How to apply for a social security card for your child

One of the many paperwork tasks facing the parent of a newly arrived adopted child is to apply for the child’s social security card. You will need a social security number or an ATIN (alternative tax identification number) to claim your child for taxes.

To get the social security number you will need to go to your local social security office and bring the following documents

-parents’ birth certificates
-Ethiopian adoption decree
-child’s green card

If you have legally completed your child’s readoption in the U.S., you should bring that court decree as well. I have always waited until we readopted in the U.S. to apply for our children’s social security numbers, so that I could show the U.S. adoption decree. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000, effective February 27, 2001 grants an adopted child, immigrating to the United States, “automatic” citizenship, and the U.S. adoption decree is proof of that status.

However, recently I have learned that the U.S. adoption decree is not enough proof in the eyes of some social security offices. If you do not show either your child’s passport or your child’s certificate of citizenship, then your child’s social security number may be flagged with an “A” after the number.

This “A” (alien) designation does not show up on the actual social security card, just on the social security records. The problem with this is that if the A remains on your child’s records, it makes your child ineligible for social security benefits as an adult.

It seems that in the case of adopted children the ‘A’ designation is handled in an inconsistent way across the U.S. Some social security offices do it and some don’t. If you did not show either a passport or a certificate of citizenship when you got your child’s social security number, you would be wise to investigate your child’s status.

Go to your social security office with either the passport or the certificate of citizenship (remember, only two weeks til the fees increase!) and make sure that your child’s social security number does not have the ‘A’ designation after it for life. If in fact your child’s ‘A’ designation does need to be removed, they will be able to do that without changing your child’s social security number. For the sake of your child, don’t neglect this. After all, once adopted by you, your child IS a citizen, and should be entitled to all the benefits that come with that privilege.

Related Link
SSA: How to prove citizenship for an adopted child

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