You cannot replace the card using the expired K-1 evidence alone, but you can try the Connecticut ID and insurance routes now using your SSN number, then obtain the card after your EAD arrives.
“I entered the US on a K1 visa and applied for my SSN within my 90-day window. I got the number, but the physical card was lost in the mail. Now my 90-day K1 period has expired, and my AOS and EAD are pending. The SSA office in Connecticut says I can't get a replacement card until my work permit is approved. I need the physical card to get a State ID and get on my husband's insurance. Is there any way to get a replacement card now, or a workaround for the ID and insurance?”
Summary
The SSA office’s answer matches SSA’s current evidence rule, but losing the card does not automatically block your other goals. Connecticut asks for the number itself, and insurance enrollment has rules separate from SSA card issuance.
You have separate routes for the SSN card, Connecticut ID, and health insurance; the missing card does not control all three.
SSA requires a noncitizen requesting a replacement card to prove current work-authorized lawful status. Your expired K-1/I-94 no longer proves current authorization, and pending I-485/I-765 receipts do not give SSA a current to verify; the pending I-485 also is not lawful immigration status ([SSA POMS RM 10210.015](https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110210015); [USCIS Policy Manual](https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-7-part-b-chapter-3)).
Connecticut’s operative SSN requirement is to provide the number so DMV can verify it with SSA; the card is only one secondary identity option. Apply with your number and all available identity, residence, and immigration evidence, but DMV may defer issuance if cannot verify acceptable legal presence from the expired I-94 and pending-case receipts ([Connecticut DMV checklist](https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/dmv/selectct/selectidaccptdocs3pdf.pdf)).
If your husband’s employer plan offers dependent coverage and you are within 30 days after marriage, submit a written spouse-enrollment request immediately with your known SSN, date of birth, and certified marriage certificate. Federal law requires at least that 30-day window, although it does not settle every document-verification rule imposed by the plan ([29 CFR 2590.701-6](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XXV/subchapter-L/part-2590/subpart-B/section-2590.701-6)).
If the employer-plan route is unavailable and you are within 60 days after marriage, moving to Connecticut, or another listed qualifying event, Access Health CT offers a route. Its application asks for Social Security numbers and immigration documents; its official page does not say that the physical SSN card is required, but eligibility on your exact pending-I-485 documents remains unresolved ([Access Health CT](https://www.accesshealthct.com/special-enrollment)).
A current I-766 supplies the work-authorization evidence SSA needs. If you requested an SSN card through Form I-765, SSA says it should arrive separately no later than 14 days after the EAD; otherwise, file free Form SS-5 in person with the EAD and identity evidence ([SSA Enumeration Beyond Entry](https://www.ssa.gov/ssnvisa/ebe.html); [Form SS-5](https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf)).
SSA decides whether it can issue a card, while Connecticut DMV and the health plan separately decide eligibility for their services.
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Watch out for
Next steps
These steps protect the short insurance deadlines first, then address the Connecticut ID and eventual SSA replacement.
Before any 30-day window closes
Send a written spouse-enrollment request today
If your husband’s employer group plan offers dependent coverage and fewer than 30 days have passed since marriage, email both the employer benefits office and plan administrator today stating that you request special enrollment as his spouse under 29 CFR 2590.701-6. If the request is denied because you cannot show the paper card, obtain the denial in writing and contact the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration at 1-866-444-3272 or https://www.askebsa.dol.gov/WebIntake/. If more than 30 days have passed, the federal minimum window no longer protects this marriage request; any longer plan deadline remains plan-specific.
Requirements
Within 60 days of the event
Use Access Health CT if job-plan enrollment is unavailable
Apply at https://www.accesshealthct.com/special-enrollment if fewer than 60 days have passed since marriage, moving to Connecticut, or another listed qualifying event. Access Health CT says qualifying-event proof is due within 30 days after selecting a plan. Its public guidance does not resolve whether your exact expired K-1 plus pending-I-485 documents establish eligibility, so that point remains unresolved rather than guaranteed.
Requirements
You do not need to wait for the paper SSN card
Apply for a Connecticut standard non-driver ID
Make a DMV appointment at https://portal.ct.gov/dmv/resources/make-change-appointment and apply at a DMV office; new IDs are not processed at AAA or Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union. Present the SSN number for SSA verification and all available immigration evidence so DMV can start SAVE verification. The checklist does not list a pending-I-485 receipt as accepted legal-presence evidence, so DMV may require the EAD even though the missing SSN card itself is not the obstacle.
