USA Social System
Social Security Number (SSN)
SSN is the 9-digit number given by the Federal Government through the Social Security Administration (SSA) for the purpose of identifying and maintaining a portfolio of a person.
- Format: (3)-(2)-(4) – XXX- XX- XXXX / 123–45-6789.
American Name Format
All Americans have a ‘First Name’ and a ‘Last Name’. The last name denotes their family name/ surname. They also have a middle name but this is optional.
Example :
- Brad Anthony Pitt is documented as Pitt, Brad A.
- Amanda Smith is documented as Smith, Amanda
How to document James Doe Jr and James Doe II?
James Doe Jr (Son) & James Doe Sr (Father).
If the naming skips a generation (i.e. James Doe’s grandson then it can be written as James Doe II) also another member of the same family (e.g. James Doe’s nephew’s son then it can be written as James Doe II).
The number order would be III, IV, and V goes on.
Note: Only James Doe’s son would be named James Doe Jr.
Example:
- James Doe Jr is documented as Doe, James Jr.
- James Doe II is documented as Doe, James II.
USA Date Format
The American calendar format is MM/DD/YYYY (Month/Date/Year)
- Example: 19th July 2022 is documented as 07/19/2022.
Telephone Numbers / Fax Numbers
American’s Telephone # and Fax # are 10-digit Numbers.
- Format: (3) – (3) – (4)- (121-382-4798, 899-259-5528)
(The first three digits represent the Area code).
Zipcodes
Zip Codes are 5 digits numbers that are specific to a particular area.
- Example: 75284-4128 stands for Dallas, Texas. ( The last 4 digits (4128) represent the Post Office Box).
7xxxx: The 1st digit represents a broad area of the USA.
x52xx: The 2nd and 3rd digits represent the area’s Sectional Center Facility.
xxx84: The 4th and 5th digits represent the specific area, city, or town.
Standard US Address Format
Street Address:
- 567 Walking St, Virginia Beach, VA 84567.
Apartment Address:
- 789 Sunshine Lane Apt# 3, Virginia Beach, VA 84567.
The street address format shows that James Doe lives in an individual house with door# 567.
The apartment address format shows that James Doe lives in an apartment with building# 789 and apartment# 3 located in Sunshine Lane.
Common Abbreviations used in USA address
| L.B. | Lock Box |
| P.O Box | Post Office Box |
| Min | Minimum |
| Pl. | Place |
| Plz. | Plaza |
| Dept. | Department |
| Expwy. | Expressway |
| Hwy. | Highway |
| Trc. | Terrace |
| Rte. | Route |
| RR | Rural Route |
| Rm. | Room |
| Ste. | Suite |
| Rd. | Road |
| St. | Street |
| Bldg. | Building |
| Mr. | Mister |
| Trl. | Trail |
| Prof. | Professor |
| Blvd. | Boulevard |
| Dr. | Drive |
| Fl. | Floor |
| N.E. | North East |
| Cv. | Cove |
| Ct. | Court |
| N.W | North West |
| S.E | South East |
| Doc. | Document |
| Amt. | Amount |
| Ln. | Lane |
| PIKE | Pike |
| Pkwy. | Park Way |
| Max. | Maximum |
| Sr. | Senior |
| Ave. | Avenue |
| Blk. | Block |
| Jn. | Junction |
| Sq. | Square |
USA Time Zones
USA is divided into 6 Time Zones.
- EST – Eastern Standard Time
- CST – Central Standard Time
- MST – Mountain Standard Time
- PST – Pacific Standard Time
- AST – Alaskan Standard Time
- HST – Hawaiian Standard Time
Test Your Understanding
1) US Date format is ____
2) US telephone numbers & fax numbers are of the format _____
3) The format for writing US names is:_____
a) Last- name, First-name Mid-Initial b) First-name Mid-Initial Last-name c) First-name Last-name Mid-Initial d) Both a & b
4) How Many time zones are there in USA?
5) The ZIP code is of ___ digits
6) There is no separate address format for apartments in US _____
a) True b) False
7) Purpose of the Social Security Number (SSN) is: _____
a) Identification b) Portfolio maintenance c) Taxation d) All of the above
8) The format of SSN is _______
9) SSN is issued by ____________
10) In an address, the word ‘Avenue’ is abbreviated as _____
11) In US address, ‘St.’ means _______ and ‘Ste.’ means _______
Answers:
- MM/DD/YYYY
- 3-3-4
- Both a & b
- 6
- 5
- False
- All of the above
- 3-2-4
- Federal Government through the Social Security Administration [SSA]
- Ave.
- Street, Suite.