Retirement or disability benefits are not payable to the NH beginning with the month
after the month SSA receives notice of their removal from the Secretary of Homeland
Security, DHS or the Attorney General. Note that the Office of the Attorney General
is over the Department of Justice (DOJ) which houses the Office of Special Investigations
(OSI). DHS electronically discloses information to SSA regarding individuals who have
been deported from the United States. SSA will use this information to conduct matches
against Title II and Title XVI claims systems and to update the Disability, Railroad,
Alien and Military Service(DRAMS) database (see RS 02635.005B.). However, notice can also be sent from the office of the U.S. Attorney General (DOJ)
including an Immigration Judge or the Office of Special Investigations (OSI). See
RS 02635.015E. when notice of deportation or removal comes from a source other than DHS and there
is no supporting DRAMS record.
Generally, the date SSA receives notice of removal from DHS is reflected on the SSA
DRAMS file under “DATE RECD IN SSA” (see RS 02635.005B.2.). If there is no date shown after “DATE RECD IN SSA”, use the month after the date
of removal from the United States as the date RECD IN SSA.
EXAMPLE: The DRAMS file DATE RECD IN SSA is June 15. The month of suspension is July which
is the month after the month the notice was received.
EXAMPLE: The DRAMS file does not list the DATE RECD IN SSA. DATE DEPORTED is June. SSA should
have received notice in July. Suspension begins in August. Two months after the date
NH was deported.
If SSA receives notice of the NH's removal before their entitlement to retirement
or disability benefits, suspension begins with the first month of entitlement unless
lawful admission for permanent residence has been granted subsequent to the removal
and before entitlement.
EXCEPTION: Section 202(n)(3) prohibits payment of retirement and/or disability insurance benefits
to NHs who effective November 10, 1988 or later are placed under a final order of deportation or removal on grounds of participating in Nazi persecution or committing crimes of genocide.
(DRAMS will show a final charge code of ‘19' or '4D' to denote such grounds.) Unlike
other removal situations, the NH in these cases need not have been physically removed
for suspension to apply. Benefits are not payable beginning with the month after the
month SSA is notified by the Attorney General of the final deportation or removal order (even though the NH may have never left the United States). IMPORTANT: The Translation and Priority Work Unit (TPWU) in the office of International Operations
(OIO) should be contacted before any action is taken on cases in which DRAMS shows
a final charge code of "19 or 4D."