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I dated a girl in highschool who didn't have a social security number. Her parents thought it was the mark of the beast and never registered one for her. All that did was cause her a problem when she became an adult. She had to go down and register one for herself so that she could do normal things like rent an apartment, buy a car, have a credit card, or get a job.
At least if she had a birth certificate, it's not so bad. Still a huge, unnecessary pain in the ass, but kids without birth certificates are going to have a complete nightmare as adults (assuming they don't grow up to be as crazy as their parents). It's so, so hard. I wish sovcits would limit their bullshit to themselves and not subject their poor kids to it.
Confirm. Had to help a friend of mine rebuild her documentation from scratch because her mom, who is nuts, destroyed her birth certificate, social security paperwork, driver's license, and all other documentation apparently out of spite.
It turns out, it's very difficult to get a replacement birth certificate without the involvement of your sole remaining parent when said parent is dead set on being uncooperative. If you don't have a government photo ID, getting the other documents is impossible. And if you don't have the other documents, getting the photo ID is impossible. Chicken and the egg!
I know we have a non-profit where I live that specifically helps people with that. Usually, it's homeless people who just don't have any of their documentation anymore, but I recommended them to someone whose parent was similarly awful. I don't even know where you'd start.
It varies a bit by state. We wound up asking an attorney, and they were able to direct us towards where to get the correct forms and paperwork. We had to get signed and notarized affidavits from other surviving family members to attest that she was who she said she was, etc. It took ages, and tons of running around all over the place to this office, that office, this government building, that government building, all over the damn state.
You are an amazing person and friend for helping and supporting them through that. I hope your friend is doing well!
That reminds me of one awesome movie with Bud Spencer.
(Banana Joe)
this is more of a problem with everything requiring social security as id. yknow, the thing specifically made not to be an id
I didn't have one until in was 15. My dad was forced to because he couldn't claim me on his taxes anymore when the IRS made it mandatory. "That was the year seven million children vanished," according to the IRS at the time.
The frustrating thing is that he was so vehemently against it, my mother had to do it (she controlled the finances), and this led to a huge issue because I was born overseas for my dad's work. They had to drag out state department records and proof I was a US citizen, because of being born on foreign soil. It was a mess.
Depends upon how long ago. Back in the 70s and 80s it was not common to apply for Social Security at birth or as a young child. It was also a bigger hassle before the internet. Some combination of phone calls, mail, and visiting the Social Security office in some cases.
You really didn't need it until you hit your teens and started to work or got your own bank account.
I think I was like 10 or 12 when I got my SSN. It wasn't any sort of protest or parental BS. Just didn't need it before then.
I think she was born in 1980, but literally everyone else I knew had a SSN their whole life. I think you're an outlier, but I'm just speaking from my own limited experience. Have you met other people your age who didn't have SSN as kids? When my son was born we just filled out a form at the hospital. I'm pretty sure they filed it for us, although I can't remember for sure, since it has been a couple of decades now.
I was born in the 60s and didn't get my social security number until I got my first job. That's the way it used to be.
I’m a little older and it was normal to not get SSN until you needed it as a teen. Meanwhile, for my kids, it was part of their newborn paperwork. I don’t know if it was actually required but they made it easy and there were benefits that did require it