SSA 7162 help needed

Hello Group,
I have a question for the group. The SSA-7162 is due in November and I want to know how I can fulfill this requirement. The previous two years the pandemic erased this requirement, but this year the pandemic restrictions have been lifted for Vietnam. Before, the SSA-7162 was submitted to the FBU Manila office, but the Philippines are still in lockdown, or I think some thing to the effect. Obviously, I don't want to be late for this deadline.

How do I get the SSA-7162 to them in a timely manner?
-@Good_Man

Hi Mark,

Did you contact the Philippines office by email yet?

(aside: Bob and Khanh just came through Hội An recently and your name came up in conversation. Glad to hear you are doing OK.)

@OceanBeach92107

Yep, I did 10 days ago, but no answer yet. The Manila office said they were answer my email within 15 days, but I'm getting antsy about the whole thing.

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms/imag … R-SM-1.pdf

Administration, P.O. Box 7162, Wilkes-Barre,. Pennsylvania, 18767-7162, U.S.A.

Here's the form and mailing address. Need to beat feet, Nov is the latest before they cut you off.

Rick

@Budman1

I did it yesterday. Thanks for the heads up. I was worried for a second

@Budman1
I did it yesterday. Thanks for the heads up. I was worried for a second
-@Good_Man

I downloaded the form 7162 just now, I'll get it printed out today.

We live in My Tho, Viet Nam. So this is the first time I have encountered this. We are going to HCMC tomorrow AM for my Visa Bus ride to Cambodia.

We are building a house in Old My Tho, but our address is not ready yet. It will be ready by end of November or early December 2022.

1. Do I just list the address of the hotel we are staying in in My Tho City, Viet Nam2.
2. How/do I get the form witnessed here?
3. Do I use our USA address, or cite Vietnam as my new place of residence.
4. I am here on a VEC. Permanent residence, as we all know is an elusive status here. So, how should I state this to SSA?

Can anyone walk me through what I do next with this form. Seemingly I'm not aware of this need until just now.

Thanks in Advance,

MAc

@Budman1
I did it yesterday. Thanks for the heads up. I was worried for a second
-@Good_Man

I downloaded the form 7162 just now, I'll get it printed out today.
We live in My Tho, Viet Nam. So this is the first time I have encountered this. We are going to HCMC tomorrow AM for my Visa Bus ride to Cambodia.
We are building a house in Old My Tho, but our address is not ready yet. It will be ready by end of November or early December 2022.



Do I just list the address of the hotel we are staying in in My Tho City, Viet Nam2.
How/do I get the form witnessed here?
Do I use our USA address, or cite Vietnam as my new place of residence.
I am here on a VEC. Permanent residence, as we all know is an elusive status here. So, how should I state this to SSA?


Can anyone walk me through what I do next with this form. Seemingly I'm not aware of this need until just now.

Thanks in Advance,

MAc
-@Mac68

Start here and follow the links

@Budman1
I did it yesterday. Thanks for the heads up. I was worried for a second
-@Good_Man

I downloaded the form 7162 just now, I'll get it printed out today.
We live in My Tho, Viet Nam. So this is the first time I have encountered this. We are going to HCMC tomorrow AM for my Visa Bus ride to Cambodia.
We are building a house in Old My Tho, but our address is not ready yet. It will be ready by end of November or early December 2022.



Do I just list the address of the hotel we are staying in in My Tho City, Viet Nam2.
How/do I get the form witnessed here?
Do I use our USA address, or cite Vietnam as my new place of residence.
I am here on a VEC. Permanent residence, as we all know is an elusive status here. So, how should I state this to SSA?


Can anyone walk me through what I do next with this form. Seemingly I'm not aware of this need until just now.

Thanks in Advance,

MAc
-@Mac68

Start here and follow the links
-@OceanBeach92107

OB, don't know why, but I got a 403 error following the the 'Start here'

MAc

Start here and follow the links
-@OceanBeach92107

OB, don't know why, but I got a 403 error following the the 'Start here'
MAc
-@Mac68

Probably your individual computer security settings OR something about the server your internet connection is using.

I just checked and it works fine both with and without my VPN service

Start here and follow the links
-@OceanBeach92107

OB, don't know why, but I got a 403 error following the the 'Start here'
MAc
-@Mac68

Probably your individual computer security settings OR something about the server your internet connection is using.

I just checked and it works fine both with and without my VPN service
-@OceanBeach92107

Thanks OB, I'll work on it.

MAc

@Budman1

Hey Rick, some feedback on the address you gave me. The USPS sent a message to the Vietnam Post saying that the mail had been delayed because the address is not correct. They give it only a couple of days.

@Good_Man USPS is f##### up. That's the same address I've been sending my wife's and I SSA 7162 for years and years. I's right off their website.

Rick

@Good_Man I sent the 7162 directly to the office of overseas operations in Baltimore then Wilkes-Barre via UPS and FedEx. (They told me to do this, no po box) Manila actually threatened not to process the 7162 because I called instead of emailed.. (they never return emails) I then called the service desk and had the case escalated to OIO ... Who then had me fax 2 copies. They have it. Finally. 120$ and 12 emails + 14 phone calls later. They need to put these forms online. I can't get mail here unless it has my wife's phone number or a tracking number.. unless you guys can tell me a better way.. it's going to be a 6 month process each year

Thank you for your help though

@Budman1
Hey Rick, some feedback on the address you gave me. The USPS sent a message to the Vietnam Post saying that the mail had been delayed because the address is not correct. They give it only a couple of days.
-@Good_Man

Unfortunately you have temporarily run afoul of automated address scanning.

