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I recently came to the United States from overseas. I am temporarily here as a student. Do I need a Social Security number (SSN) to register for college?

No. To protect the integrity of Social Security numbers and guard against misuse, we have stepped up our efforts to dissuade schools and other organizations from using Social Security numbers as identifiers. For example, states that use them on drivers’ licenses are phasing out the practice. Schools are not authorized to use Social Security numbers to administer educational programs and we cannot give you a number for this purpose. If an organization asks you to provide your  number, you are not required to do so. In most cases, such as yours, the organization will assign an internal number for administrative purposes.

For more information, see International Students And Social Security Numbers (Publication No. 05-10181).