Yale students and scholars who are actively employed on-campus, need to apply for a Social Security Number (SSN).  The SSN 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. SSN.  If you are an international student in the U.S., go to www.ssa.gov/pubs/10181.html for some helpful information. 

PLEASE NOTE: At this time as a student, you are not eligible to apply for an SSN unless you have secured on-campus employment. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please contact the OISS.

You should wait until you have been in the U.S. at least ten days before applying for a SSN.  This will allow for enough time for your immigration information to be entered into the system, which is then verified by the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office. You will need to have the following to apply for a SSN:

1. A letter from the OISS confirming your Yale student or employment status.
2. Your immigration documents including: your passport, your I-20 or DS-2019 form, and yourI-94 form.

Take the above to the SSA Office at 150 Court Street, Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm (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).

SSN cards will not be issued to foreign nationals who are not authorized to work, e.g. F-2 and H-4 dependents.