Yesterday, an investigative reporter revealed an unpublished internal memo from the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA), indicating that the SSA had temporarily paused its Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program.  Through EBE, SSA automatically issues Social Security numbers and cards to certain foreign nationals in the United States.  The EBE program is part of an agreement between the SSA and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Under the EBE program, foreign nationals are not required to visit an SSA field office to obtain Social Security cards.  In the absence of the EBE program, everyone granted work authorization would be required to visit a Social Security field office to obtain a new Social Security number and card.

The internal SSA message states that the EBE program for “noncitizens granted work authorization” who have filed Form I-765 and “newly naturalized U.S. citizens” who have filed Form N-400 has been “temporarily” frozen, but that SSA will continue to process EBE applications for applicants for adjustment of status whose I-485 applications are approved.

The new SSA policy also freezes the EBE program for newly naturalized citizens who have filed Form N-400. Although N-400 applicants typically already have a social security number, the EBE program allowed newly naturalized citizens to change their names and update their citizenship status without visiting an SSA field office.

Employment authorization applicants with new or pending I-765 applications have not been informed of the policy change, and USCIS has not published any information related to the change, nor revised Form I-765. In addition, SSA has not publicly announced this change or clarified who is impacted, but it acknowledged the memo in an email to the investigative reporter.  Current USCIS guidance indicates that individuals who request a Social Security card should receive it within 14 days, and to visit a local SSA field office if the card is not received.

It is estimated that the new policy, together with a separate policy requiring in-person identity verification at a field office, could result in an additional 100,000 or more persons having to visit SSA field offices each week, even though the agency has reduced 12% of its staff and has closed dozens of field offices.

It is likely that the SSA’s new policy is related to the cost-cutting efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an initiative established by the new presidential administration on January 20, 2025.