Off to the local Social Security Administration office to try to get a replacement Social Security card, hopefully this won't take too long....
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Big Government in Action
11 Oct 2007 12:46 pm
Comments (17)
You have to go in to the office? It can't be done on-line or on the phone?
Re: You have to go in to the office? It can't be done on-line or on the phone?
No, you have to show ID to prove you are who you say you are (a drivers license generally suffices). They don't want ID thieves getting hold of other people's SS cards by being to order them online.
You probably should bring a book to read. Something you can finish off while waiting. How about War and Peace?
I got a new social security card by mail, I just had to mail them a couple photocopied forms of id, and my birth certificate.
they should make new ones that are washing machine resistant.
Come back soon Matthew Yglesias....if that's your real name.
I did the same thing in DC about a year ago. It was amazingly quick and painless. I was quite surprised & complimented the office on it.
I think your "in Action" in the headline of this post was misspelled; it should be one word.
Excuse my ignorance, but if you know your number when do you ever need the actual card? I can't think of a single time in over 30 years on this earth, including over 10 working and travelling professionally that I have ever had to produce one. In fact, I probably have no idea where mine even is.
It is generally advised that the SS card not, repeat not be carried in ones wallet or purse but kept in a safe place.
I've had the same SS card for 25 years (I'm shocked that it's still in one piece), but I've never been required to produce it.
I think it might be useful when completing an I-9 form for employment, but other documents will also do the trick.
"I think it might be useful when completing an I-9 form for employment, but other documents will also do the trick."
You need some way to provide proof of eligibility to work. ID + SS Card does it, but you could provide a birth certificate as well (provided you were born in the US). If you have a US passport then that's all that is needed.
Last time I had to get a SS card, since I didn't have a birth certificate or a passport at the time. It only took about 15 minutes at the office and a few days later it came in the mail.
Jordan, I'm curious: If you don't have a birth certificate or passport, how do you prove that you are who you say you are? What I'm really curious about is, how do you prove that you're not an illegal immigrant? [I mean "you" in a nonpersonal sense, of course :> ]
I just went to the SSA in downtown Joliet, IL to replace my long missing card. My new employer insisted on seeing it.
It was pretty simple and painless, if you don't count the 2 hour wait.
The 6 free parking spaces in front of the office could in no way accomodate the 50 or so people in the wating area. I was lucky: got one of the six spots.
Major pain, but I would not want someone to get a duplicate of my card by lifting a bit of information and applying for one over the internet.
(Because of the whole 'compositional' nature of the strategy, I hesitate to detail it to the vast Yglesias readership, but here goes...)
The last time I had to renew my driver's licence, I made the appointment for a time when there wouldn't be much going on at work, the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving. When I got to the (Long Beach, CA) DMV office, it was just about deserted. I bet I was in and out of there in 15 minutes.
And it makes sense, if you think about it. Everybody is already on their way to grandma's house, or hurrying home to pick up the kids to get started on going to grandma's house, so nobody is going to the DMV. But the DMV workers, being government emloyees, can't just split early like the rest of us; they're stuck there until 5 PM.
I bet if Matt had held off on this chore until the day before Thanksgiving, he would have been done in no time.
Don't be a neonate "you are a grown up now. Just fill out the configuration and get your card. Whay don't you call someone, many they will procure it for you! Don't be so indolent! I was a construction worker. I had to use my card all of the time. There are many reasons for the card. It's for your own aegis and hopfully it will stop the illicit immiggrants and I'm not just parleying about mexicans.
Comments closed October 25, 2007.
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Heads in the Sand
Huh, actually, that's an angle to DC voting representation I hadn't thought about. If they give you a hard time, and you sic Eleanor Homes Norton's constituent service reps on them, does she have enough pull for them to particularly care?
Posted by Senescent | October 11, 2007 1:00 PM