Each Totalization agreement provides that an applicant may file an application for benefits from the United States or the foreign country with either country. Thus, an applicant may file for foreign benefits through the Social Security Administration (SSA) or file for U.S. benefits through the social insurance agency of the other country. In such cases, the country with which the application is filed notifies the other country of the filing date.

An application filed with one country will be considered an application for benefits from the other country provided the applicant indicates an intent to claim benefits from the other country (see GN 01702.100).

To be effective, an application for benefits under an agreement must be filed on or after the date the agreement enters into force. However, if an application was filed with SSA before that date and SSA has not yet made a final determination on the application when the agreement enters into force, it will be considered a valid application.