TN 15 (01-03)

A. Policy

SSA verifies all pertinent periods of FTA of students outside the United States before a determination is made on the claimant's entitlement to student benefits.

See RS 00205.755 for the procedure for Mexican and Philippine claims.

B. Procedure

Do not delay other development or adjudication pending receipt of the SSA-1372-BK-FC when payment can be made to other beneficiaries or to the student for another established period of FTA.

1. Initial claims

Give an SSA-1372-BK-FC to the student and ask him or her to:

• read, complete, sign and date the “Student's Statement Regarding School Attendance Outside the United States”;

• have a school official complete the “Certification By School Official”;

  NOTE: If an SSA-1372-BK-FC is received and the “Certification By School Official” is not completed, give the form back to the student for completion by a school official. If the school is in Mexico or the Philippines, do not return the form to the student. Request the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) to take action as explained in RS 00205.755.

• give the school official the “Notice of Cessation of Full-Time Attendance.”

Tell the student that SSA cannot process the claim until the completed SSA-1372-BK-FC is returned.

2. Action on completed SSA-1372-BK-FC

Review the completed SSA-1372-BK-FC to determine if the student meets all the requirements for entitlement to student benefits and resolve any discrepancies.

Develop the EI status of the school the student is/was/will be attending if this cannot be determined based on the information on the SSA-1372-BK-FC or the guidelines in RS 00205.875 - RS 00205.895. Document the file to show the results of this development.

If the student is in FTA at a school in Mexico or the Philippines, verify the FTA as explained in RS 00205.755.

NOTE: In some instances, the student's graduation date is shown as the ESY (end of school year). If the graduation date is material (as explained in RS 00205.325) and the office developing the student claim is aware that the school has such services, it will ascertain the student's graduation date and document the file.

3. Development of discrepancies

Verify the information by personal or telephone contact with the school if there is any reason to question the information or there is an irregularity on the face of the form (such as a deviation from local practices or a suspicious signature). Show “Verified by telephone” (or personal contacting the form), and initial and date the note.