Received Form 7162 From SSA

[Pib]

Yea...once a registered mail item leaves Thailand the Thailand Post Tracking website/app may not show any more or few location/status updates based on my three test mailings of registered airmail envelopes over the two months.  A person needs to use "both" the Thailand and USPS tracking websites/apps to fully track status/location. 

 

Once an item enters the Thailand Postal tracking system and is headed for the U.S. the USPS tracking system will now start showing it also...say they have received notice of a pending shipment (i.e., it's headed their way).  And once it actually arrives the US the USPS will start giving detailed tracking/status....much of which or none of which may appear in the Thailand Postal Tracking system....the two systems updating each other leaves a lot to be desired.

 

By the way, on my 3rd test mailing a registered airmail envelope on 9 July it finally showed up in NYC...arriving the US....it's no longer Missing in Action....24 days to get from Thailand to the US port of entry which is NYC.  And this time it did not have to got thru Customs....it's now on it way from NYC to its final destination in Houston.

 

Also, once again based on my 3 test mailings so far, the 1st registered envelope did get coded in the USPS system as delivered to its final Houston address.  However, the 2nd registered envelope did indeed arrive its final Houston address weeks ago but USPS tracking system still shows it out for delivery.   Will need to wait a few more days to see what happens with the 3rd test mailing now on it way from NYC to Houston.  Guess what I'm saying the registered envelope may indeed get delivered to its very final location but if USPS does log/scan that delivery correctly it will never show final delivery. 

 

 

 

[MalibuJay]

Mine arrived in NY on July 8th after having been mailed registered on June 8th. So it took 30 days to get to the US.  It was out of customs the next day and is still moving through the regular USPS delivery system.  It looks like it will make it to the SSA within the 60-day time frame they request, but that 25-day period with no updates, when it seemed like it might have been lost, robbed me of a lot of the peace of mind that I was hoping the registered process would provide.

[Pib]

14 hours ago, MalibuJay said:

Mine arrived in NY on July 8th after having been mailed registered on June 8th. So it took 30 days to get to the US.  It was out of customs the next day and is still moving through the regular USPS delivery system.  It looks like it will make it to the SSA within the 60-day time frame they request, but that 25-day period with no updates, when it seemed like it might have been lost, robbed me of a lot of the peace of mind that I was hoping the registered process would provide.

Yea, based on most of the posts in this thread along with my three personal test mailings, sending via registered airmail will pretty much ensure a much longer delivery time...2 to 3 times longer....and since you are tracking the registered mail you start wondering why and where has the registered mail went MIA for weeks (the Bangkok to NYC part).....why has it been stuck in Customs for days or a week....etc.  And to top it off confirmation of delivery to the final, final destination still may not get confirmed.

[Pib]

14 hours ago, Pib said:

Guess what I'm saying the registered envelope may indeed get delivered to its very final location but if USPS does log/scan that delivery correctly it will never show final delivery. 

Whoops...just noticed I left out "not" above....should have read:  Guess what I'm saying the registered envelope may indeed get delivered to its very final location but if USPS does not log/scan that delivery correctly it will never show final delivery. 

 

 

[Jingthing]

OK, so mine sent registered on June 17 is now being delivered in Scranton July 12.

Good enough for government work. 

PIB, can you kindly confirm or deny that regular air mail that is not registered can be tracked as well?

[marcusarelus]

Mine took 5 days EMS and was tracked every day by email to my box and it informed me who signed for it and at what time.  800 baht.  Worth the peace of mind for me as it amounts to close to a million baht a year of potential lost revenue.  

[Pib]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

OK, so mine sent registered on June 17 is now being delivered in Scranton July 12.

Good enough for government work. 

PIB, can you kindly confirm or deny that regular air mail that is not registered can be tracked as well?

Regular airmail that is not registered can't be tracked. 

 

And based on my three test mailing from Bangkok to Houston all three regular airmails were delivered within 11 to 14 days (2 in 11 days, 1 in 14 days).

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, Pib said:

Regular airmail that is not registered can't be tracked. 

 

And based on my three test mailing from Bangkok to Houston all three regular airmails were delivered within 11 to 14 days (2 in 11 days, 1 in 14 days).

