Yale students and scholars who are actively employed on campus, need to apply for a Social Security Card for the purposes of filing taxes at the end of the year. The Social Security number is used by the U.S. government to identify wage earners for tax purposes. The number assigned by Yale to new international students and scholars is not a valid U.S. social security number. If you are an international student in the U.S.,go to www.ssa.gov/pubs/10181.html for some helpful information. Please note that at this time students are not eligible to apply for a social security number unless they have secured on campus employment. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact the OISS office or visit their website for more information.

You should wait until you have been in the U.S. at least ten days before applying for a social security number. This will allow for enough time for your immigration information to be entered into the system, which is then verified by the social security office. You will need to have the following to apply for a social security number:

1. A letter from the Office of International Students and Scholars, 421 Temple Street, confirming your Yale student or employmentstatus.
2. Your immigration documents including: your passport, your I-20 or DS-2019 form, and yourI-94 form.

Take the above to the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office at 150 Court Street, Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.(closed on federal holidays). You will be required to fill out an application form, which you can download in advance from www.oiss.yale.edu/students/ssnform.pdf (you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Social security numbers will not be issued to foreign nationals who are not authorized to work, e.g. F-2 and H-4.