2 hours ago, MJoe said:

Thanks, this is great - appreciate it. Are you going to physically send anything (eg: completed downloaded form or copy of last year’s form)? Or are you going to rely solely on the phone attestation?

I won't be sending any hardcopy form as a followup. That doesn't guarantee its own favorable results; 3 years ago I received the 7162 the SSA had sent to me here in Thailand...then mailed it back when I went to a U.S. Post Office when I was visiting relatives in the U.S....and it never got either sent to the SSA, or received by the SSA, or entered into the SSA database. I got a 2nd notice 3 months later......

3 hours ago, jeffandgop said:

I won't be sending any hardcopy form as a followup. That doesn't guarantee its own favorable results; 3 years ago I received the 7162 the SSA had sent to me here in Thailand...then mailed it back when I went to a U.S. Post Office when I was visiting relatives in the U.S....and it never got either sent to the SSA, or received by the SSA, or entered into the SSA database. I got a 2nd notice 3 months later......

Yeah, I think it's supposed to come from your foreign address. I reckon they won't tell you that in a follow-up. It's good that they sent a second form. You're lucky. They could have not sent it and you might assume the first one went through... 🍀

A friend of mine lives up near the Phuket International Airport, but out in a rural area. He got his 7162 yesterday. That means that everyone I personally know in Phuket has now received their 7162 form for 2026 except me. Are there still people in Phuket who haven't gotten theirs yet? This is so annoying and frustrating.

Edited July 17Jul 17 by Galong

Also have not received this year's yet. 100km south of Hua Hin, although is Muang district. Strangely some parcel delivery services out of BKK go to Chumphon first, and then back up to us.

Doubt if ThaiPost does that. You'd think being Muang district, mail would be a bit of a priority, but it is a small town, of ~27k people.

Edited July 17Jul 17 by KhunLA

Got it!! Our local post office called my wife on Friday evening to tell her that it arrived around 6:00 pm from BKK. They knew we were anxious to get this package. It's so nice having a post office that goes that extra step.

I have been getting the form usually in June in the past years. Haven't got it yet this year. Pattaya Chonburi 20150.

55 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

I have been getting the form usually in June in the past years.

Something tells me that's not true for last year.

1 hour ago, dingdongrb said:

Something tells me that's not true for last year.

last year was unusual, when did you get yours last year?

Edited July 19Jul 19 by Thailand J

Received today in Huay Yai. In the past I have never received this close to the date on the form (June 2nd).

Received today in Jomtein 20150, date on the form is July 2.

Got mine today in Lamphun. I'll send it back tomorrow regular air mail.

Edited July 20Jul 20 by connda

4 hours ago, Siam71 said:

Received today in Huay Yai. In the past I have never received this close to the date on the form (June 2nd).

Your form was dated June 2 when everyone else's appears to be July 2 ???..... (including myself)

July 2nd, senior moment.

12 hours ago, Siam71 said:

July 2nd, senior moment.

I can now stop thinking how forms dated a month apart would arrived on the same day. :)

This is from a now a now closed thread at https://aseannow.com/topic/1400816-mailing-report-to-social-security-form-post-office-options/.

I directed the OP over to this thread.

To the OP @djeetyet . There are a number of past comments about using forms of registered mail and mail tracking that goes through the US Postal Service. There is a consensus from a number of members that registered mail tends to get hung up in the US Post Office system and on occasion doesn't make it before the cut-off date. Personally, I just mail mine using regular air mail, i.e., ฿68 THB. If you're going to spend extra money then just go with a courier like Fedex or DHL.

If you use a courier, you'll need to send it to the SSA "Courier" receiving address:

Social Security Administration
Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center
Attention: FEQ Analyst – Courier Service
1150 E. Mountain Drive, Room 341
Wilkes Barre, PA 18767-7162

This is interesting. Anyone try this?