Thank you. That's what I assumed as well but I think there was a member that said regular air mail could be tracked so I wanted to get the definitive answer to that for myself and others. The cost of registered is trivial but tracking was the only reason that I used it. 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Mine took 5 days EMS and was tracked every day by email to my box and it informed me who signed for it and at what time.  800 baht.  Worth the peace of mind for me as it amounts to close to a million baht a year of potential lost revenue.  

You don't lose any revenue....it might get suspended but you lose zero.  You will get a second notice in Sep/Oct if they don't receive your first mailing.  And then a third notice in Jan if the didn't get your 2nd mailing. In response to that third notice you need to complete a Dead or Alive form and get it to Manila to prevent suspension of your benefits.   Operative word is "suspension"....even if they stop your payments until they get your Dead or Alive form you get all past suspended payments paid.

[Pib]

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Thank you. That's what I assumed as well but I think there was a member that said regular air mail could be tracked so I wanted to get the definitive answer to that for myself and others. The cost of registered is trivial but tracking was the only reason that I used it. 

But if you need the item to arrive the US in approx two weeks sending it registered will probably turn it into a 3 to 4 week delivery unless getting lucky.  Other choice is the pricey Bt800 EMS method.  

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, Pib said:

But if you need the item to arrive the US in approx two weeks sending it registered will probably turn it into a 3 to 4 week delivery unless getting lucky.  Other choice is the pricey Bt800 EMS method.  

Agreed.

Do you agree with the member that said they would accept a copy of the form with a signature?

I find that very suspect.

If that's true, people could be pretty close to 100 percent sure of getting this done by sending the original registered, and a copy regular. Of course the regular with copy would likely get their first. It seems to weird to me to send them two versions where both are highly likely to arrive. Seems that might be annoying to them. 

[Jingthing]

21 minutes ago, Pib said:

You don't lose any revenue....it might get suspended but you lose zero.  You will get a second notice in Sep/Oct if they don't receive your first mailing.  And then a third notice in Jan if the didn't get your 2nd mailing. In response to that third notice you need to complete a Dead or Alive form and get it to Manila to prevent suspension of your benefits.   Operative word is "suspension"....even if they stop your payments until they get your Dead or Alive form you get all past suspended payments paid.

You're absolutely right. There is no risk of permanent suspension or losing your benefits if you're still alive. However for some people that are now relying on the monthly transfers for immigration purposes, temporary suspension could still be very bad news. 

[racyrick]

57 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Agreed.

Do you agree with the member that said they would accept a copy of the form with a signature?

I find that very suspect.

If that's true, people could be pretty close to 100 percent sure of getting this done by sending the original registered, and a copy regular. Of course the regular with copy would likely get their first. It seems to weird to me to send them two versions where both are highly likely to arrive. Seems that might be annoying to them. 

Remember, I said the copy has an ORIGINAL signature.

It is no different than having to print out a form online and send it in but, the biggest difference is the copy has your barcode information and they can just put in the machine and do automatically so it will read it and verify the form was received like an original does.

[Jingthing]

Just now, racyrick said:

Remember, I said the copy has an ORIGINAL signature.

It is no different than having to print out a form online and send it in but, the biggest difference is the copy has your barcode information and they can just put in the machine and do automatically so it will read it and verify the form was received like an original does.

Yeah I get it but I doubt you know for certain that they would accept even that assuming you sent two, and the copy was all that got. I agree it's logical that they would but we're dealing with government types, so logical doesn't always cut it. 

[Pib]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Agreed.

Do you agree with the member that said they would accept a copy of the form with a signature?

I find that very suspect.

If that's true, people could be pretty close to 100 percent sure of getting this done by sending the original registered, and a copy regular. Of course the regular with copy would likely get their first. It seems to weird to me to send them two versions where both are highly likely to arrive. Seems that might be annoying to them. 

I don't know.  I've googled it before and came across a US Embassy site saying don't mail copies...only mail the original.  But apparently when you have contacted SSA about non-receipt of your Dead or Alive form and they tell you to complete one by hand and mail it back that's OK....maybe they code the system that they have instructed you to take that action.   

