U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. We are a component of the Department of Homeland Security. Some of the services we provide including:

Citizenship

Immigration of Family Members

Working in the U.S.

Verifying an Individual's Legal Right to Work in the United States

Humanitarian Programs

Adoptions

Civic Integration

Genealogy

This office provides immigration services for Los Angeles County.

Address: 300 S. Los Angeles St. Los Angeles CA 90012
Website: http://www.uscis.gov
Hours: Monday through Sunday, 24 hours per day.
Phones: Service/Intake (213) 894-4928, Service/Intake (213) 894-4929

In general, only noncitizens who have permission to work from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can apply for a Social Security number.

Important

You must present original documents or copies certified by the agency that issued them. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies. All documents must be current (not expired). We cannot accept a receipt showing you applied for the document.

Employment

We also need to see evidence of that employment, such as a recent pay slip or a letter from your employer. Your supervisor must sign and date the letter. The letter must describe:

• Your job
• Your employment start date
• The number of hours you are, or will be, working; and
• Your supervisor's name and telephone number.
• Age.

   You must present your foreign birth certificate if you have it or can get it within 10 days. If not, we will consider other documents such as your passport or a document issued by DHS as evidence of your age.

  Anyone age 12 or older requesting an original Social Security number MUST be interviewed by Social Security. We will ask for evidence to show you do not have a Social Security number. If you lived outside the United States for an extended period, a current or previous passport, school and/or employment records, and any other record that would show long-term residence outside the United States could be used to show you do not have a Social Security number.

Immigration status

To prove your U.S. immigration status, you must show us your current U.S. immigration document, such as:

Form I-551 (Lawful Permanent Resident Card, Machine Readable Immigrant Visa) with your unexpired foreign passport.
I-766 (Employment Authorization Document, EAD, work permit); or
I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) or admission stamp in the unexpired foreign passport.
Identity

Social Security will ask to see a current DHS document. Acceptable documents include:

I-551 Permanent Resident Card
I-94 Arrival/Departure Record with unexpired foreign passport or admission stamp in the unexpired foreign passport; or
I-766 Employment Authorization Document, (EAD, work permit) from DHS.
Note

We may use one document for two purposes. For example, we may use a DHS work permit as proof of both immigration status and identity. However, you must provide at least two separate documents.

Complete an Application for a Social Security Card ( Form SS-5 ).
Go to Social Security Administration
Take all necessary original paperwork (application, passport, and visa documents) with you to the Social Security Administration. You must wait at least 10 days from your arrival to the U.S. before applying for a SSN.
Address: 11500 W. Olympic Boulevard, Suite 300, Los Angeles, CA 90064.
Phone: 1-800-772-1213.

Consulates

The Consulates provide passport, birth registration and many others services for visiting or resident American citizens in a country. They also have consular sections which issue visas for foreign citizens to visit, study and work in the United States. There are over 104 Consulates in Los Angeles, CA. Please follow this link to search for the consulate that suits you: https://www.laconsularcorps.com/.

J-1 Visa Sponsors

The J-1 Visa was created by the U.S. government to offer foreign university students and young professionals the opportunity to participate in educational and cultural programs in the United States for a limited period of time. The J-1 Visa, or Exchange Visitor Program, is a non-immigrant visa overseen by the U.S. Department of State. More information is available on the U.S. Department of State website http://j1visa.state.gov.

You can find a designated sponsor organization through this link: https://j1visa.state.gov/participants/how-to-apply/sponsor-search/