F Visa

Social Security Numbers

F-1 students are eligible for Social Security Numbers (SSN) only when they provide evidence that they are employed at the time of application.

If you are an F-1 visa holder with on-campus employment, take your passport, your Form I-20, your Form I-94, the HIO Social Security letter, and the job offer letter from your on-campus employer confirming your job offer to the Social Security Administration Office at 240 Elm St., Marks Building, Somerville, MA 02144.

To get the HIO Social Security letter, you must bring the employer offer letter to the HIO. The advisor on call will issue the HIO letter to you. Please have your employer refer to the Sample F-1 SSN employer letter for instructions on what needs to be written in the letter. You must wait at least ten days before applying for an SSN upon arriving at Harvard for the first time.

If you are an F-1 visa holder on OPT, take your passport, your Form I-20 with the OPT recommendation, your Form I-94, and your EAD to the Social Security Administration Office at 240 Elm St., Marks Building, Somerville, MA 02144.

If you are an F-1 visa holder on CPT, take your passport, your Form I-20 showing your authorized CPT, and your Form I-94 to the Social Security Administration Office at 240 Elm St., Marks Building, Somerville, MA 02144. You cannot apply for an SSN more than 30 days before CPT employment will begin.

At the Social Security Administration Office, you must complete an application form. You will receive your Social Security Number card in the mail. The process usually takes four to eight weeks. If you have not heard within this time period, please contact the HIO. You may call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 or visit the Social Security Administration website with any questions.

NOTE: Once students have obtained a U.S. Social Security Number, it is not necessary to apply for a new one if the employment changes.