Social Security

Retention Date: 03/01/2025

Summary of Changes
Section B.

· Added information to inform technicians that certain Afghan parolees with a class of admission (COA) of “PAR” and whose Form I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) indicates Afghanistan as the country of citizenship are now employment authorized incident to their parole.

Section C.

· Added processing instructions for Afghan parolees with a COA of “PAR.”
A. Purpose
This emergency message (EM) provides guidance for enumeration requests from Ukrainian and Afghan parolees with certain COAs who are employment authorized incident to their status.

B. Background
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. These individuals can 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 are now employment authorized incident to their parole.

C. Field Office Processing Instructions

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, the individual should be referred 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.

NOTE: Individuals may have a U4U annotation on their parolee stamp, which is
shorthand for Uniting for Ukraine. The SAVE response should return a COA of
UHP.

a. Ukrainian Parolees with a COA of UHP
Ukrainian parolees with a COA of UHP are work authorized incident to status and may possess one of the following documents:
§ An unexpired Form I-94 with a COA of UHP, or
§ An unexpired foreign passport with a paroled stamp that returns a COA of UHP in SAVE.
Enumeration applications for individuals with the appropriate documentation and a COA of UHP should be processed through SSNAP following normal procedures.

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.

Applicants must submit evidence of age, identity, and alien status. Per RM 10211.190, parolees may submit only one document to prove age, identity, and immigration status for an SSN card.

This EM supersedes guidance provided in RM 10211.195 since USCIS determined that these individuals are inherently work authorized incident to their parolee status.

If an applicant submits Form I-766 then the technician should follow RM 10211.200.

Direct all program-related and technical questions to your Regional Office (RO) support staff using vHelp or Program Service Center (PSC) Operations Analysis (OA) staff. RO support staff or PSC OA staff may refer questions, concerns or problems to their Central Office contacts.

References:
RM 10211.190 Evidence of Parolee Status for an SSN Card
RM 10211.195 Evidence of Parolee Status When Form I-94 is Submitted
RM 10211.200 Evidence of Parolee Status when an Employment Authorization
RM 10211.420 Employment Authorization for Non-immigrants
RM 10214.150 Requesting Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Additional Verification (AV) of Immigration Documents