 

Don't know if mailing a copy of the original is something SSA wants to happen.

 

I got my form on 6 June....have mailed it back.  But a family member with the exact same address has not received the form as of today/12 July.  Rec'd another SSA mailing about changing to IDD a few weeks ago...the address is perfect...but has not rec'd the Dead or Alive form...don't know if SSA actually mailed it or it just got lost in the mail.  

 

When I queried Manila SSA about the non-receipt several weeks ago they responded as below which implies to me the member needs to go thru the process of the Dead or Alive form being automatically remailed to you if you didn't get it the first time.  If you don't get it the second time then they go to Plan B where to the best of my knowledge they will email you a Dead or Alive form to manually fill out and mail/email back....mail/email back to Manila I think.

 

Quote

Kindly wait for another mail from the US office this October. If you do not receive on the said month, by November contact us so that we can send you a copy. We cannot send you yet the form this time since forms are still being sent out the Wilkes Barre and it has a bar code. Rest assured that your  benefits will not be placed into suspense.

 

[MalibuJay]

I took that response to mean that they want the form Wilkes Barre sent with your SS number printed on the side of the form, along with a barcode that probably has it embedded in it, which would automate its processing, not some blank form that you download off of the web that they might then have to input some other way. 

Regardless, if you do it the way racyrick suggested and take the original Wilkes Barre form with the barcode, copy it front and back onto a two-sided document similar to the original, and then sign and date them both with the same date and an original signature, I doubt that can tell which one is the original, unless you used a copy machine that smeared the barcode.  I suspect that either copy would work just fine. The problem or annoyance for them might be if they receive both copies.  I don't know what would happen there, but given their inability to create a more efficient system that works for all of us, I'm not too bothered by the idea that they might feel a little inconvenience or annoyance on their end as well ????

[racyrick]

14 hours ago, MalibuJay said:

I took that response to mean that they want the form Wilkes Barre sent with your SS number printed on the side of the form, along with a barcode that probably has it embedded in it, which would automate its processing, not some blank form that you download off of the web that they might then have to input some other way. 

Regardless, if you do it the way racyrick suggested and take the original Wilkes Barre form with the barcode, copy it front and back onto a two-sided document similar to the original, and then sign and date them both with the same date and an original signature, I doubt that can tell which one is the original, unless you used a copy machine that smeared the barcode.  I suspect that either copy would work just fine. The problem or annoyance for them might be if they receive both copies.  I don't know what would happen there, but given their inability to create a more efficient system that works for all of us, I'm not too bothered by the idea that they might feel a little inconvenience or annoyance on their end as well ????

What I do when I send the original "copy" to them is put in a cover letter to explain why I am sending this "copy" to them.

[wayned]

46 minutes ago, racyrick said:

What I do when I send the original "copy" to them is put in a cover letter to explain why I am sending this "copy" to them.

You are most likely confusing the SSA clerk.  When he/she opens it he/she i8s expecting one form and now he/she has an envelope, a letter and the form.  She/he has a pile for the forms and a trash can, but no pile for the letter and no instructions in the operations manual that covers the disposition of the letter. 

 

I only hope that when the tracked register mail envelope reaches the SSA that the clerk that opens it is not dyslexic and throws away the form and puts the envelope in the pile where the form should have gone.  Another piece of paper will totally confuse the issue.  I'm the ultimate pessimist!

[Sheryl]

Here is the tracking on my form sent Registered mail (for some reason it is listed in reverse order)

 

July 14, 2019
In Transit to Next Facility
Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility.

---

July 10, 2019, 7:33 am
Departed USPS Regional Facility
SCRANTON PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

---

July 10, 2019, 4:34 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
SCRANTON PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

---

July 9, 2019, 9:21 am
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
LEHIGH VALLEY PA DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

---

July 8, 2019, 5:04 pm
Arrived at USPS Regional Facility
NEW YORK NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

---

July 1, 2019, 11:50 am
Processed Through Facility
ISC NEW YORK NY(USPS) 

---

Origin Post is Preparing Shipment

---

June 18, 2019, 3:03 pm
Processed Through Facility
SUVARNABHUMI MAIL CENTRE (SMC), THAILAND

