Getting your SSN in Toledo without losing a week

Every year someone spends three separate mornings at the Social Security office and comes back without a number. It is almost always the same two mistakes, and both are avoidable.

Wait ten days first

Your arrival record has to reach the SSA database before they can process anything. Show up on day three and you will be turned away politely and told to come back. Ten days after you enter the US, not ten days after classes start.

What to bring

Passport, I-20, I-94 printout, and your offer letter from the department if you have an assistantship. Bring originals — photocopies are not accepted and there is no copier in the building.