Legal Aliens

As I was reading and filling out the forms at the Social Security Office around 2 weeks after we arrived I realised what it was that Sting was singing about all those years ago....the only box that 'fitted' me was that of a Legal Alien. 'In Law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen in that country'. I never actually had seen the term written down before.

Just like getting a drivers license it is very necessary to have your social security number and alien status because without it, and your drivers licence you can't get any of your utilities connected, rent a house, get your rubbish collected or buy a car, to name but a few things, I'm sure there must be more. It's catch 22 wherever you turn until you finally have both pieces of paper in the palm of your sweaty hand.

On good advice we waited 2 weeks after we arrived to schedule our appointment, enough time we were told for Immigration to do their thing and get you 'into the system'. But hey, they're probably busy and when we'd filled in our forms, made our way to the interview window we were told "computer says no". Not on the system = no social security number and therefore none of the above necessities in life. We are given a temporary letter to say that we have applied, but it doesn't really help much and told that the system will keep on being checked and our numbers sent out to us...it could take anything from between 3 days to 3 weeks. Thankfully we have a cool landlord who just kept everything connected for us at the house until the numbers came through.

I say numbers, but in fact 1 week later my social security number arrives but Ian's doesn't. At least I can set up everything we need, except the delivery of the cars, they're both in Ian's name. When another week had gone by we both tried calling the SS office but that has an even more time consuming and annoying automated system than the bank and unfortunately you can't sit and press zero until you get a human being and it didn't recognise frustrated yells either. There was nothing for it but to go in person but that meant Ian having to find a couple of hours in the day and then he had to return to the UK for a week so more time went by.

Last week he managed to get there, turns out that his number was dispatched on the same day as mine where it went to nobody knows. He had to re-apply and eight weeks and 2 days after arriving we are still waiting for his elusive number. We are still waiting for our cars too which are somewhere in the US waiting for us as they were ordered in July (there's a tax incentive if you buy before you fly.)

Eight weeks after arriving in the US it still hasn't arrived....maybe it'll come today then again maybe it won't.