Effective October, 2004, SSA regulations prohibit the issuance of SSNs to student visa holders for non-work purposes. To obtain an SSN, international students must submit the following documentation along with the SSN application:

• Proof of F-1 status (passport, I-94, and I-20)
• Letter on department letterhead with original signature, verifying the on-campus employment offered
• Letter from Office of International Affairs (OIA) further confirming the employment and its appropriateness for the student. OIA must reference the department’s letter in order to issue this letter and will require 24-48 hours to issue the OIA letter.

Please note the following:

• You may hire and pay the student before the SSN is issued. In this case, it is most important that the SSN be reported to Payroll as soon as it is available.
• If you have offered an F-1 student an academic appointment or assistantship, your offer letter will not be sufficient unless it covers all of the information listed in the sample letter.
• For international students who have newly arrived from overseas and are attending the new international student orientation , please provide the student your departmental employment verification letter and advise the student to bring it with them to their immigration check-in appointment.
• The SSA recommends that newly-arrived students wait to apply for the SSN until they have been in the U.S. for 15 days. New students will need to have attended new international student orientation, including the immigration check-in, and have their registration confirmed in the SEVIS system before applying for the SSN.
• For students offered employment at some point after their initial arrival, please provide your departmental employment letter and direct them to OIA to complete the documentation process.