SSN delays? Anyway to speed it up?

I got a TN Visa on March 9 and applied for a SSN the next day in California. I got a letter with a reference number saying they will verify my information and mail it to me. Today, I called the SSA where I applied to check on the status and he said he would authorize right then and there if he could see me in the INS system (?). Apparently I am not in the system yet. Does it normally take 3 weeks for the USICS system to update the SSA system? Is there anyone I can call at USICS to verify that my information was entered? We are trying to get a mortgage and this is really hampering our efforts.

It takes on average, a minimum of 10 days to 'appear' in the system, and there've been posters on here mentioning a wait of 3 weeks or longer.

Not much you can do unfortunately to speed it up. It takes a while for the paperwork to get sorted thru all the umpteen departments at USCIS it needs to go thru before the SSA will be able to have access to it.

Good luck speeding that up. I applied for my SSN one day after getting my TN and it tooks 6 weeks to arrive. Any time I called they wouldn't give me any information and I highly doubt they'll give you your SSN over the phone. Your employer can pay you out of accounts payable if their payroll system won't process anything without a SSN.

Good luck speeding that up. I applied for my SSN one day after getting my TN and it tooks 6 weeks to arrive. Any time I called they wouldn't give me any information and I highly doubt they'll give you your SSN over the phone. Your employer can pay you out of accounts payable if their payroll system won't process anything without a SSN.

What a wonderful system. Like in the stoneage!

Thanks for the replies. The Social Securtiy office I am dealing with is actually really good. He suggested calling weekly and getting them to check the system again. The only problem is that I am on hold for about an hour before I get someone.

We are trying to get a mortgage and this is really hampering our efforts.

I assume your wife is with you on TD. She cannot get an SSN so she can file a W-7 and get an ITIN instead. There's a remote chance that might show up faster than the SSN. I assume she needs to open a bank account so that means she can check box "a" on the form, in order to have an ITIN to put down on the W-8BEN when she opens an account (the reason I'm telling you this is because all the other methods take much longer to get an ITIN).

Once she has an ITIN then it can be used for anything else except employment, pretty much.

Thanks Steve. My wife is American and has had a SSN all her life. She stays home with the kids so no valid income to qualify. Its all on me... The bank account is not an issue. Its the actual mortgage app... According to the bank, we are a dream customer. Conventional mortgage app, lots of available cash, no debt, and a some tranfersable credit (American Express). The only thing left is the blasted SSN for the app. They even tried taking my application letter and a copy of my visa but it didn't fly.

You're going to have problems if your wife is a US citizen and you're in a non-immigrant category. Both with immigration and taxes. Legally you should be in an immigrant category that she sponsored you for, if you got married while you were on TN-1 she can file for AOS for you.

I moved here on Nov 3rd, and applied on Nov 16th. Corp lawyer told me to wait for 10 days before applying. It's been 6 weeks since I moved here. So I visited the SSA office today and they said, that homeland security has not updated the the SSA database. Is there a way that I can contact homeland security regarding this?

Ed