OK is there any reason the grandparents (Stanley and Madelyn) could not have had legal custody?
Other question:
Why would a minor get a s.s. # back then?
I only remember kids getting # because a parent had died and there was money coming in for support, which went into an account that they couldn’t touch till they were of age.
OK is there any reason the grandparents (Stanley and Madelyn) could not have had legal custody?
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Under somewhat normal circumstances - it would make sense. But Obama II likely came over from Indonesia without his mother or step-father - as he indicates his book. Records support him NOT being with SAD in October of 1971 when she arrived since she arrived on an expired passport and through that paper trail there is no sign of a child. And remember Obama was already removed from her passport in 1968. At that time he almost certainly went onto an Indonesian passport.
So if he shows up with a foreign passport and no legal parent - what happens? To legally stay in the country he probably NEEDS to be declared a refugee. As you can see from CCS sites a refugee is anyone who has reason to fear harm if they return to their home country. Given the volatility in Indonesia at the time that case could easily be made.
So what do you do with a legal refugee? Get him an advocate - i.e. CCS and then ensure he has a home - i.e. the grandparents. But can you just assign the parents grandparents legal guardianship. I do not have the knowledge to know. But something caused SAD to come to the US in October and then they had to bring Obama Sr. over in December of 1971. Some of this had to get sorted out during that time. There was a legal/custody reason for the ‘grand family reunion of 1971’.
As for when one get a social security number. Personally I go mine after my brother was born and my parents just went ahead and applied for both of us. Because of that we have numbers that are similar though we are 3 years apart in age. I guess the push to go ahead and get numbers for kids may have started in the mid-60s. Though the standard of getting one right at birth as today was not at all the standard in the early 60s.
You may need a social security for various things as a 15 year old. Most likely - a job (if you believe the B&R story) or even a drivers license. If Hawaii let you get your driving permit at 15 1/2 (as many states did/do) then the time frame makes sense. And, though the Chom gang history may not support this, he may have needed a social security number to take college entrance tests. In any case, by the time you were 15 in the late 1970s there were various reasons to have a social security number.