VA State School Job Application - Asking for Original SSN Card?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never had to show a SS card, which is good, because I e never had one. Good grief. Is this something I should figure out how to get for my kid? I assume it’s like birth and marriage certificates, where you can pay for an official certified copy from Richmond or whatever?

Yes. You should have gotten one when your kid was a baby.

Huh. Do you yours from when you were a baby? Is this actually something most people have? I have never once needed it. I’ve never had one as an adult. If my parents had one for me, they never mentioned it. I’ve had a passport since I was 14, and my kid has had one since she was 5. That’s all we’ve ever needed.

If you got a SSN for your child, then you must have been given the card.

As far as I am aware, most people do this when the baby is born. I think it might be in the set of docs the hospital gives, one of which is for ordering a copy of the birth certificate.

Our DMV also requires the SSN (not the physical card, just the number) to issue a new state ID/learner permit/license.

Of course she has a SSN and we know what it is (we file taxes, after all). I think we did get a card when she was a baby, but hell if I know where it is after 3 moves. I’ve never had one, as I said, or needed one (if my parents had it, which it sounds like they must have, they never gave it to me), so I guess I never figured the physical card was important after nearly 50 years without it. Didn’t need DD’s to get her a passport at age 5, and the passport is all we’ve ever needed to get anything else (like learner’s and license).

I’m inclined not to worry about trying to get a reissued card at this point when a passport seems to work for everything, but we’ll see.

worked for OP's kid until the school requested it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

[Anonymous]

OP, what school is this, anyway?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have never had to show a SS card, which is good, because I e never had one. Good grief. Is this something I should figure out how to get for my kid? I assume it’s like birth and marriage certificates, where you can pay for an official certified copy from Richmond or whatever?

Yes. You should have gotten one when your kid was a baby.

Huh. Do you yours from when you were a baby? Is this actually something most people have? I have never once needed it. I’ve never had one as an adult. If my parents had one for me, they never mentioned it. I’ve had a passport since I was 14, and my kid has had one since she was 5. That’s all we’ve ever needed.

PP. Yes. I still have the one from my childhood. I misplaced my kids' but they are somewhere in the house. I reapplied and got them dupes. It's a small piece of paper. Hard to stay on top of everything but it is part of adulting. Your kids may need it for licensing/REAL IDs to fly as teens. Once they are legal adults they have to do paperwork themselves.

A passport is a near substitute since it's proof of citizenship. A lot of people don't have passports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

yeah physical card not necessarily original but still why can't it be a copy or image, original or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

yeah physical card not necessarily original but still why can't it be a copy or image, original or not?

You have to have certified valid documents, not pictures or photos of them. That’s always true for things like this. You’d need to show your actual passport, not a picture of it, for example. Pictures and copies can be faked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

yeah physical card not necessarily original but still why can't it be a copy or image, original or not?

You have to have certified valid documents, not pictures or photos of them. That’s always true for things like this. You’d need to show your actual passport, not a picture of it, for example. Pictures and copies can be faked.

again, why would any of it necessary for W-4 form SS 'verification'? the card has a name and a number and a good quality picture will clearly show all info on there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

yeah physical card not necessarily original but still why can't it be a copy or image, original or not?

You have to have certified valid documents, not pictures or photos of them. That’s always true for things like this. You’d need to show your actual passport, not a picture of it, for example. Pictures and copies can be faked.

again, why would any of it necessary for W-4 form SS 'verification'? the card has a name and a number and a good quality picture will clearly show all info on there.

They are legally verifying your identity. They want your actual documents and ID to that. I don’t know how to explain that to you any differently. Please go buy alcohol with a photograph of your ID; maybe they can explain it to you better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:actually it's not for I-9. instead it's to "confirm Form W-4 info is correct." ok fine but why must it be the original card? absurd.

Yeah, that’s weird. The W-4 is about tax deduction withholding, completely separate and distinct from I-9 employment verification. And the IRS instructions for W-4 say nothing about requiring a copy of the SSN. Maybe the person isn’t explaining it well or your student isn’t understanding?

it's on the info packet distributed to all interested students DC took a picture of that W-4/VA-4 section to show me the exact languages.

i'm really curious why the school demanded that. millions of new hires fill out the W-4 all the time without HR asking for original card. makes no sense.

+1
The W-4 and VA-4 are just the withholding forms. You have to write in your SSN but there is no language on the form itself about requiring the original SSN card. The I-9 form explicitly allows a passport, and in fact an SSN card isn’t enough on its own because it doesn’t have a photo so you need a second ID with it, while a valid passport doesn’t need anything else. Baffling to me why the school is asking for this.

and asking for original card is even more unfathomable. i could see the school doesn't trust these 20+ year-old *kids* to input the correct SSN themselves and want to see the card to verify but why ask for the original?

I assume “original” just means a valid physical card. They can’t require the original card provided as a baby. Cards can be lost or destroyed, just like birth certificates, etc. You can get another “original” ie official valid physical item.

yeah physical card not necessarily original but still why can't it be a copy or image, original or not?

You have to have certified valid documents, not pictures or photos of them. That’s always true for things like this. You’d need to show your actual passport, not a picture of it, for example. Pictures and copies can be faked.

again, why would any of it necessary for W-4 form SS 'verification'? the card has a name and a number and a good quality picture will clearly show all info on there.

They are legally verifying your identity. They want your actual documents and ID to that. I don’t know how to explain that to you any differently. Please go buy alcohol with a photograph of your ID; maybe they can explain it to you better.

it's not verifying identity nor legal. they want to verify SSN is correct on W-4 form. no law requires a physical copy of SS card for that purpose. i'm going to ABC to buy a can of Coke and i don't need to show my ID.

[Anonymous]

Have you never started a new job? It is required to have either physical social security card and driver's license, or Passport. It's part of onboarding. The official IDs are required for the i9, but your student may be confused because they are also filling in the W4.

Most people have dealt with this multiple times in their life, starting from HS jobs. Not sure why it is so bewildering?