{"id":40,"date":"2008-12-12T12:58:38","date_gmt":"2008-12-12T18:58:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:19:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:19:28","slug":"on-social-security-numbers-and-drivers-licenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40","title":{"rendered":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver’s Licenses"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foreign nationals in the United States require a tax identification number from the Social Security Administration (SSA)<\/a> or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)<\/a> to perform certain actions in the United States such as banking, taxes and obtaining a driver’s license.\u00a0 While, generally, a foreign national must have work authorization<\/a> to obtain a social security number (SSN)<\/a>, he or she may obtain a individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN)<\/a> for tax and banking purposes.<\/p>\n

In order to obtain an ITIN, a foreign national must file Form W-7<\/a> and be within the following categories of person eligible for ITIN issuance.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 A nonresident alien individual eligible to obtain the benefit of reduced withholding under an income tax treaty;<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 A nonresident alien individual not eligible for an SSN who is required to file a U.S. tax return or who is filing a U.S. tax return only to claim a refund;<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 A nonresident alien individual not eligible for an SSN who elects to file a joint U.S. tax return with a spouse who is a U.S. citizen or resident alien;<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 A U.S. resident alien (based on the substantial presence test) who files a U.S. tax return but who is not eligible for an SSN;<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 An alien spouse claimed as an exemption on a U.S. tax return who is not eligible to obtain an SSN;<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 An alien individual eligible to be claimed as a dependent on a U.S. tax return but who is not eligible to obtain an SSN;<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 A nonresident alien student, professor, or researcher who is required to file a U.S. tax return but who is not eligible for an SSN, or who is claiming an exception to the tax return filing requirement; or<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 A dependent\/spouse of a nonresident alien holding a U.S visa who is not eligible for an SSN.<\/p>\n

Foreign nationals who wish to apply for an SSN must file Form SS-5<\/a> with the SSA and meet the following requirements.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Provide proof of legal immigration status.\u00a0 Form I-94 must be presented.\u00a0 F-1 Visa<\/a> holders must provide their current I-20 and J-1 Visa<\/a> holders must provide their current DS-2019.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Provide proof of work authorization.\u00a0 For visa holder who are eligible to work incident to status, such as H-1B<\/a>, L-1<\/a> or O-1 visa<\/a> holders, the I-94 is sufficient.\u00a0 For others, such as applicants who have filed for adjustment of status<\/a>, they must provide a work authorization card<\/a> or green card<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Proof of Age.\u00a0 In most circumstances, a passport or birth certificate is sufficient.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 Proof of Identity.\u00a0 Any document used must show your name and a recent photograph.\u00a0 Commonly accepted documents include green card\/immigrant visa and passport, I-94 card and passport or work permit.<\/p>\n

While every state has their own requirements to obtain a drvier’s license, they will all genreally require<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Proof of Identity;<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Social Security Number; and<\/p>\n

3. Proof of residency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foreign nationals in the United States require a tax identification number from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to perform certain actions in the United States such as banking, taxes and obtaining a driver’s license.\u00a0 While, generally, a foreign national must have work authorization to obtain a social security number … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,14],"tags":[168,169,16,167],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drivers-license","category-itin","category-ssn","tag-drivers-license","tag-itin","tag-social-security-number","tag-ssn"],"yoast_head":"\nOn Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Foreign nationals in the United States require a tax identification number from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to perform certain actions in the United States such as banking, taxes and obtaining a driver’s license.\u00a0 While, generally, a foreign national must have work authorization to obtain a social security number ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\"},\"headline\":\"On Social Security Numbers and Driver’s Licenses\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40\"},\"wordCount\":488,\"keywords\":[\"Driver's License\",\"ITIN\",\"Social Security Number\",\"SSN\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Driver's License\",\"ITIN\",\"SSN\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40\",\"name\":\"On Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?p=40#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On Social Security Numbers and Driver’s Licenses\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Immigration Blog\",\"description\":\"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a\",\"name\":\"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith\",\"description\":\"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.messersmithlaw.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog","og_description":"Foreign nationals in the United States require a tax identification number from the Social Security Administration (SSA) or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to perform certain actions in the United States such as banking, taxes and obtaining a driver’s license.\u00a0 While, generally, a foreign national must have work authorization to obtain a social security number ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40","og_site_name":"US Immigration Blog","article_published_time":"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00","author":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40"},"author":{"name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a"},"headline":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver’s Licenses","datePublished":"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40"},"wordCount":488,"keywords":["Driver's License","ITIN","Social Security Number","SSN"],"articleSection":["Driver's License","ITIN","SSN"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40","name":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver's Licenses - US Immigration Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-12-12T18:58:38+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-16T05:19:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=40#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On Social Security Numbers and Driver’s Licenses"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/","name":"US Immigration Blog","description":"Provided by The Messersmith Law Firm, P.A.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/942156b9eec44c61e79c79bf5f6fc77a","name":"Immigration Lawyer Peter Messersmith","description":"Peter Messersmith is an attorney located in Orlando, Florida. He has been practicing immigration law since 2002 and has represented thousands of immigrants and US businesses with their immigration needs.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.messersmithlaw.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}