“I have my EAD and applied for my SSN recently, but my employer is asking for my SSN for a background check. Can I start working without my SSN? Is there a way to track my SSN application, and what should I tell my employer?”
Your SSN delay is an onboarding problem, not a loss of the work permission shown by your EAD. The government has specific procedures for I-9, E-Verify, payroll, and SSA follow-up while the number is pending.
Your onboarding route depends on whether this employer uses .
Complete on time and choose an acceptable document; your (Form I-766) is a List A document. The SSN field is voluntary for this route, and SSA says an employee may work while an SSN application is being processed.
Complete now. Because an case cannot be created without the SSN, the employer should record the pending-number explanation, allow you to work, choose “Awaiting Social Security number” if prompted after the third business day, and create the case when you provide the number.
The employer's separate background-check policy may still affect the start date; the federal sources reviewed do not say its vendor must screen you without an SSN.
These steps let you separate work authorization from the background check, complete onboarding, and follow up on the SSN at the right time.
Today
Send HR the pending-SSN explanation
Send: “I have a valid Employment Authorization Document (Form I-766), which is a List A Form I-9 document. My SSN application is pending, and SSA says an employee may work while that application is processed. If we use E-Verify, DHS says to complete Form I-9, allow me to work, select ‘Awaiting Social Security number’ if prompted, and create the case when I provide the number. For the background report, can the vendor begin with my other identifying information and add the SSN when it arrives?”
Requirements
No later than your first paid workday
Complete Form I-9 with your chosen document
Complete Section 1 by the first day you perform paid work. Your employer normally completes Section 2 within three business days after that day. You may choose the EAD as your List A document; the employer cannot require a different acceptable document.
Requirements
After the applicable wait window
Use the correct SSA follow-up clock
If you requested the SSN on Form I-765, the official pages conflict: the USCIS flyer allows follow-up after 7 business days from EAD receipt, while SSA's live page says contact SSA if the card has not arrived after 14 days. Call after day 7 if you wish and definitely escalate by day 14. If you applied directly to SSA, its July 2026 publication says the card should arrive within 7–10 business days after you complete the application. For a late card, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213, 8:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. local time, Monday–Friday, or call your local SSA office; SSA says an in-person visit requires an appointment.
Requirements
As soon as the card arrives
Give the SSN and card name to HR
Tell HR or payroll the number and exact card name. If the employer uses E-Verify, it should create the case then. If it already filed a W-2 using the pending-number method, it should file showing your SSN.
Requirements
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This answer comes from USCIS Form I-9 materials, DHS E-Verify guidance, SSA card and employer guidance, 2026 IRS wage-reporting instructions, and FTC background-check guidance.
SSA Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers
SSA directly confirms that a foreign worker may work while the SSN application is pending.
The employee may work while the Social Security number application is being processed.
USCIS Form I-9 Instructions
The SSN field on Form I-9 is voluntary unless the employer participates in E-Verify.
page 2
Providing your 9-digit Social Security number in the Social Security number field is voluntary, unless your employer participates in E-Verify.
USCIS Form I-9 Instructions
You—not the employer—choose which acceptable I-9 document to present.
page 3
Choose which documentation to present to your employer from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. An employer cannot specify which documentation you may present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents.
USCIS Form I-9 Instructions
These are the employee's and employer's normal I-9 completion deadlines.
pages 2 and 4
Employees must complete and sign Section 1 of Form I-9 no later than the first day of employment (i.e., the date the employee begins performing labor or services in the United States in return for wages or other remuneration). Complete Section 2 within three business days after the employee's first day of employment.
USCIS Form I-9
A photographic Form I-766 EAD is a List A I-9 document.
List A, item 4
Employment Authorization Document that contains a photograph (Form I-766)
E-Verify Pending SSN FAQ
E-Verify tells the employer how to handle a new hire whose SSN has not arrived.
A case cannot be created in E-Verify without an SSN. If a newly hired employee has applied for, but has not yet received his or her SSN (e.g., the employee is a newly arrived immigrant), attach an explanation to the employee’s Form I-9 and set it aside. Allow the employee to continue to work and create a case in E-Verify using the employee’s SSN as soon as it is available. If you are unable to create a case by the third business day after the employee’s first day of employment, select Awaiting Social Security number when prompted by E-Verify .
E-Verify+ Pending SSN Information Sheet
The July 2026 E-Verify+ information sheet confirms the continue-working rule remains current.
page 1
Allows the employee to continue to work.
SSA SSN Request Through Form I-765
SSA's live guidance gives the follow-up point for an SSN requested through Form I-765.
You should receive your SSN card no later than 14 days after receiving your EAD. You can contact us if you do not receive an SSN card 14 days after receiving your EAD, "Green Card", or Certificate of Naturalization.
USCIS EBE Flyer
This undated USCIS flyer gives an earlier seven-business-day follow-up point, which differs from SSA's live 14-day guidance.
page 2
Please call or visit an SSA office if you do not receive your SSN card within 7 business days after receiving your EAD. Please bring this flyer and your EAD as it may help us answer your questions.
SSA Publication No. 05-10002
For a directly completed SSA card application, SSA states the normal mailing window.
page 1
Once you complete your application, we will mail your card to the address you provide on your application. You should receive your card within 7 to 10 business days.
2026 General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3
The IRS gives employers a wage-reporting workaround while the SSN is pending and a correction step after it arrives.
Box a—Employee’s social security number
If the employee has applied for a card but the number is not received in time for filing, enter “Applied For” in box a on paper Forms W-2 filed with the SSA. If e-filing , enter zeros (000-00-0000 if creating forms online or 000000000 if uploading a file). Ask the employee to inform you of the number and name as they are shown on the social security card when it is received. Then correct your previous report by filing Form W-2c showing the employee’s SSN.
SSA Contact by Phone
This is SSA's current national phone number and representative schedule for follow-up.
You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday.
FTC Employer Background Checks and Your Rights
A third-party employment background report requires the applicant's written permission.
Employers must get your written permission before running a background check with a background reporting company.
These are the official rules as published or last updated on the cited dates; undated live pages were accessed on 2026-09-02, and rules can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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