situation is unlikely to sue. The required case law may never have been established.

I agree with you that the situation for TN is less clear cut than for H-1B. I know that there have been some lawsuits related to H-1B. Did any of them establish case law that could be applied to TN?

My question--which I don't think has been answered yet--is whether the specific situation of refusing to hire someone with valid work authorization but a pending (not yet issued) SSN falls into one of forbidden categories.

You'll get back to us on that one.....

You'll get back to us on that one.....

How do U of Waterloo co-op students on a first US work term handle this? If the timetables that people on here seem to accept as normal apply in that case, they'd end up spending a big chunk of their work term waiting for an SSN. Is that what happens in practice? I know that Waterloo places co-op students in the USA for work terms so this must be a road that has been well traveled with fewer potholes than people on here seem to encounter sometimes.

I first moved to the USA as a grad student with a research assistantship (which for IRS purposes was an employment relationship). None of this stuff seemed to be a big issue. I was paid using an internal file number in the "SSN" field for the first paycheck or two and then my records were updated once the real SSN was available.

I think this is rarely an issue because if an employer is willing to go through the hassle of writing a letter of support for a TN or to hire an immigrant they also want you working asap. On my first TN the receipt for the SSN was more than enough to get started as well, and I got the actual SSN in only a week - not sure why the wait was so short.