1 hour ago, Base32 said:

Personally, I just mail mine using regular air mail, i.e., ฿68 THB.

Same same, works everytime.

Called the 410 number at 9;20 am Eastern time, message said i'd called outside of business hours of 6 am to 6 PM. Called the 1800 number, talked to them almost immediately and after they checked with their supervisor said it had to be mailed.

2 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Called the 410 number at 9;20 am Eastern time, message said i'd called outside of business hours of 6 am to 6 PM. Called the 1800 number, talked to them almost immediately and after they checked with their supervisor said it had to be mailed.

Welcome to the Bureaucratic Hell of The Social Security Administration.

1 hour ago, connda said:

Welcome to the Bureaucratic Hell of The Social Security Administration.

Better answer. I called them back and he said we would need to make an appointment for them to call back to do the interview. We were setting it up when I commented we should be able to this in mysocial account and he said you could. Just upload the signed document and they'll respond typically within 48 hours that it's been received.

Will try tomorrow after print/sign it. Everyone should try it and see if it works. Post your results here.

8 hours ago, gargamon said:

Called the 410 number at 9;20 am Eastern time, message said i'd called outside of business hours of 6 am to 6 PM. Called the 1800 number, talked to them almost immediately and after they checked with their supervisor said it had to be mailed.

I reported in this thread that I had the same experience last week with the 410 area code number. And tried last night calling at 4PM Eastern Daylight time and got the same outside of business hours recording.

When you say that you called "the 800 number" did you mean the number 18555226936? If no, what was the 800 number that worked for you?

6 hours ago, gargamon said:

Better answer. I called them back and he said we would need to make an appointment for them to call back to do the interview. We were setting it up when I commented we should be able to this in mysocial account and he said you could. Just upload the signed document and they'll respond typically within 48 hours that it's been received.

Will try tomorrow after print/sign it. Everyone should try it and see if it works. Post your results here.

If that was true the SSA would have issued a PROMS to their employees detailing that operational process to follow. I am not aware that there is such a procedure.

Additionally, there is a PROM detailing how the SSA employee is to respond when receiving a call from someone wishing to call in their form 7162 details; responding to a caller that it still needs to be mailed is not in the procedure either.

Seems somebody has no idea what the correct information to respond to a caller is....

Edited July 21Jul 21 by jeffandgop

29 minutes ago, jeffandgop said:

I reported in this thread that I had the same experience last week with the 410 area code number. And tried last night calling at 4PM Eastern Daylight time and got the same outside of business hours recording.

When you say that you called "the 800 number" did you mean the number 18555226936? If no, what was the 800 number that worked for you?

(800) 772-1213 is the only 800 number I called.

14 hours ago, Base32 said:

This is interesting. Anyone try this?

That is the main SSA toll free number....that's not the correct number to call. You need to call the Office Of Earnings & International Operations (+1 855 522 6936 or +1 410 965 0160).

19 minutes ago, gargamon said:

(800) 772-1213 is the only 800 number I called.

That's the main toll free number. Probably explains why they responded to you the way that they did. That telephone number is not the correct one to use. They can't handle this requirement. You need to call the Office Of Earnings & International Operations +1 855 522 6936 or +1 410 965 0160...which 410 number you and I both tried and wasn't answered by the office during working hours. I called in successfully last week using the toll free 855 number...give that a try...

Coincidentally enough, the State Dept sent out an email early this morning to those enrolled in their STEP Program. It stated:

The Social Security Administration (SSA) relies on Social Security benefit recipients to report events that may affect their benefits. To verify the status of beneficiaries with a foreign address on record, SSA contacts these individuals annually or biennially (every two years).

The first mailings for Calendar Year (CY) 2026 of the Foreign Enforcement Questionnaires (FEQ) (Forms SSA-7161 and SSA-7162) were released on July 2, 2026. These mailings are directed to Social Security beneficiaries who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Age 90 or older

• Have a Representative Payee

• Social Security Number (SSN) ends in 00–49 

Please note: Individuals in countries on the USPS International Mail Service suspension list are excluded from the Foreign Enforcement Questionnaire (FEQ) mailing. Social Security beneficiaries in those countries are not required to respond.

