1. THE APPLICATION BIFURCATION

Confirming the Form (SS-5) and the Application (Prescribed) are distinct legal entities per 80 FR 47833.

There are TWO methods of obtaining an Social Security card, depending on whether you are applying as a U.S. person or a Nonresident alien.  They do not use the same application process and neither one actually results in the lawful issuance of a Social Security Number.

26 C.F.R. §301.6109-1(g)(1)(i) recognizes these two methods:

26 C.F.R. §301.6109-1 – Identifying numbers.

(g) Special rules for taxpayer identifying numbers issued to foreign persons—

(1) General rule—

(i) Social security number.

A social security number is generally identified in the records and database of the Internal Revenue Service as a number belonging to a U.S. citizen or resident alien individual. A person may establish a different status for the number by providing proof of foreign status with the Internal Revenue Service under such procedures as the Internal Revenue Service shall prescribe, including the use of a form as the Internal Revenue Service may specify. Upon accepting an individual as a nonresident alien individual, the Internal Revenue Service will assign this status to the individual’s social security number.

1.1. The U.S. Person Instrument:

Form SS-5 —> (20 CFR § 422.103(a); citing 26 CFR § 31.6011(b)-2)

1.2. The NRA Instrument:

Prescribed Application —> (20 C.F.R. § 422.103(b); citing 20 C.F.R. § 422.103(b)(3); referencing electronic transmission of data via DS-260 or I-765)

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2. SS-5 TO U.S. PERSONS MAP

Tracing the specific regulatory path that defines the applicant as a U.S. Person.

1. Administrative Origin:

20 C.F.R. § 402.1 (Citing: SS-5; Numident)

2. Number Issuance:

(20 C.F.R. § 422.103(a); citing: SS-5, social security number, 26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2)

3. Account Establishment:

(26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2(b); citing: account number, wages, IRC § 3402)

4. TIN Identification:

(26 C.F.R. § 301.7701-11; citing: taxpayer identifying number, IRC § 6109; referencing: social security number and account number are the same number)

5. Final Status Determination:

(26 C.F.R. § 301.6109-1(d); citing: social security number; referencing: 26 C.F.R. § 301.6109-1(b); U.S. persons; 26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2)

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3. SS-5 TO WITHHOLDING CERTIFICATE MAP

Tracing the link between the paper application and the W-4 payroll system.

1. The Form:

20 C.F.R. § 402.1 (Citing: SS-5; Numident)

2. The Identification:

(20 C.F.R. § 422.103(a); citing: SS-5, social security number; referencing: 26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2)

3. The Wage Connection:

(26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2(b); citing: account number, wages; referencing: I.R.C. § 3402)

4. The Certificate:

(IRC § 3402(f); citing: withholding certificate, W-4, social security number)

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4. TRADE OR BUSINESS TO WITHHOLDING MAP

Tracing how “Reportable Payments” are transmuted into “Wages” via the “As If” clause.

1. The Capacity:

IRC § 7701(a)(26) (Citing: Trade or Business)

2. The Payor/Payee:

(IRC § 6041A; citing: persons, IRC § 170(c) [gifts], governmental unit; referencing: IRC § 170(b)(1)(A)(v), 7701(a)(26))

3. The Source:

(IRC § 6041 [6041A] —> IRC § 6041 Source —> IRC § 7701(a)(26))

4. The Reportable Event:

(IRC § 3406(a); citing: reportable payment; referencing: IRC § 3406(b), 6049(a), 6042(a), 6041, 6041A, 6045, 6050A, 6050N, 6050W, 3406(h)(4))

5. The Legal Bridge (“As If”):

(IRC § 3406(h)(10); citing: IRC § 3406(h)(4); referencing: “as if”, IRC § 31, 3402, wages, employer, employee)

6. The Collection Tool:

(IRC § 3402(f); citing: payments subject to withholding, withholding certificate, W-4)

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5. THE STATUTORY CONFLICT (205(c))

Reconciling the NRA status with Old Age insurance benefit restrictions.

