Social security forn

You should check with the US Consulate but I don't think your friend is eligible.

https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-2.html

First of all the applicant must be at least 62 years old.  Second, the required documents include the applicants Social Security number and proof of legal status in the US (green card or citizenship).  You can apply if you are living in Vietnam but you had to have been a legal US resident at some earlier time in your life.

I doubt that you will be successful but you can give it a shot.  https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-2-bk.pdf

The father is an American, passed away.
The young boy has a us passport.  The mother is Vietnamese.  So we have a very strong case.

Looking for help to fill in the application.

Steve

If the father got it together to file the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) then the child is verified as a US citizen.  If the report was not filed then It may be possible but a lot harder to prove his/her citizenship.  If the child's citizenship can be proven, there may be a chance that the child can receive benefits for minor survivors.  There is a lot more research for you to do there.   

You have to deal with these guys. The Consulate no longer deals with SSA questions or assists with any issues:

https://vn.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … -security/

Rick

sgndep wrote:

The young boy has a us passport.  The mother is Vietnamese.  So we have a very strong case.

The boy has a case but I don't think the mother does.  He is eligible for a social security number but may not yet have one.  If not, you should probably start with that through a visit to the consulate..  Normally they will not let non US citizens or residents in to consular services but they should let you in if you show the boy's passport.  They may not answer questions but they should have the forms.  If they won't or can't help, then I could call the number supplied by Budman/Rick.

The document below has a bare outline of the program and some telephone numbers.  I would load up my SIM card for long distance (and a lot of hold time) and call both these numbers and Manila.
https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10085.pdf

If the Manila office is difficult to deal with over the phone, it might be worth investing in a trip to the Philippines.   Both the mother and child should be able to visit 30 days without visas.

While you are at it, you probably should be getting a death certificate, translated and notarized.

Edit:  Budman1 is certainly correct.  It would probably be best to start with a call to Manila before wasting time at the consulate.

You have a lot of work to do and I would recommend you do a lot of reading and can start here:

https://blog.ssa.gov/social-security-be … ed-states/https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10008.pdfhttps://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html#h4

Because she was never legally married to the father, she is not entitled to Social Security.  Thus, if the child is a U.S. citizen and has all the paperwork (e.g., passport, birth certificate, social security number etc. see link below), the minor child is the applicant.  You need to make sure you have all the required documentation for filing.

In addition, the father who died must have been receiving social security or worked enough in the USA to be entitled to social security.  You are going to have to prove his death, it has to be reported to the social security administration (which cannot be done online), any monies paid after his death must be returned, if any. 

VERY IMPORTANT - I have read that there is a 2 year filing requirement from the date of death to be entitled to survivor benefits:

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/di … iling.html

Good luck.

Guys,

Thank you very much. We have had many calls etc with Manila already. We have all the papers and Manila said we have a strong case.

Its only the start of the application form that's difficult. The son, 9 years, does not have a social security number. The Mother also not as she is Vietnam citizen. The form asks who is the claimant ??
Once we know that,  the rest is pretty simple.

sgndep wrote:

Guys,

Thank you very much. We have had many calls etc with Manila already. We have all the papers and Manila said we have a strong case.

Its only the start of the application form that's difficult. The son, 9 years, does not have a social security number. The Mother also not as she is Vietnam citizen. The form asks who is the claimant ??
Once we know that,  the rest is pretty simple.

As another poster already replied, the child is the claimant.

Most U.S. Government forms, such as education, veterans, military, etc, use this terminology to refer to the person who is actually qualified to "claim" the benefits.

There is probably another area to list the name of the person filing the claim.

That should probably be the mother.

Since I'm not looking at the form, I can't confirm that last point definitively.

Call the social security help line. Hours are 7 am to 7 pm US time. I suggest you call about 7 pm Vietnam time which is 7 am U S time and you should get a live voice quicker than waiting later. I have called later and waited more than an hour but when I call early (US time) I'm in within a few minutes. If the dude would have done his duty and married his child's mother , she and the child would be entitled to benies. If he had married and the child wasn't his, the child would be entitled to benefits after a year of marriage as a dependant.  Good luck. I believe you can get filed online but don't know about SS number for child. Sending certified docs online is quick and easy should you need to send docs.

