Applying for SSN in U.S.A with FNU or LNU

Most people are elated once their U.S VISA is approved. Why should they not be? They are traveling to the Land of Opportunities, the Land of Possibilities. Living in the U.S is a dream for many people across the world. For some it is the freedom which the land offers and for some it is the money, while some may want to live here for the overall experience. Most people have a hassle free experience while staying in the US. However, some not-so-fortunate immigrants face lot of challenges due to mismatch of names in their VISA and Passport. The most common problem is FNU or LNU.

FNU aka First Name Unknown or LNU aka Last Name Unknown are those people who have FNU/LNU stamped in their US VISA when either First Name or Given Name is blank in the Passport as both First Name and Last Name are mandatory for the US VISA. This will not pose a problem for those on short visit. However, for those intending to stay longer, their names in VISA is the beginning of all the problems. One may wonder why this is a problem when you have entered the country legally with a valid VISA. This is due to mismatch of names in PASSPORT and VISA. More often than not you may be addressed as "FNU" or "LNU".

If your name in the Passport for example is just "ABC" (First Name/Given Name), then the name in the VISA will be stamped as "FNU ABC" or "ABC LNU" indicating no first name or no Last Name. Due to this mismatch of names in the documents, applying for Social Security Number (SSN) and having it approved is a very big challenge. Hence many applicants end up waiting for several months or even have their SSN applications rejected several times in spite of furnishing all the necessary documents. It is not impossible to get SSN with FNU/LNU in VISA, however it is quite a challenge.

Many articles/posts/people suggest having the name split in the Passport or change the names in the Passport for the sake of getting an SSN and all other documents. It is best to have your name corrected in the Passport when in your Home country. However, you need not fret if you are already in U.S.A with this problem. Having faced the same problem and overcome it, I have found an easy way to have the SSN approved in short time without any additional expense or changing name in the Passport.

Once you have your SSN application submitted, your local SSA office may issue a letter indicating that your SSN may take up to 4 weeks against normal 2 Weeks. The letter would also mention that the application has been sent to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for clearance. This is the first yellow flag that there has been a problem with your SSN application due to the details provided. You can ask the SSA officer to elaborate.

Immigration details at the port of Entry are saved in an USCIS application called SAVE, which is the Central application used by all Federal/State Government agencies for Immigrants verification including Social Security Office.
The status of every verification inquiry sent to SAVE application can be checked on the USCIS website - https://www.uscis.gov/save/casecheck

You just need one of the following valid IDs to check the SAVE Case details.

• Verification Case Number
• Alien/USCIS Number
• I-94 Number
• Citizenship Certificate Number
• Naturalization Number
• SEVIS Id
• Passport

Once you submit the form with valid ID details, you will see the SAVE CASE details as below.

In case you see a tick mark against the inquiry from Social Security Application, It means that verification was successful and your SSN will be approved. If you see a clock which indicates Case Under Review against the SSA inquiry, then it means that there was a problem during verification of your Social Security Application with DHS. In such a scenario, the local SSA office where the SSN application was submitted needs to forward additional documents to DHS. Whenever this happens, the SSN may get delayed or rejected as SSA office only waits for 4 weeks for clearance from DHS before rejecting the application. In case you do not see the Case being approved on SAVE even after 2 weeks of submission of the SSN application, you can call the SAVE office for manual verification of the same. You will need the SAVE Case Verification number pertaining to your SSN case for manual verification. This can be obtained by clicking on View Case button on the form above. The DHS officer will ask some basic details on the submitted documents to verify the applicant and will clear the application on SAVE, post which your SSN application will be approved.

SAVE Office Contact Details :  +1 888-897-7781 , then Select Language : English/Spanish--> Provide Case Verification number or select I don't know or Dial * --> Dial (1) or Say Contest --> DHS or Dial 1--> Speak to a Representative

Speak to DHS officer and provide SAVE Case Verification number and any other details as requested. Mention that you are calling as your SSN application is not approved and request them to clear your case. Once your case is approved on SAVE, you will receive your SSN via mail in approximately 2 weeks.

Note : SAVE Office number is the same number as I-9 verification number for Employees. Please check the link https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/about-form-i-9/e-verify-and-form-i-9 for the latest number.

Hope this article helped. Please leave your comments if this post helped you and want to see more such posts.

Disclaimer: The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only, and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through, this Post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.