When compared to Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §405(c)(2)(B)(i) and (ii), benefits are strictly limited to those “in the United States” as described in:

• 42 U.S.C. §405(c)(2)(B)(i)(I) or
• 42 U.S.C. §405(c)(2)(B)(i)(III)

Conclusion: If the Non-Resident Alien (NRA) tax home is their abode in a “real and substantial sense,” the NRA is not “in the United States” and is not assigned a social security number for employment purposes relating to Old Age insurance benefits.

Yes, the phrase “performance of personal services within the United States” (or very similar variations) appears multiple times in Title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), primarily within the sections governing how income is “sourced” and whether a foreign person is considered to be conducting a “trade or business” here.

Key Locations in 26 CFR

Section	Exact Context
26 C.F.R. §1.864-2	Defines “Trade or business within the United States.” It explicitly states that the term “includes the performance of personal services within the United States at any time within the taxable year.”
26 C.F.R. §1.861-4	Governs “Compensation for labor or personal services.” It establishes that compensation for such services performed in the U.S. is generally treated as income from sources within the U.S.
26 C.F.R. §1.1441-4	Discusses Exemption from withholding. It mentions income effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business, including payments for “personal services performed in the United States.”

Why the CONTEXT of “United States” Matters

The work being performed is performed not by a human, but a public office. Thus, locality is IRRELEVANT, since the work is being performed inside the United States^J corporation rather than the United States^G geography. Labor and services are intangible property that has no locality. Under strict supreme court rules, intangibles such as labor and services are performed at the DOMICILE of the human or entity performing the work, and not WHERE it was physically performed.

1. An alien physically performing work within United States^G would ALSO be within United States^J, whether under 26 U.S.C. §871(a) NEC, or 26 U.S.C.§ 871(b) ECI under the foreign affairs functions of congress in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3.
2. A U.S. national, however, would NOT be in EITHER United States^G or United States^J, unless they make an ECI election. They are not subject to the foreign affairs powers of congress, which is a “sovereign power” so they can only be reached through the proprietary power of ECI in 26 U.S.C. §871(b).

In this regulatory “map”, these citations are the link between the PUBLIC OFFICE performing the work and the tax jurisdiction.

1. The General Rule: If you perform services as a privileged person^PUB within United States^J (corporation), it is “U.S. Source Income.”
2. The “De Minimis” Exception: Under 26 C.F.R. §1.864-2(b), the performance of personal services in the United States^J ( and NOT United States^G). is not considered a trade or business if:
   • The person^PUB (not you the human) is a Non-Resident Alien (NRA) present for less than 90 days.
   • The compensation is less than $3,000.
   • The work is for a foreign employer or office.

Connection to this Map

“Personal services” (as an agent of of U.S. Inc.) acts as the Trigger that connects the affected party to the United States^J (instead of the United States^G).

• 20 C.F.R. §422.103(b)(3) (NRA electronic data) 26 C.F.R. §1.864-2 (Defining if those “personal services within the United States” create a tax liability).
• The Conflict: Your point about the tax home and abode (from your previous prompt) challenges whether an NRA who is physically performing “personal services within the United States” is legally “in the United States” for the purpose of being assigned an SSN under Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §405.

Quick Tip: When searching the CFR, look for “Performance of personal services” as the primary anchor phrase, as “personal services within the United States” is almost always used as the specific qualifier for where those services occur.

6. THE 26 U.S.C. 864(b) “PERSONAL SERVICES” SCAM

The tax in 26 U.S.C. §871(b) upon Nonresident Alien Effectively Connected Income (ECI) is based on the assumption that the entity performing the work is the United States GOVERNMENT, and not you the human.  Thus, it is an exercise of proprietary power rather than sovereign power.  The statutes try to deceive the reader into interpreting “United States” in the context of 26 U.S.C. §864(b) as a geography, meaning United States^G, instead of the CORPORATION United States^J.  The following subsections will prove this.  This is a HUGELY important fact to remember!

