New Social Security Tips + Photos from the Border

I just got a valid Social Security Number (SSN). What’s next?
Last month, we showed you how to inform the IRS about your new SSN. Once you have completed that first step, there are two things left to do: 1) Notify your creditors (credit card companies and loan providers), and 2) notify the three credit bureaus.

1) Notify your creditors. Contact the banks or financial institutions where you have your accounts and ask them to replace the ITIN information on your account with your new SSN. Usually, you can do this by visiting the local branch of your bank or call your bank’s customer service number. Your bank or financial institution may ask you to follow their instructions to make this update.

2) Notify the three credit bureaus. Write and mail a separate letter to each of the three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Click here for a sample letter that you can use, and note that you will need to attach copies of your ITIN, your SSN, and a document showing your name and current address, such as a driver’s license, state ID, or a recent bill. Be sure to send your letters by certified mail so you can track them, and keep copies of your letters for your records.

You should receive confirmation of this update from all three credit bureaus in two to four weeks. If you have any issues, contact the credit bureau directly.

Important note: these tips apply ONLY to previous ITINs, not to false SSNs.

Immigration in the Arts
Before the Border: The Caravan Series, A Work in Progress from the Migration Project. David W. Lynch, a Washington resident and documentary photographer, has traveled three times to Mexico since late 2018 to photograph “The Caravans” —thousands of people from Central America who have walked away from their homes, some desperately seeking asylum and safety in the U.S., others searching for economic opportunity.
Lynch’s photographs, arresting and breathtaking in their utter humanity, reject the idea that there is a monolithic story about “The Caravans,” or the issue of migration as a single subject. Lynch has created a powerful body of work that offers a glimpse into the migrants’ individual stories as humans.

The project is far from complete. Lynch aims to return for a fourth time to the U.S.-Mexico border to document those touched by migration on both sides. Lynch seeks to capture, “the faces of hard-working people in government agencies, who for the most part are doing their best in difficult circumstances, sometimes under withering public criticism, and staff members at non-profits … And of course…the faces of the asylum seekers who will successfully navigate the system, and of those who will be classed as economic migrants, and be turned away.”

Click here to view Mr. Lynch’s photos, or check out his new book here.