Federal Register: December 16, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 241)
DOCID: FR Doc 03-30965
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Social Security Administration
CFR Citation: 20 CFR Part 422
RIN ID: RIN 0960-AF87
DOCUMENT ID: [Regulations No. 22]
NOTICE: PROPOSED RULES
ACTION: Organization and procedures:
DOCUMENT ACTION: Proposed rules.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Evidence Requirements for Assignment of Social Security Numbers (SSNs); Assignment of SSNs to Foreign Academic Students in F-1 Status
DATES: To be sure that your comments are considered, we must receive them by February 17, 2004.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
We propose to clarify our rules for assigning SSNs to foreign academic students in Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS, formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service or INS) classification status F1 (referred to throughout this preamble as F1 students). Specifically, we propose to add additional evidentiary requirements for F1 students who are applying for an SSN. In addition to meeting SSA's requirement to provide evidence of age, identity, legal alien status, and work authorization, F1 students would also be required to present evidence that employment has been secured before we will assign the F1 student an SSN. These rules would further enhance the integrity of SSA's enumeration processes for assigning SSNs by reducing the opportunity for fraud through misuse of SSNs.
SUMMARY:
Social Security numbers assignment to foreign academic students in F-1 status,
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Background
Under section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (the Act), the Commissioner of Social Security is required to ``establish and maintain records of the amounts of wages paid to * * * each individual and of the periods in which such wages were paid * * *'' In addition, under section 205(c)(2)(B)(i)(I) of the Act, the Commissioner is required to assign Social Security numbers ``to the maximum extent practicable * * * to aliens at the time of their lawful admission to the United States either for permanent residence or under other authority of law permitting them to engage in employment in the United States and to other aliens at such time as their status is so changed as to make it lawful for them to engage in such employment.'' Current SSA Rules
Our regulations at 20 CFR 422.105 currently state that a nonimmigrant alien whose INS Form I94, Arrival/Departure Record, does not reflect a classification permitting work must submit a current document issued by INS that verifies authorization to work has been granted.
Our regulations at 20 CFR 422.107(e) currently state that ``When a person who is not a U.S. citizen applies for an original social security number or a duplicate or corrected social security number card, he or she is required to submit, as evidence of alien status, a current document issued by the [INS] in accordance with [its] regulations. The document must show that the applicant has been lawfully admitted to the United States, either for permanent residence or under authority of law permitting him or her to work in the United States, or that the applicant's alien status has changed so that it is lawful for him or her to work.'' If the applicant submits a valid unexpired INS document(s) that shows current authorization to work, we will assign an SSN and issue a card that is valid for work.
Current SSA procedures require an F1 student who needs an SSN for work to present evidence of age, identity, lawful F1 alien status, and work authorization. This work authorization can either be from BCIS in the form of an employment authorization document (EAD) or from the F1 student's school. In the past, when an F1 student applied for an SSN, we believed that the student had a job or imminent plans to secure a job. However, our recent experience has shown that some F1 students apply for an SSN even when there is limited or no employment available. F1 students often inform us that they do not intend to work but need an SSN to obtain goods or services in the community.
Additional evidence requirements for F1 student SSN applicants are needed because available SSA data suggest that some F1 students assigned SSNs misuse those SSNs to work illegally in the U.S. (i.e., in work not permitted by their classification under immigration regulations at 8 CFR 274a.12) or engage in other fraudulent activities. (See the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) study, ``Using Social Security Numbers To Commit Fraud'' (A089942002, May 1999) at http://www.ssa.gov/oig/ADOBEPDF/A089942002.pdf).
Wages have been reported to us for F1 students who have been engaged in
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offcampus employment without proper authorization from their schools
or BCIS. SSN misuse can impact society in the form of illegal
employment in the U.S., fraudulent entitlement to Federal and State
benefits and services, and other types of illegal activity such as bank and credit card fraud and identity theft.
In order to strengthen the security of the enumeration process, we
propose to require additional evidence from F1 students before we will assign SSNs to them.
Explanation of Additional Evidentiary Requirements
422.105 Presumption of Authority of Nonimmigrant Alien To Accept Employment
We propose to revise Sec. 422.105 to state that, unless the F1 student has an employment authorization document issued by BCIS, the F 1 student applicant must provide additional documentation that confirms both that he or she has authorization from the school to engage in employment and has secured authorized employment. (As of March 1, 2003, INS's benefit functions became part of the BCIS in the Department of Homeland Security.) We understand from discussions with BCIS officials that they support our plans to assign SSNs only to those F1 students who have secured a job. The proposed revision includes a cross reference to Sec. 422.107(e)(2), where the specific evidence requirements will be explained.
422.107 Evidence Requirements
We propose to revise paragraph (e) of Sec. 422.107 of our regulations by redesignating paragraph (e) as paragraph (e)(1) and adding a new paragraph (e)(2) to specify that if an F1 student does not have an employment authorization document, the F1 student must provide documentation of both work authorization and employment before we will assign an SSN to the student. First, the F1 student would need to provide documentation from the school that he or she will be engaging in authorized employment. Under this clarification of our policy, we would not assign an SSN to the F1 student unless the student provides a Form I20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F1) Status, and provides written confirmation from the designated school official (DSO) of (1) the nature of the employment the F1 student is or will be engaged in and (2) the identification of the employer for whom the F1 student is or will be working.
Second, we also propose to require that the F1 student provide us with documentation that he or she is engaged in or has secured employment, e.g., a statement from the F1 student's employer.
By adding these additional evidentiary requirements, we believe there will be fewer opportunities for abuse of the enumeration process without having any adverse effects on F1 students who need to work while they are in the U.S. The additional documentation we would require should be readily available.