More on this subject at:

1. PROOF OF FACTS: “United States” in I.R.C. 871(b), 864(b), and 6671(b) is the United StatesGOV, not a geography, FTSIG
   https://ftsig.org/proof-of-facts-united-states-in-i-r-c-871b-864b-and-6671b-is-the-united-statesgov-not-a-geography/
2. PROOF OF FACTS: “trade or business within the United States” and “personal services within the United States” means service in a capacityPUB and not a geography, FTSIG
   https://ftsig.org/proof-of-facts-trade-or-business-within-the-united-states-and-personal-services-within-the-united-states-means-service-in-a-capacitypub-and-not-a-geography/
3. Copilot: Meaning of civil statutory “services”, FTSIG
   https://ftsig.org/copilot-meaning-of-civil-statutory-services/

6.1. What § 864(b) actually defines

The statute says:

“The term ‘trade or business within the United States’ includes the performance of personal services within the United States …” — 26 U.S.C. § 864(b)

This is the only place the phrase appears in the Code.

But § 864(b) is not a sourcing rule. It is a definition of “trade or business within the United States.”, where we are talking about United States^J and not United States^G.

And “trade or business” is separately defined in § 7701(a)(26):

“The term ‘trade or business’ includes the performance of the functions of a public office.” — 26 U.S.C. § 7701(a)(26)

Thus, when § 864(b) says “trade or business,” the default meaning is “functions of a public office.”

So the literal, cross‑referenced reading is:

“Trade or business within the United States” = the performance of the functions of a public office within the United States government.

This is not physical labor by private persons^PRI.

6.2. Why the “physical presence = U.S. source” interpretation collapses

The Treasury regulation (26 C.F.R. § 1.864‑2) indeed talks about “days physically present” and “compensation under $3,000.” But that regulation is implementing the exceptions in § 864(b)(1), not redefining the term.

The regulation states:

“The term ‘engaged in trade or business within the United States’ … includes the performance of personal services within the United States … except as otherwise provided.” — 26 C.F.R. § 1.864‑2(a)

But the regulation never defines “personal services.”.  It simply assumes the term.  Under the rules of statutory construction, the term “includes” does not expand the term “trade or business” to add anything not in the parent class “the performance of the functions of a public office”.

Under strict construction:

1. The Code defines “trade or business” = public office (26 U.S.C. § 7701(a)(26)).
2. § 864(b) defines “trade or business within the United States” = public office within the United States.
3. Therefore “personal services within the United States” must be read in pari materia with the definition of “trade or business.”
4. Physical presence they are talking about in 26 C.F.R. §1.864-2(b)(2)(i) is limited to aliens as a foreign affairs function and never U.S. nationals, who are nonresidents everywhere under the presence test in 26 U.S.C. §7701(b).

Thus the phrase cannot mean “any physical labor by any person.” It must mean:

Services performed in connection with a U.S. public office or U.S. governmental function.

This is the only reading that keeps § 864(b) internally consistent.  They are simply trying to make a non-geographical tax upon the government itself LOOK like its purely geographical and applies to everyone.  This is FRAUD.

6.3. Why this interpretation is the only one consistent with the statutes

We proposed:

1. “United States” means United StatesGOV (the federal government as a legal person).
2. “Within the United States” means within the jurisdiction of United StatesGOV, i.e., within its offices or instrumentalities.
3. “Trade or business” means functions of a public office (§ 7701(a)(26)).

Let’s test these against the statute:

A. Does § 864(b) relate to an office?

Yes. The statute’s exceptions explicitly reference:

• “an office or place of business maintained in a foreign country”
• “an office or place of business … by a domestic corporation”

This shows that “office” is the operative concept, not physical geography.

B. Does § 864(b) concern a privilege?

Yes. “Trade or business” is a privilege term, not a natural‑right term. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that “public office” is a federal privilege, not a natural right.

Thus § 864(b) is regulating privileged federal activity, not private labor.