---

June 18, 2019, 12:57 pm
Processed Through Facility
SUVARNABHUMI MAIL CENTRE (SMC), THAILAND

---

June 17, 2019, 2:15 pm
Acceptance
THAILAND

[marcusarelus]

On 7/12/2019 at 4:35 PM, Pib said:

You don't lose any revenue....it might get suspended but you lose zero.  You will get a second notice in Sep/Oct if they don't receive your first mailing.  And then a third notice in Jan if the didn't get your 2nd mailing. In response to that third notice you need to complete a Dead or Alive form and get it to Manila to prevent suspension of your benefits.   Operative word is "suspension"....even if they stop your payments until they get your Dead or Alive form you get all past suspended payments paid.

It happened to me a few years ago that's why I use EMS and If I don't get the 7162 in June I EMS them a copy.  

[Pib]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

It happened to me a few years ago that's why I use EMS and If I don't get the 7162 in June I EMS them a copy.  

In May/June is when SSA mails out the "first" 7162.  And if they don't get a response from you on the first mailing they mail it to you again in Sep/Oct.

 

So are you saying above if you don't get a 7162 in June (the first mailing) you don't wait for the 2nd SSA mailing and instead download a blank 7162, complete it, and mail it in?  

[marcusarelus]

25 minutes ago, Pib said:

In May/June is when SSA mails out the "first" 7162.  And if they don't get a response from you on the first mailing they mail it to you again in Sep/Oct.

 

So are you saying above if you don't get a 7162 in June (the first mailing) you don't wait for the 2nd SSA mailing and instead download a blank 7162, complete it, and mail it in?  

I make a copy of mine that I receive every year and if I don't get a new one by June the next year I mail in the copy with dates changed.  Mail service here is not good.  Has not been a problem.  

[Pib]

8 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

I make a copy of mine that I receive every year and if I don't get a new one by June the next year I mail in the copy with dates changed.  Mail service here is not good.  Has not been a problem.  

So, you mail in "last year's" copy (but update the signing date) if you don't get the current year June mailing?   Am I understanding your right?

 

Each year's 7162 mailing is a little different like the date at the very top of the form and maybe info contained within the bar codes on the form.  Seems strange SSA would accept a pre-printed form from last year for the current year.   

[marcusarelus]

8 minutes ago, Pib said:

So, you mail in "last year's" copy (but update the signing date) if you don't get the current year June mailing?   Am I understanding your right?

 

Each year's 7162 mailing is a little different like the date at the very top of the form and maybe info contained within the bar codes on the form.  Seems strange SSA would accept a pre-printed form from last year for the current year.   

I read the bar codes and they are the same and yes I just change the mailing date at the top and signing date.  

[Pib]

Approximately how many times...for how many years have you done this?

Sounds like you routinely do "not" receive the June 7162 mailing?

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Pib said:

Approximately how many times...for how many years have you done this?

Sounds like you routinely do "not" receive the June 7162 mailing?

2 times that I remember.  I think our mailman is really overworked.  The first time I didn't do it and they stopped my SS for 3 months. 

[Pib]

And by doing this you have never recieved a second mailing in Sep/Oct?

[marcusarelus]

8 minutes ago, Pib said:

And by doing this you have never recieved a second mailing in Sep/Oct?

Never but that may be because the mailman didn't deliver too.  

[ubonjoe]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

July 14, 2019
In Transit to Next Facility
Your package is moving within the USPS network and is on track to be delivered to its final destination. It is currently in transit to the next facility.

Same for mine but since the 7th.

It was the same for previous ones. Stayed in transit until they processed it at the SSA in Wilkes Barre.

Mine was mailed on the 7th of June.

[Pib]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Never but that may be because the mailman didn't deliver too.  

Yea, but it they had done a Sep/Oct mailing (a.k.a., the 2nd mailing) that means they did not receive back or accept your 1st mailing from May/Jun.  And if you didn't get the Sep/Oct that means  you couldn't mail it back...didn't know SSA was still not satisfied....end result would be suspension of your benefits starting the 3 Feb payment.  Since apparently that didn't happen they must have accepted your copy of last year's mailing where you just updated the dates.