Social Security

Summary of Changes

• Section B: Added information to inform technicians that individuals paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine are no longer employment authorized incident to their parole as of October 1, 2024.
• Section C: Added processing instructions for Ukrainian parolees with a COA of “UHP.”

This emergency message (EM) provides guidance for enumeration requests from Ukrainian and Afghan parolees with certain Classes of Admission (COAs).

In April 2022, President Biden announced Uniting for Ukraine, a streamlined process to provide Ukrainian citizens opportunities to come to the United States. In our efforts to support this initiative, SSA worked in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to enable qualified parolees to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN). Effective May 9, 2022, the U.S. Citizenship, and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the new COA Ukrainian Humanitarian Parolee (UHP) for Ukrainians admitted as Parolees.

Ukrainians applying for work authorization may have filed for an SSN card at the same time via the Enumeration Beyond Entry process, using USCIS’ Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization).

On November 21, 2022, USCIS announced that Ukrainian and Afghan parolees, and their qualifying family members, with certain COAs are employment authorized incident to their status allowing these individuals to work in the United States prior to the approval of their Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization).

On June 8, 2023, USCIS announced that certain Afghan parolees whose unexpired Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) contains a COA of “PAR” and indicates Afghanistan as the country of citizenship on the document were employment authorized incident to their parole.

Effective October 1, 2024, individuals paroled into the United States under Uniting for Ukraine are no longer employment authorized incident to parole. After this date applicants must provide an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) or proof of a valid non-work reason (RM 10211.600) to receive an original or replacement SSN.

1. Afghans
Afghan parolees who are work authorized incident to status may possess a Form I-94 with one the following COAs listed on the document:

a. Afghan Parolee with a COA of OAR

· Unexpired Form I-94 which contains a COA of Operation Allies Refugee (OAR). Enumeration applications for individuals with the appropriate documentation and a COA of OAR should be processed through the Social Security Number Application Process (SSNAP) following normal procedures.

b. Afghan Parolee with a COA of PAR
To process an SSN card for an applicant with a COA of PAR, verify Form I-94 is unexpired and indicates Afghanistan as a country of citizenship. Technicians must use the One Time Special Processing (OTSP) option in SSNAP and do the following:

· Load the Form SS-5 into SSNAP.
· Select “Lawful Alien” for citizenship on the Number Holder Information screen.
· Select the appropriate document for age, identity, and proof of legal alien status.
· Verify the Form I-94 via SAVE located in I-MAIN.
§ SAVE response should return a COA of PAR
· If SAVE does not return a COA of PAR, then technicians should follow additional verification procedures outlined in RM 10214.150. Place the application in “Suspect” status until the final SAVE response is received.

· The technician should add a comment on the summary screen as follows: “The SAVE Verification Number is: (insert number obtained from SAVE response).”
NOTE: If an Afghan parolee believes they should have received a COA of OAR or PAR but did not, refer the individual to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

2. Ukrainians
Ukrainian parolees admitted into the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine process may have a COA of UHP. Additionally, other Ukrainians may be admitted with a COA of DT.

a. Ukrainian Parolees with a COA of UHP

Effective October 1, 2024, Ukrainian parolees with a COA of UHP are not work authorized incident to their status and must present evidence of a valid nonwork reason for a Social Security card to be issued. They may possess one of the following documents:

§ An unexpired Form I-94 with a COA of UHP
§ An unexpired foreign passport with a parole stamp that returns a COA of UHP in SAVE.

To process an SSN card for an applicant with a COA of UHP:
· Load the SS5 application in SSNAP.
· On the Proof of Legal Alien Status (POLAS) screen in SSNAP technicians will select the appropriate Primary DHS Document then select “UHP-Nonwork” for the Admission Class or Status.
· Select the appropriate Non-Work Reason from the dropdown.
· Continue to process as a Non-Work SSN request.
NOTE: If a Ukrainian parolee previously assigned a work authorized SSN requests a replacement card, then the technician must request an EAD card prior to processing a work authorized replacement card application.

b. Ukrainian Parolees with a COA of DT
Ukrainian parolees with a Form I-94 issued between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023, with a COA of DT and Ukraine as the country of citizenship on the document are work authorized incident to status.
To process an SSN card for an applicant with a COA of DT, verify it was issued between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023, and indicates Ukraine as a country of citizenship. Technicians must use the One Time Special Processing (OTSP) option in SSNAP and do the following:

· Load the Form SS-5 into SSNAP.
· Select “Lawful Alien” for citizenship on the Number Holder Information screen.
· Select the appropriate document for age, identity, and proof of legal alien status.
· Verify the Form I-94 via SAVE located in I-MAIN.
§ SAVE response should return a COA of DT.
· If SAVE does not return a COA of DT, then technicians should follow additional verification procedures outlined in RM 10214.150. Place the application in “Suspect” status until the final SAVE response is received.
§ Technicians should close the SAVE case after receiving the final SAVE response by clicking “Close Case” on the SAVE response screen.

· The technician should add a comment on the summary screen as follows: “The SAVE Verification Number is: (insert number obtained from SAVE response).”

Parolee Example/Scenario: An individual provides a Form I-94 with a COA of DT and Ukraine listed as the country of citizenship. The Form I-94 was issued between February 24, 2022, and September 30, 2023. Technician verifies the Form I-94 via I-MAIN SAVE. SAVE returns a response of “Parolee” with a COA of DT.
Technician Response: The technician loads the Form SS-5 into SSNAP and processes the application using the OTSP option.