I just need to gripe a bit. Please bear with me.
After we adopted the kids, I went to the Social Security Administration to get their numbers. The woman who took all the information was slow as slow can get, but I was patient and I smiled. Evidently, she put my paperwork in the "shred immediately" pile, as it was never processed.
After umpteen phone calls, no one could locate my paperwork, so they told me to reapply. Fine... BUT... this time, the law changed and I had to have a document dated a year prior to when I was submitting the application. Stupid rules... But, I kept my smile and said I'd be back in September, as I had a document dated last September 7th.
I went today and found out that the passports that we had issued in our last name for the kids in November were actually issued in February 2001. This would have sufficed as the prior to a year thingy. (Deep breath) NOW... the very nice woman tells me that even though the law changed in February 2001 allowing all foreign adoptees to be automatic US citizens, the INS has not updated my kids status. They cannot have US SSN's, they have to have resident alien status, allowed to work in the US SSN's. I need to spend another $145 per child to file another form at the INS... from what I read it has to be filed in person, in Philadelphia = day off from work + 2.5 hour drive + gas + tolls. (deep breath)
OTOH, I can present their US passport to prove citizenship... BUT... I need a SSN to get them passports. So, are you seeing this viscious cycle?
The woman at the SSA promised to call me with their alien ssn's after she enters them into the computer so we can finally file our taxes from last year. Nothing like sitting on a $5,000 adoption tax credit that no one will let you use.
We were told that we could get an A-TIN from the IRS before we got a SSN, but that required me to send my original document to the IRS. After the trouble I have had with the SSA, I didn't trust mailing original documents to anyone.
If everything that I did today doesn't work out and my stuff went into the shred pile again, I'm sending my DH to get it done.
I'm off my soapbox now. Thank you for listening.
After we adopted the kids, I went to the Social Security Administration to get their numbers. The woman who took all the information was slow as slow can get, but I was patient and I smiled. Evidently, she put my paperwork in the "shred immediately" pile, as it was never processed.
After umpteen phone calls, no one could locate my paperwork, so they told me to reapply. Fine... BUT... this time, the law changed and I had to have a document dated a year prior to when I was submitting the application. Stupid rules... But, I kept my smile and said I'd be back in September, as I had a document dated last September 7th.
I went today and found out that the passports that we had issued in our last name for the kids in November were actually issued in February 2001. This would have sufficed as the prior to a year thingy. (Deep breath) NOW... the very nice woman tells me that even though the law changed in February 2001 allowing all foreign adoptees to be automatic US citizens, the INS has not updated my kids status. They cannot have US SSN's, they have to have resident alien status, allowed to work in the US SSN's. I need to spend another $145 per child to file another form at the INS... from what I read it has to be filed in person, in Philadelphia = day off from work + 2.5 hour drive + gas + tolls. (deep breath)
OTOH, I can present their US passport to prove citizenship... BUT... I need a SSN to get them passports. So, are you seeing this viscious cycle?
The woman at the SSA promised to call me with their alien ssn's after she enters them into the computer so we can finally file our taxes from last year. Nothing like sitting on a $5,000 adoption tax credit that no one will let you use.
We were told that we could get an A-TIN from the IRS before we got a SSN, but that required me to send my original document to the IRS. After the trouble I have had with the SSA, I didn't trust mailing original documents to anyone.
If everything that I did today doesn't work out and my stuff went into the shred pile again, I'm sending my DH to get it done.
I'm off my soapbox now. Thank you for listening.
