A friend of mine is 21 and from a Native American reservation out west. She told me that she has a lot of trouble because she cannot get an ID since she doesn’t have a Social Security number or a birth certificate. She was born at home and homeschooled her entire life before her family moved to the East Coast where I met her. I take her story with a grain of salt since I don’t know her extremely well, but I was thinking about what steps she would need to take to fix this. She was born in the United States but has no paperwork. I told her that talking to an immigration lawyer might be her best option, which she plans on doing.
Would that be the right kind of lawyer for her to see? And what steps might they go through to help her get all her necessary paperwork and identification?
She should talk to the Social Security Administration, not immigration. Anyone age 12 or older requesting an original Social Security number (SSN), who does not have a birth certificate, must appear in person for an interview with evidence of their birth in the United States.
I work on a reservation, and it makes sense that there are older individuals with unknown birthdays because they were born at home. If your friend was born on a reservation and needed any care, she likely had a Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) card. I would start with that. If she doesn’t have one, her parents are probably recognized by the tribe and can attest to her birth, allowing the tribe to grant her that initial form of identification.
This happens surprisingly often and is known as identity neglect. Parents often decline all government involvement and may not have claimed the kids on taxes or registered them with the government intentionally.
I went through this myself. I explained to the Social Security office that my parents never registered my birth. They made me jump through many hoops, but I kept at it. One requirement was that my parents had to take out an ad in the local paper announcing my birth, even though I was 17. It was an honest mistake on their part—they were great parents who just forgot to do one important thing!
If her parents are Native American, it should be easier and just require contact with her tribal government. If her story is true and her parents aren’t Native American, it’s a different situation altogether.
If her parents will help, the first step is getting her a birth certificate, which usually requires at least one parent’s signature. If born on reservation land, that process falls under tribal governance, making it easier. If her parents aren’t available, she may need a relative to provide an affidavit about her birth, and that process can be long and costly.
I had to do something similar when my mother didn’t register my birth. I needed hospital records, a marriage license, and affidavits from people who knew me, among other things. It was a long and stressful process!
I’m not sure how it works on the reservation, but she can pursue a delayed birth certificate and provide proof of residency. She might use tax returns if her parents claimed her as a dependent or medical records to establish her identity.
This sounds suspicious. It’s strange that parents wouldn’t apply for an SSN to claim their child as a dependent or for tax credits. Maybe she was abducted or kidnapped as a baby.
Ashwin said:
This sounds suspicious. It’s strange that parents wouldn’t apply for an SSN to claim their child as a dependent or for tax credits. Maybe she was abducted or kidnapped as a baby.
It’s actually not uncommon. Many choose to avoid government paperwork altogether on principle. Think about it: stranger abduction is extremely rare; leaving kids undocumented is not.
Ashwin said:
This sounds suspicious. It’s strange that parents wouldn’t apply for an SSN to claim their child as a dependent or for tax credits. Maybe she was abducted or kidnapped as a baby.
Or maybe they are just poor and didn’t think it was a priority.