Requirements
After your work permit arrives
Complete the SSA route after EAD approval
If your Form I-765 requested an SSN card, SSA says the separate card should arrive no later than 14 days after the EAD. If it does not, or if no card was requested on the I-765, take the EAD and identity document to SSA and submit Form SS-5; the application is free. Form SS-5 is at https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf.
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer is based on SSA operating instructions and Form SS-5, the USCIS Policy Manual and SAVE guidance, Connecticut DMV and Access Health CT instructions, and the federal group-health-plan regulation.
SSA POMS RM 10210.015
SSA requires current work-authorized lawful status from a noncitizen seeking a replacement card.
B
An alien allowed to work (either foreign-born or US-born, see RM 10211.001 ) must provide evidence of a current work-authorized lawful alien status.
SSA POMS RM 10211.420
An expired K-1/I-94 no longer proves current employment authorization.
B.2
The validity period, shown on the face of the document (e.g., EAD or Form I-20), defines the dates the non-immigrant may work in the U.S. A document showing a future validity period is not acceptable evidence of current employment authorization.
USCIS Policy Manual Vol. 7 Pt. B Ch. 3
A pending I-485 gives authorized stay but is not lawful immigration status.
D-E
A pending adjustment application does not put an applicant in a lawful immigration status. For example, an alien whose adjustment of status application is pending is in a period of stay authorized and does not accrue unlawful presence.
Form SS-5 (Rev. 12-2024)
Form SS-5 requires identity plus current lawful work-authorized status from a foreign-born applicant, and the application is free.
Evidence Documents / Cost
If you were born outside the U.S., you must also provide documents to prove your U.S. citizenship or current, lawful, work-authorized status. Applying for a Social Security Card is free!
Connecticut DMV DI-3 (Rev. 10-2025)
Connecticut requires the SSN itself and separately verifies a noncitizen’s legal presence through SAVE.
C-D
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: By law, you must provide your Social Security number, which must be verified with the Social Security Administration (SSA). LEGAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES (Non-U.S. born): Legal status will be verified using Systematic Alien Verification of Eligibility (SAVE) which may take ten (10) business days or more.
Connecticut DMV — Get a non-driver ID
A new Connecticut non-driver ID requires a DMV-office application and costs $28.
Steps / Fees
New-issue ID cards are only processed at DMV offices. They aren’t processed at AAA or Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union locations. The fee for a non-driver ID (valid for 7 years) is $28.
29 CFR 2590.701-6
An employer group plan offering dependent coverage must provide at least a 30-day marriage enrollment window and specifies when coverage begins.
(b)(3)(i), (iii)(A)
A plan or issuer must allow an individual a period of at least 30 days after the date of the marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption (or, if dependent coverage is not generally made available at the time of the marriage, birth, adoption, or placement for adoption, a period of at least 30 days after the date the plan makes dependent coverage generally available) to request enrollment (for the individual or the individual's dependent). In the case of marriage, coverage must begin no later than the first day of the first calendar month beginning after the date the plan or issuer receives the request for special enrollment.
Access Health CT Special Enrollment
Marriage, moving, and other life events can open a typical 60-day Access Health CT enrollment period.
A change in your life — like losing health coverage, getting married, having a baby, or moving to Connecticut — can make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period, allowing you to enroll in health or dental insurance outside of the yearly Open Enrollment Period. Typically, you have 60 days from the date of your Qualifying Life Event to enroll in coverage.
SSA Enumeration Beyond Entry (Form I-765)
If the card was requested through Form I-765, SSA sends it separately after EAD approval.
Work permit applicants
If you apply for an SSN card using Form I-765, you do not have to contact a Social Security office to apply for an SSN card. We will mail your SSN card separately to the address you listed on your application. You should receive your SSN card no later than 14 days after receiving your EAD.
SSA POMS RM 10211.600
SSA’s nonwork exception does not cover an ordinary need for private insurance or photo identification.
A.1-A.2
The only valid nonwork reasons are: a federal statute or regulation requires the noncitizen (who resides in or outside of the United States) to provide their SSN to get a federally-funded benefit to which they have otherwise established entitlement and for which all other requirements have been met; or a state or local law requires a noncitizen who is legally in the U.S. to provide their SSN to get public assistance benefits to which they have otherwise established entitlement and for which all other requirements have been met.
USCIS SAVE
SAVE verifies status information, but Connecticut DMV—not SAVE—decides ID eligibility.
SAVE does not determine an applicant's eligibility for a specific benefit or license. The benefit-granting or licensing agency determines eligibility for each benefit they administer.
DOL Employee Benefits Security Administration
This is the Department of Labor benefits-adviser number for help with an employer health-plan enrollment problem.
1-866-444-3272
These are the official rules as published on the cited dates; rules change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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