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Social Security Number & E-Verify

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If you are temporarily in the United States to work you will need a Social Security number.  Your Social Security number is used to report your wages to the government and to determine eligibility for Social Security benefits.  A Social Security Card can be assigned to foreign workers who are authorized to work in the United States. More >>

How to Obtain a Temporary Number for Payroll Purposes 

The Social Security number application process can take up to two months before a card is issued with your assigned number.  You will be given a receipt when you submit your application at the local Social Security office.  This receipt can be used by you or your department Payroll Coordinator to acquire a temporary number from our Payroll Office. This temporary number can be used for wage purposes until you receive your Social Security Card.  When your card arrives with your new number you must show this to the Payroll Office and your department Payroll Coordinator.

This temporary number may only be used for University of Oklahoma payroll purposes.  To ensure the integrity of the U.S. Social Security Number, persons are advised that this temporary number is NOT valid for identification purposes, nor can it be used in place of the official U.S. Social Security Number. 

E-Verify & Social Security Numbers

The department Payroll Coordinator can run a query on the employee's Form I-9 information through E-Verify AFTER the employee has obtained a valid SSN.  However, it should be noted on the Form I-9 why the E-Verify query has not been run, such as “applied/pending SSN”.  The employee should get his or her new SS number to the Payroll Coordinator quickly, so they may promptly run a query on that individual.  In the meantime, the Payroll Coordinator will have judiciously completed the Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification process with the employee and verified his or her work authorization so that employee will be allowed to work temporarily without a SSN.