When that happens (an automatic rejection) the individual piece of mail must be visually processed by a human being, usually taking up to 2 business days.

The automated address system doesn't like periods, commas and even hyphens.

I took the address as given by Rick and fed it into the USPS address tool at

https://tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup.htm?byaddress

The result deleted all punctuation:

If you had an official, pre-addressed return envelope, that's how the address would appear (and pass the initial scan):

SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

PO BOX 7162

WILKES BARRE PA 18767-7162

It's a delay only.

...They need to put these forms online...
-@Mr. Jonez

The form is online:

(CAUTION: The following link is a direct download of a PDF file. Don't click it unless you want to immediately begin the download from an official website of the US Government. If your server is not trusted by the US Government, you may not be able to access the file)

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms/imag … R-SM-1.pdf

...and there is nothing in the law that requires you to wait for a notification & the form from the SSA in order to make the report.

In fact, you can generate a new report anytime.

Maybe you could simply send a form on the same date every year, or even every 6 months?

@OceanBeach92107

Yep, I know what the problem is now. I hope it'll get fixed.

@OceanBeach92107 That's actually a good idea. Save some time. One of the agents told me they are trying to put all forms online..... Which obviously would be much easier for everyone.

By the way here's the street address I was given to send documents via UPS. I was instructed to send it... Then a few days later I was told to fax a copy to 1 833-914-1628

SSA department of overseas operations

TPWU

6100 Wabash Ave

Baltimore MD 21215

To all the posts above you guys are making mountains out of ant hills. The established procedure is so simple . SSA sends you the bar coded form with a pre-addressed return envelope. Fill it out and mail it back, Way to easy. Never has it been a problem for many years I've lived in VN.

Rick

@Budman1 if you are in Vietnam you must contact Manilla office. They are open. I contacted them last month.

@Budman1 the problem is we dont get the mail delivered!!!!

@OceanBeach92107 each person gets a letter with aspecific code. You cannot just download a form and send back.

@OceanBeach92107 each person gets a letter with aspecific code. You cannot just download a form and send back.
-@Rmhc1

Forgive me please, but I don't believe that.

The federal government does indeed send out coded forms from various departments, but downloading and using a basic form without coding is always an option (form damaged, etc).

@Good_Man while i lived in VN i just used a US bank account and US mailing address. Had no problems. Note that i did a least make an appearance in the US every year, bu i'm not sure ha was relevant.

@OceanBeach92107 each person gets a letter with aspecific code. You cannot just download a form and send back.
-@Rmhc1

Forgive me please, but I don't believe that.

The federal government does indeed send out coded forms from various departments, but downloading and using a basic form without coding is always an option (form damaged, etc).
-@OceanBeach92107

OB,

I've downloaded the form based on information I read here, that I need to send it in. I 've never been sent a coded form 7162.

My question is: is this something I should worry about?

I've a USA mailing address. Banking there, etc.

Thanks inadvance,

MAc

@Mac68 Hey Mac. I have a US address which is listed on My Social Security as my mailing address in the US and I have a US phone number listed as the contact information on the system. I also have my check deposited in a US bank. I went searching a little for more information online and found this rather active discussion on a site I used to visit for expats living in Yucatan Mexico.

https://yucalandia.com/2022/08/19/annua … ng-abroad/

I never received these forms even before the pandemic.

@OceanBeach92107 each person gets a letter with aspecific code. You cannot just download a form and send back.
-@Rmhc1

Forgive me please, but I don't believe that.

The federal government does indeed send out coded forms from various departments, but downloading and using a basic form without coding is always an option (form damaged, etc).
-@OceanBeach92107

OB,
I've downloaded the form based on information I read here, that I need to send it in. I 've never been sent a coded form 7162.
My question is: is this something I should worry about?
I've a USA mailing address. Banking there, etc.
Thanks inadvance,

MAc
-@Mac68

Hey Mac,

My sense is that Rick (Budman) is the most reliable source for such info here in Vietnam.

Having said that, it "seems to me" that anyone continuing to maintain a legal address in the USA (one satisfactory to US government agencies) can probably fly under the SSA radar for a long time.

I know for a fact that Việt Kiều Ciambella and her Canadian-born US citizen husband spent over 5 years here using two different VECs and never filled out the form.

They never had a problem with Social Security, and they even received all recent stimulus checks.

They used her daughter's address in the USA for residence purposes with a Charles Schwab bank account for direct deposits (she did say that she told the bank she was on extended travels here, but she never informed SSA).

HOWEVER, the SSA blog I linked to earlier makes the LEGAL requirement clear:

If you’re a U.S. citizen, you may receive your Social Security payments outside the United States as long as you are eligible. When we say you are “outside the United States,” we mean you’re not in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or American Samoa. Once you’ve been outside the United States for at least 30 days in a row, we consider you to be outside the country.

So that's when the SSA becomes interested: after 30 days outside the USA (after that section they outline reporting requirements).

Do you need to worry?

Legally, yes.

@OB, a few years ago the forms never made it to us through the VN mail system to our house, time was getting close so I downloaded them on line. We filled them out and mailed them off to the SSA, with a cover letter explaining why we weren't submitting the coded forms from them.  Ms "C" was slick, she figured out how to beat the system legally. @MAC, should you be worried? I'd say yes and suggest you get street legal with them soon, real soon.

Rick