TN 33 (02-11)

A. Background on foreign document retention

Prior to August 31, 2010, SSA documented all claims files with a photocopy or an extract of vital statistics records issued outside the United States except for the countries listed in the chart in this section.

B. Policy for foreign document retention

1. Beginning August 31, 2010, SSA does not retain foreign documents in domestic claims translated by an SSA employee (unless the document was issued by a country whose documents are vulnerable to fraud or counterfeiting, as stated in GN 00307.000).

   In addition, SSA does not retain the foreign documents issued from the countries listed below translated by an authorized translator. It does not matter if it is a domestic or foreign claim. We retain evidence electronically in the Modernized Claims System (MCS), Modernized SSI Claims System (MSSICS), the Evidence (EVID) screen, or the Certified Electronic Folder (CEF).

   Australia	Hungary	New Zealand	United Kingdom
   Austria	Hong Kong	Netherlands	England
   Belgium	Iceland	Norway	Scotland
   Canada	Ireland	Poland	Wales
   Czech Republic	Israel**	Portugal	Northern Ireland
   Denmark	Italy	San Marino
   Finland	Japan	Slovak Republic
   France	Liechtenstein	Spain
   Germany	Luxembourg	Sweden
   Greece*	Macau	Switzerland
   *Only documents secured by the Federal Benefits Unit in Athens and lixiarchika vivlia certifications. **Only documents for events after 1947.	Malta
   	Monaco

2. SSA retains the following foreign documents:

   • Documents translated by non-SSA employees, except as noted in this section.

   • Documents submitted in connection with a claim taken outside the United States, except as noted in this section.

   • Documents from the countries identified as vulnerable to fraud or counterfeiting as noted in this section.

C. Procedure for retaining foreign documents in domestic claims when an SSA employee translates the document

1. Review the probative value and acceptability of the foreign country’s documents in GN 00307.000.

2. Retain only foreign documents from countries that have a high probability of fraud.

3. SSA employees who are both the translator and the claims adjudicator can document the translation on the RPOC screen in MCS, the DROC screen in MSSICS, or the EVID in Shared Processes as explained in GN 00301.391. All other SSA employees must complete the EVID screen.

4. Document evidence from the countries listed in the chart in this section, complete the EVID screen as explained in GN 00301.286.

5. Foreign documents from countries not listed in the chart may not provide an adequate audit trail. Therefore, you must record additional information on the RPOC, DROC, or EVID screens.

   For example, show the following documentation:

   • Birth certificate – mother and father’s names

   • Marriage certificate – bride and groom’s names

   • Divorce – husband and wife’s names

   • Child born out of wedlock – the name of the person who signed the birth certificate or acknowledged the child

   This list is not all inclusive of the foreign documents requiring additional information.

D. Procedure for retaining foreign documents in foreign claims and when a non-SSA employee translates the document

1. If the foreign document was not issued from one of the countries listed in the chart in this section, document the claims file with a certified paper photocopy of the foreign document or electronically scan a certified copy into NDred, eView, or Paperless Processing Center. Scan each side of the document.

2. If the foreign document was issued from one of the countries listed follow the documentation procedure as explained in GN 00301.286.