Alexter,

Thanks for the reply. Its helpful.

I'm not sure I agree with ' if the dude ....' people live together for long periods.  Its pretty normal nowadays.

Normal? Wouldn't you agree that "the dude" shirked his responsibility? The child will learn his dad never took the time to marry his mother. Today you are trying to fix what "the dude" had years to address.  I have seen kids hurt when they found their dad hadn't married their mother. He should of had the foresight of his child's future should he die.. I will speak loudly since I did marry my wife and I have done and am doing things to make my kids future secure should I die prematurely. You can't justify morals or immorality because others are doing it.  Having kids comes with responsibility!

Not being legally married is much more normal than it used to be.  What is most irresponsible was this father not getting his son his social security number while he was still alive.  Luckily he at apparently did the minimum by filing the CRBA.  Not doing that would have been ethically terrible.  You can and should get things properly set up for your children especially if you are old relative to your spouse and children.

I would've refused to be married to anyone as the result of that person's "doing his duty" unless I truly wanted to spend the rest of my life by his side.   That had nothing to do with moral or societal norm so no justification was ever needed. 

A woman and a man joined and created a child together.  Their responsibility is to care for the child until he reaches his maturity, not to be married to one another.

AlexterBalexter wrote:

I have seen kids hurt when they found their dad hadn't married their mother. !

I've often seen kids hurt in households where the parents stay together when they were better off apart.  I was a member of those households myself.

Children (and yes, even adults) flourish under love and care, not from being the direct or indirect beneficiaries of someone's moral duty.

Ciambella wrote:

AlexterBalexter wrote:

I have seen kids hurt when they found their dad hadn't married their mother. !

I've often seen kids hurt in households where the parents stay together when they were better off apart.  I was a member of those households myself.

Children (and yes, even adults) flourish under love and care, not from being the direct or indirect beneficiaries of someone's moral duty.

"You often see kids hurt just because the parents aren't married", I really struggle with your presumption, do you have any statistics to back this up.

Not statistic, as I don't often read those.  Based on my experience and what I've observed all my life in many countries, then yes, there are plenty.   However, I think there's a slight misunderstanding that I inadvertently created in the last comment, the cause for your question.

I want to clarify that the words “kids hurt” used by AlexterBalexter and me do not mean children being abused.  We both talked about the *misinformed* idea that when the father is not married to the mother, that decision reflects on the child's worth as a person and the feeling may turn into a difficult-to-shred inferiority complex => "kids hurt".

In the same vein, when I repeated the words “kids hurt” to talk about children in households where love doesn't exist between the parents, I was talking about how the emotionally disconnected parents and the atmosphere of disharmony/indifference impact the children's sense of well being.  Living in households such as those certainly doesn't help anyone's mental health nor does it teach them to relate well to others => "kids hurt".

@sgndep:  Sorry to derail the thread.

Ciambella wrote:

Not statistic, as I don't often read those.  Based on my experience and what I've observed all my life in many countries, then yes, there are plenty.   However, I think there's a slight misunderstanding that I inadvertently created in the last comment, the cause for your question.

I want to clarify that the words “kids hurt” used by AlexterBalexter and me do not mean children being abused.  We both talked about the *misinformed* idea that when the father is not married to the mother, that decision reflects on the child's worth as a person and the feeling may turn into a difficult-to-shred inferiority complex => "kids hurt".

In the same vein, when I repeated the words “kids hurt” to talk about children in households where love doesn't exist between the parents, I was talking about how the emotionally disconnected parents and the atmosphere of disharmony/indifference impact the children's sense of well being.  Living in households such as those certainly doesn't help anyone's mental health nor does it teach them to relate well to others => "kids hurt".

@sgndep:  Sorry to derail the thread.

Sorry, I was actually replying to the other poster. I just noticed the difference between your reply and his.

Back to this post. Did the father live with the mother all of the child's years? This would leave only 1 question. Why did he leave things undone.  The mother has no benefits as per SS since common law marriage is not recognized.
                                                                         
What the world does isn't the issue here, only his responsibility, of which someone else is trying to fix.