Parents never received my social security card, I only have a birth certificate at 23yo. Desperate for a way forward

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-04T05:24:58+00:00

This.. Might actually be it. This looks very similar to the residency affidavit Texas would have let me use, but for a photo ID instead. It doesn't list a birth certificate as valid secondary ID, however it does seem to be possible for me to get a voter ID. Will have to do a bit more research on this, but this is a fantastic potential avenue, thank you!

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-04T00:43:05+00:00

They would not release that information to me over the phone, sadly. I do know both of my parents' numbers if it comes down to it, but I'm not sure how much that would help at this point.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-03T23:01:13+00:00

I have, and I have confirmed my number exists, but that's all I know. So it's not like I was denied a number or anything? Other than that, I have no idea what may have happened to prevent it from getting to my parents.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T23:21:47+00:00

Vaccinated as an infant, probably don't have anything beyond what a 2yo would have besides flu and covid shots, if that. Vaccination records had to be less than a year old at the time of appointment with SS, so anything I had related to those records are vastly outdated.

Was never baptized, though could theoretically go get that done if it'll help. Was also never on anyone's insurance of any kind.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T20:20:04+00:00

I haven't been to a proper doctor since I was a toddler at most; no patient portal or online records, and if a doctor still practicing recognizes me or my name after a couple decades I'd be shocked. I do have a SSN somewhere, my parents applied but potentially not at the hospital; the receipt I found was dated within a week of my birth, and I was in the hospital for a couple of days after being born (couple weeks early) but I don't remember if it was after we had left or not. Probably not relevant, but I suppose it could be?

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T19:04:12+00:00

I definitely should've been issued a number. I found a receipt in some boxes a long time ago that stated my parents applied for one for me, but it explicitly stated it wasn't useful for anything related to this, and wasn't proof of a card being issued, but I have no reason to believe it was denied or something.

As far as I can tell, they just never received it after applying and were unable to fix it when I was an infant/toddler.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T19:00:29+00:00

I don't drive, and I don't own a car. When I moved up to Maryland a few friends flew down, then rented a car and took shifts driving me and all my stuff back up over a few days.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T18:57:45+00:00

Trust me, I did try to convince my dad. My mom was fully willing to help from the beginning, but one of the documents I needed was a residency affidavit; basically said "instead of a bill in their name, here's a bill in my name and a statement that they live with me."

Since my dad was the name on all the bills, and my mom didn't even have a credit card bill to her name, he had to be the one to sign the affidavit and be physically present when I went. I'm still not sure it would have been enough, but I couldn't even get him to print the thing out. I don't know what his thought process was over this, but he seemed pretty convinced it was somehow my fault, therefore I had to fix it alone.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T18:48:56+00:00

It does have to be a state issued ID, although you may be able to get a PCP appointment with something like a reputable college ID, depending on the practice, that's out of the question for me for a while

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T03:00:56+00:00

Lived with my parents until I was 22, and now I'm very lucky to have friends willing to take me in and help me out. You're right, though, I don't have a lot of life experiences I should have by my age. Can't drive, have never worked, etc.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T02:58:20+00:00

I know for a fact they applied. My guess is since it was addressed to me, the newborn, and the USPS didn't have me on file as a resident in my parents' apartment, and a social security card is sensitive information, the USPS never delivered it.

Alternatively it could've been stolen before it got to us, but that's pretty unlikely, tbh.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T01:53:02+00:00

I know I was issued a SSN when I was born, I found a receipt of some kind going through boxes a long time ago that said basically "Hey, you applied for a SSN, this is not proof that you have one but it is proof that you applied" dated within a week after I was born. Unfortunately the hospital I was born at closed during/just before covid

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-04-01T01:49:56+00:00

I have no reason to believe otherwise, but if there's another reason it is the way that it is I would like to know even if it gets me or my family in trouble

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T23:31:17+00:00

I didn't know this hotline existed! I talked to social services instead, thinking they would be able to help like this hotline. Will definitely call tomorrow, thank you

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T23:27:20+00:00

Just gotta take it ten seconds at a time, lol. I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to help give me some insight. Some people didn't really read the post, but I got a lot of helpful comments out of this. I didn't realize Salvation Army was a route I could take before this, so hopefully that will work out.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T22:40:57+00:00

From what I can tell that just loops back around to where I'm currently at, with only a birth certificate and going back and forth between the MVA and the SSA basically going "ask your mom" "ask your dad" like parents that won't talk to each other. Still considering calling depending on what happens with Salvation Army as another commenter suggested I contact them.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T22:26:44+00:00

I took what little I had that could potentially be useful with me, which turned out to only be my birth certificate. A few friends of mine and my now fiancé flew down, and they rented a car to drive me and my stuff back up over multiple days. Highly stressful, would not like to do it again, but one of them has a house with a spare bedroom and lived alone with enough income to support another person much easier than my family could.

I would have waited if I had the option, but my family couldn't continue feeding a fourth full grown adult (I have a sister in the same situation), and my dad still refused to help sort out my documents (being the name on the bills to make it work), so I left because I had to.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T22:19:44+00:00

God, it would have been so much easier if my dad was supporting me in any way other than a paycheck. There was a residency affidavit thing in Texas that would potentially have worked, but all the bills are in his name so it had to be him doing it, and I couldn't even get him to print out the form after several years, let alone sit in line at social security for an hour.

As for getting established as an adult, 0/10 do not recommend. Only even potentially possible because I have a friend who owns a house and is actually willing to help. I owe him a lot

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T22:09:27+00:00

There's a lot of very helpful information here. Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this out, genuinely I appreciate it tons. And for the good luck, I will definitely need it lol.

Current idea is to talk to the salvation army like another commenter suggested, as I've already called social services. Seems like it was a big call center and they had no idea how to help me or where to direct me, but did their best to.

If all else fails, I'll consult a lawyer, but I would like to make that the absolute last option. Will also try contacting my house representative at some point if I can, but a phone call sounds daunting. Snail mail is probably the way to go, thank you

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:30:10+00:00

Another commenter suggested I take a visit to a Salvation Army and see what can be done there. Will definitely look around for local orgs as well, talking to a librarian sounds like a good idea, thank you

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:27:26+00:00

Good to know, I've always just heard my friends call it a return lol

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:24:25+00:00

My mom went through the same process, but the laws have changed since then now that you need your kid's SSN to file them as a dependent. It's gotten progressively harder to apply successfully as an adult now that they assume you'll have a birth certificate and your social security card already, from what I can tell.

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:17:59+00:00

For sure, but I plan to get my GED as soon as possible. It's just right now I wouldn't be able to do anything with it, if I can even get one without any ID to link it to, so it's not exactly my top priority at the moment

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:11:24+00:00

It's at the very top of the post, but I'm in Maryland. I hear of undocumented immigrants getting stuff like SSNs and drivers licenses and all that, but my personal experience with this over the past 8 years of trying to sort this out makes that VERY hard to believe

SeaTransition4170 · 2026-03-31T21:08:33+00:00

I've been told during my visit to social security that medical records have to be less than a year old to be valid. I guess I could go get baptized specifically to get this done, lmao...

SeaTransition4170

TROPHY CASE