What to do about getting my social security .....?

Question

ok, a friend of mine has a big problem and i need to know some answers.she was not born in american..she was born in africa. her mother got her to come to america by getting a visa ....now this was back in like 97' 98'. so the visa expired in 03'. the girl went to school in texas from elementary till high school. when she reached her 11th grade year, she went to an academy charter school and they took her expired visa...now you have to take the T.A.K.S. test in TEXAS....and in a charter school, you need your S.S.# to take that test...(so she took the test..but didnt know her ss#..so she just left it blank) does the school give you a ss#.?? because she recieved one in school but it started with an S....so she just graduated in 08' and received a DIPLOMA...also she has a REAL TX STATE I.D. and she is 17 years old.

now doesnt that mean that somewhere is has a SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER???

she wants to begin her life.. but she doesnt want to be shipped back to africa..

Answer 1

Her visa ran out so she is out of status but not yet illegal as she is under 18. She will start to accrue an overstay at 18 which will cause her to be deported and banned from returning. She needs to see a lawyer NOW before she is 18. Look in the phone book for Catholic Social Services or Catholic Charities. They have good immigration lawyers there who can help her and they only charge according to income. You don't have to be Catholic for them to help you.

She won't be held responsible for her mother's mistake in letting her get out of status but once she gets to 18 she will be responsible for every day after that.

Answer 2

It certainly doesn't sound like she is in the US legally, and SS numbers do not start with an S. SSNs are comprised only of digits, in the format of x*x-xx-xxxx.

The only people who would know if she has a social security number is the Social Security Administration. I would give them a call to find out what's up, but given the fact that she's in the US on an expired visa, her situation is in no way legal based on the information you provided, and she can be deported.

It's a miracle (or a major blunder) that charter school even accepted her expired visa, but schools do not have authority to assign social security numbers anyway.

Answer 3

She should ask her mother if a social security number was ever requested for her.  It's hard to believe she went throught the public school system without one.  Post 9-11 it's even more difficult nowdays to get one, but it is possible to get one.   She just has to provide several forms of ID.   I doubt she'll get deported, but her first step is to speak to her mother.  If anything, she probably just needs to get in the process of becoming a  citizen.