Recipients are required to respond within 45 days of receiving the questionnaire. You may respond in one of the following ways:

• By Telephone: Call the dedicated international SSA line at +1-855-522-6936 (7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time) to complete the FEQ by phone.

• By Mail: Return the completed FEQ in the envelope provided to:

Form SSA-7162

Social Security Administration

P.O. Box 7162

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, 18767-7162, U.S.A.

 

Form SSA-7161

P.O. Box 7161

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18767-7161, U.S.A.

 

By Courier: Return the completed FEQ to:

Social Security Administration

Wilkes-Barre Direct Operations Center

Attention: FEQ Analyst – Courier Service

150 E. Mountain Dr. Room 341

Wilkes Barre, PA 18702-7997

 

Important: Do not email the FEQ form. If you are unable to return the form using the provided envelope, you may use an international mail or package delivery service to send the completed FEQ directly to your servicing Federal Benefits Unit (FBU), not to the U.S. PO Box. Please be aware that mailing the form directly to the FBU may increase processing time.

 

In the absence of a response to the initial contact, SSA will send a second mailer to non-responders. Failure to comply with the Foreign Enforcement Program requirements will result in the suspension of benefits.

 

If you do not receive the form but believe that you are required to complete it, please contact your servicing Federal Benefits Unit (FBU). 

 

For additional information, please visit the official Social Security website:

• Life events | SSA

• What to Do When Someone Dies | SSA

Thank you for helping us maintain the accuracy of your Social Security records and for fulfilling your reporting responsibilities.

If you are a registered user, you can manage your subscriptions by clicking the link below. Guest subscribers cannot manage subscriptions but can create a Login.gov account to manage future subscriptions.

4 minutes ago, jeffandgop said:

That's the main toll free number. Probably explains why they responded to you the way that they did. That telephone number is not the correct one to use. They can't handle this requirement. You need to call the Office Of Earnings & International Operations +1 855 522 6936 or +1 410 965 0160...which 410 number you and I both tried and wasn't answered by the office during working hours. I called in successfully last week using the toll free 855 number...give that a try...

Thanks. I'll try that tonight. The recording says from 7:00 am so it makes it easy. I'm going to upload it also and see what response I get.

15 minutes ago, gargamon said:

Thanks. I'll try that tonight. The recording says from 7:00 am so it makes it easy. I'm going to upload it also and see what response I get.

You probably caught that the STEP message does not contain the 410 number as a number to call...I'm not going to try that one again....Good luck!

On 6/20/2026 at 1:24 PM, cusanus said:

After installing Firefox SSA allowed my camera for a photo of my passport and my face. Funny, though, I was using Chrome. Go figure. Then it asks for a US phone number to receive a code. Hey, I haven't lived in the US for 21 years, so there are no public records for my phone. I do have a MagicJack with Montana number, but they don't accept that. SO, it appears there is no way to finish verification for a SSA account. Anyone have a solution for that?

I'm reading through all of this topic, but responding first with two screenshots I emailed to my House Rep.
Basically, it looks to me to be changes that took affect in early 2025, you need a real US phone number to get into your account.

On 7/13/2026 at 6:35 PM, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

I sent mine by registered mail back in 2018 and it was returned as undeliverable even though I used the SSA envelope. Seems it got as far as the USPS mail center in New York and never made it out. I've sent it regular airmail ever since and haven't had a problem.

I had the same problem a few years back. The tracking worked all the way to the Wilkes Barre mail center - then stopped.
I got a 2nd notice, repeated the registered mail and it also stopped in Wilkes Barre.
My congressman had me process a waiver and then email a copy of the details, plus the form 7162... and it worked.