If an applicant files a request for withdrawal of an application for foreign benefits and the foreign application is still in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) possession, SSA will either approve the request or seek clarification of the request from the applicant if that appears warranted.

If SSA has already forwarded the application for benefits to the foreign country, it will also forward the request for withdrawal to the foreign country for disposition.

When an applicant expresses a desire to withdraw an application for foreign benefits, obtain a signed statement giving the reason for the request and forward it to the Office of International Operations (OIO) at the address in GN 01702.310C.

Advise the applicant that either OIO or the foreign agency will notify him or her about the disposition of the request. OIO will send the notification unless it has already sent the application to the foreign agency, in which case that agency will notify the applicant.

Exception: When a request for withdrawal of a claim for Canadian benefits is filed in a designated border office (see GN 01715.320) and the claim has already been forwarded to a Canadian agency, forward the request to the same agency rather than OIO.