What is the Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program and how does it work?
Executive summary
The Enumeration Beyond Entry (EBE) program is an interagency agreement that lets the Social Security Administration (SSA) receive applicant data from DHS/USCIS so that Social Security numbers (SSNs) and cards can be assigned to certain non‑citizens without an in‑person SSA visit [1] [2]. Designed to streamline issuance for people who obtain work authorization, lawful permanent residence, or naturalization, EBE has been expanded, audited, and — most recently — subject to internal pauses and policy changes that have provoked public attention and partisan claims [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What EBE is: an interagency enumeration shortcut, not a blanket giveaway
EBE is an administrative arrangement between the SSA and DHS (including USCIS and State Department workflows) that allows the agencies to transmit information about eligible non‑citizens so SSA can assign original Social Security numbers or update records without requiring applicants to apply in person at an SSA field office [1] [2] [7]. The program covers people who are approved for employment authorization, granted lawful permanent residence, or naturalized citizens in contexts where USCIS or State collects the necessary enumeration data and shares it with SSA [2] [3] [7].
2. How it works in practice: data handoffs, automated creation, and mail delivery
Operationally, USCIS (or DHS/State acting through immigration forms) provides SSA with applicant identity and eligibility data; SSA then creates or updates NUMIDENT records, marks the record as processed through EBE, issues an SSN or updates status, and typically mails a Social Security card to the applicant’s address rather than requiring a field‑office visit [2] [8]. The program can apply at different points — at entry (Enumeration At Entry, EAE) or beyond entry (EBE) for those already in the U.S. — but the core mechanism is the electronic transfer of immigration adjudication data to SSA so enumeration happens without separate paperwork by the applicant [1] [7] [8].
3. Origins, audits, and documented risks
EBE traces to an interagency agreement launched in October 2017 to make enumeration more efficient; audits by SSA Office of Inspector General and Oversight have examined whether EAE/EBE controls prevent multiple SSN assignments and have documented both program benefits and control vulnerabilities [4] [9] [10]. Congressional and inspector general materials note the program’s legal basis in statutes authorizing SSA to assign numbers to lawfully admitted non‑citizens and in memoranda of understanding that set operational terms [1] [7] [10].
4. Benefits touted and criticisms raised
Proponents frame EBE as an efficiency measure that reduces burdens on new work‑authorized migrants, immigrants, and newly naturalized citizens — eliminating separate field‑office trips and speeding payroll and benefit administration [5] [11]. Critics and auditors have flagged risks: internal control weaknesses that could lead to duplicate SSNs, legal and procedural questions about data sharing and adequacy of notice to applicants, and agency capacity implications if millions of enumerations flow through different channels [4] [9] [5].
5. Recent policy changes, pauses, and politicized narrative
Since 2024–2025 reporting, agencies have publicly expanded EBE to include Form N‑400 naturalization applicants while internal SSA messages and investigative reporting show portions of the EBE process were paused or modified, prompting scrutiny from oversight offices and legal observers; some outlets and political figures have interpreted these changes as evidence of mass SSN issuance to “illegals,” a characterization fact‑checked as lacking context because EBE issues numbers only to those who successfully obtain work authorization, green cards, or citizenship [3] [5] [12] [6] [13]. Multiple sources report an internal SSA pause affecting noncitizens granted work authorization and newly naturalized citizens, and oversight correspondence warned of downstream impacts if the pause continued [12] [6].
6. What is clear and what remains unresolved
What is clear from the documentation is the program’s mechanics: electronic data exchange from DHS/USCIS/State to SSA that enables automated enumeration for eligible applicants [2] [8]. What remains less certain in public reporting is the full scope and duration of recent suspensions or policy rollbacks across all beneficiary groups, the precise volume of SSNs affected beyond summary figures cited by advocacy and reporting, and how SSA will resolve identified control weaknesses without disrupting service — information not fully provided in the available sources [5] [6] [4].