Clarity of These Regulations
Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 13258,
requires each agency to write all rules in plain language. In addition
to your substantive comments on these proposed rules, we invite your
comments on how to make these rules easier to understand. For example:
[sbull] Have we organized the material to suit your needs?
[sbull] Are the requirements in the rules clearly stated?
[sbull] Do the rules contain technical language or jargon that is unclear?
[sbull] Would a different format (grouping and order of sections,
use of headings, paragraphing) make the rules easier to understand? [sbull] Would more (but shorter) sections be better?
[sbull] Could we improve clarity by adding tables, lists or diagrams?
[sbull] What else could we do to make the rules easier to understand?
Regulatory Procedures
Executive Order 12866, as Amended by Executive Order 13258
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has reviewed these proposed rules in accordance with Executive Order 12866, as amended by Executive Order 13258.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
We certify that these proposed rules will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they would affect only individuals. Thus, a regulatory flexibility analysis as provided in the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended, is not required.
Federalism
We have reviewed these proposed rules under the threshold criteria of Executive Order 13132 and have determined that they would not have substantial direct effects on the States, on the relationship between the national government and the States, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. There may be some minimal impact on those States whose academic institutions have not developed an alternative method in their recordkeeping systems for identifying F1 students not eligible for SSNs. There may also be some minimal impact on States whose academic institutions may be an F1 student's employer.
Paperwork Reduction Act
These proposed rules contain reporting requirements as shown in the
table below. Where the public reporting burden is accounted for in
Information Collection Requests for the various forms that the public
uses to submit the information to SSA, a 1hour placeholder burden is
being assigned to the specific reporting requirement(s) contained in
these rules; we are seeking clearance of these burdens because they were not considered during the clearance of the forms.
Number of Frequency of Average burden Estimated
CFR citation respondents response per response annual burden
422.105(a); 422.107............................. 1 1 1 1
422.105(b)...................................... 125,000 1 1 minute 2,083 hours
An Information Collection Request has been submitted to OMB for clearance. We are soliciting comments on the burden estimate; the need for the information; its practical utility; ways to enhance its quality, utility and clarity; and on ways to minimize the burden on respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments should be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget at the following fax number and to the Social Security Administration at the following address or fax number:
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Office of Management and Budget, Attn: Desk Officer for SSA, Fax Number: 2023956974.
Social Security Administration, Attn: SSA Reports Clearance Officer, 1338 Annex Building, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 212356401, Fax Number: 4109656400.
Comments can be received for between 30 and 60 days after
publication of this notice and will be most useful if received by SSA within 30 days of publication.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program Nos. 96.001, Social
SecurityDisability Insurance; 96.002 Social SecurityRetirement Insurance; 96.004, Social SecuritySurvivors Insurance)
List of Subjects in 20 CFR Part 422
Administrative practice and procedure, Organization and functions
(Government agencies), Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Social Security.
Dated: November 13, 2003.
Jo Anne B. Barnhart,
Commissioner of Social Security.
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, we propose to amend part
422, subpart B, chapter III of title 20, Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
PART 422ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURES
Subpart B[Amended]
1. The authority citation for subpart B of part 422 continues to read as follows:
Authority: Secs. 205, 232, 702(a)(5), 1131, and 1143 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405, 432, 902(a)(5), 1320b1, and 1320b13).
2. Section 422.105 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 422.105 Presumption of authority of nonimmigrant alien to engage in employment.
(a) General rule. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this
section, if you are a nonimmigrant alien, we will presume that you have
permission to engage in employment if you present a Form I94 issued by
the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services that reflects a
classification permitting work. (See 8 CFR 274a.12 for Form I94
classifications.) If you have not been issued a Form I94, or if your
Form I94 does not reflect a classification permitting work, you must
submit a current document authorized by the Bureau of Citizenship and
Immigration Services that verifies authorization to work has been
granted, e.g., an employment authorization document, to enable SSA to issue an SSN card that is valid for work.
(b) Exception to presumption for foreign academic students in
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services classification status F
1. If you are an F1 student and do not have a separate Bureau of
Citizenship and Immigration Services employment authorization document
as described in paragraph (a) of this section, we will not presume you
have authority to engage in employment without additional evidence.
Before we will assign an SSN to you that is valid for work, you must give us proof (as explained in Sec. 422.107(e)(2)) that:
(1) You have authorization from your school to engage in employment, and
(2) You are engaging in, or have secured, employment.
3. Section 422.107 is amended by redesignating paragraph (e) as
paragraph (e)(1), adding a heading for paragraph (e)(1), and adding a new paragraph (e)(2) to read as follows:
Sec. 422.107 Evidence requirements.
* * * * *
(e) Evidence of alien status. (1) General evidence rules. * * *
(2) Additional evidence rules for F1 students. (i) Evidence from
your designated school official. If you are an F1 student, you must
give us documentation from your designated school official that you are
authorized to engage in employment. You must submit your Form I20, the
Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F1) Status. You must also
submit documentation from your designated school official that includes:
(A) The nature of the employment you are or will be engaged in, and
(B) The identification of the employer for whom you are or will be working.
(ii) Evidence of your employment. You must also provide us with
documentation that you are engaging in, or have secured employment; e.g., a statement from your employer.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 0330965 Filed 121503; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 419102P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Robert J. Augustine, Social Insurance Specialist, Office of Regulations, 100 Altmeyer Building, Social Security Administration, 6401 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21235 6401, (410) 9650020, or TTY (410) 9665609. For information on eligibility or filing for benefits, call our national tollfree numbers, 18007721213 or TTY 18003250778, or visit our Internet web site, Social Security Online, at http://www.socialsecurity.gov.