H1 B & SSN Issue - Members & txh1B

[akskap]

Dear Members,

My wife changed her status from H4 to H1 October 1st. She applied for SSN on October 2nd and still waiting. Her employer told her that they can only start paying her from the day she gets her H1B. I have the following questions:

1) Will she be considered out of status if she starts to get paid, example from November 1st onwards. (if she does get her SSN # by then)? Or, the fact that SSN was never received will not make her out of status.

2) She has already joined the company, did 3 week training and starting a new project October 27th. The employer is saying he will start paying her from 27th, if she gets her SSN by then. Otherwise, they are saying they will adjust her payment in subsequent pay periods. Is this okay? Is there anything she needs to be cautious of?

3) She called the SSN office today and was advised that her information was not yet entered in the system, which she said meant that it is still in verification process with USCIS. When can we expect SSN typically from the date of application?

Thank you
Raj

[txh1b]

Having SSN is NOT a requirement to get paid. Where on the I-9 does it state SSN card as required for proof for employment eligibility?

[akskap]

Can you please help me understand better? Are you saying she can get paid without the SSN #? I thought she can only get paid once she has the SSN.

Can she contact her employer and ask them to give her a personal check? or can they put her on payroll without SSN and pay her? I need some clarification on how she can get paid?

I don't know how long the SSN office will take to issue her SSN.

Thank you

[txh1b]

Take a look at the I-9 form. It is a basic form one has to fill to be employed. Check the list of documents needed.

A good HR knows how to handle pay without the SSN number. They create a temporary number and then re-assign it once the SSN is presented. I had worked with the proof of SSA application receipt without SSN and got paid as well from my University.

[C4us]

She should be paid whether she has received her card or not. Does she not have some kind of receipt to show she has applied? The most important time is to have everything posted corrrectly for W2. If earnings are not posted properly, the SS Administration even has ways to check for misplaced taxes; my child's were not correctly posted and they checked that file first (employer and name) before we had to submit copies of W2 to get earnings correctly entered.

If she has been waiting for 3 weeks, she should go by the SS office and speak again to a representative.

It is quite acceptable for her to have a "late" payment. It is not uncommon for people joining a company late in the month to not have end of month paychacks cut with the regular payroll run. Sometime it is a addition to the next paycheck and sometimes a special paycheck. Her checks should reflect the pay period (dates) for which it is wages.

[akskap]

Thanks for all the information. I will talk to the HR tomorrow at the company and also have her contact the SSN office.