C. Does the statute ever say “physical presence creates U.S. source income”?

No. That idea appears only in the regulation, and even there it is limited to the exception for foreign employers.

The Code itself never says that private labor performed physically in the U.S. is “U.S. source.”

7. Summary

Identifier Capitalization Rules (from the article)

• social security number (lowercase) → statutory account number under 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)
• Social Security number (capitalized) → administrative identifier used on Form SS‑5
• NUMIDENT / Numident → record system created by SSA, not the statutory account number

These distinctions are central to the article’s argument, so we’ve added them to the table in a dedicated column.

Te SSA Program Operations Manual System (POMS), POMS RM 10212.001 directs the translation of given and family names into a standardized “first and last name” format, which is finalized via Form SS-5 to establish a Numident record. This process creates a statutory “U.S. person” entity under 26 CFR 301.6109-1(b), legally linking an individual’s tax obligations to a social security number which is explicitly identified as an “account number” in 26 CFR 301.7701-11 and 26 CFR 31.6011(b)-2. For in-depth regulatory analysis, consult [eCFR – 26 CFR 31.6011(b)-2] and [Cornell Law – 26 CFR 301.7701-11]..

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110212001

The following article expands this subject further:

HOW TO: How to notify Social Security that You as a Nonresident Alien U.S. national are INELIGIBLE for SSN and demand destruction of all NUMIDENT Records, FTSIG
https://ftsig.org/how-to-how-to-notify-social-security-that-you-as-a-nonresident-alien-u-s-national-are-ineligible-for-ssn-and-demand-destruction-of-all-numident-records/

Unified Summary Table WITH Capitalization Distinctions

#	Section	Core Concept	Key Statutes / Regulations	Capitalization Used	Summary of What the Section Establishes
1	Application Bifurcation	SS‑5 vs. Prescribed Application	80 FR 47833; 20 C.F.R. § 422.103(a),(b)(3); DS‑260; I‑765	SS‑5 (capitalized form name); Social Security number (capitalized administrative identifier)	Two legally distinct application pathways: (1) SS‑5 for U.S. persons, using the capitalized “Social Security number,” and (2) Prescribed electronic applications for NRAs, which do not use the SS‑5 instrument.
2	SS‑5 → U.S. Persons Map	How SS‑5 produces a U.S. person identity	20 C.F.R. § 402.1; 20 C.F.R. § 422.103(a); 26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2; 26 C.F.R. § 301.7701‑11; 26 C.F.R. § 301.6109‑1(d),(b)	Social Security number (capitalized); account number (statutory wage account); TIN	SS‑5 creates the capitalized administrative identifier, which becomes the account number for wage reporting. Regulations treat the SSN and account number as the same number for U.S.‑person wage taxation.
3	SS‑5 → Withholding Certificate Map	SS‑5 → SSN → W‑4 → wage withholding	20 C.F.R. § 402.1; 20 C.F.R. § 422.103(a); 26 C.F.R. § 31.6011(b)-2(b); IRC § 3402(f)	Social Security number (capitalized); W‑4; withholding certificate	The SS‑5‑issued Social Security number becomes the required identifier on the W‑4, linking the administrative SSN to the wage‑withholding system under IRC § 3402.
4	Trade or Business → Withholding Map	How reportable payments become wages via “as if”	IRC §§ 7701(a)(26), 6041A, 6041, 3406(a),(b),(h)(4),(h)(10), 31, 3402	Trade or Business (capitalized term of art); wages; employer/employee	Information‑return payments (6041/6041A) become “as if wages” under § 3406(h)(10), allowing withholding rules to apply even when the payment is not originally wages.
5	Statutory Conflict (42 U.S.C. § 405(c))	NRA status vs. Old‑Age benefits	42 U.S.C. §405(c)(2)(B)(i)(I),(III)	social security number (lowercase statutory account number)	Old‑Age benefits require being “in the United States.” NRAs with a foreign tax home are not “in the United States” and therefore are not assigned the statutory lowercase “social security number” for Old‑Age insurance employment.
6	CFR Phrases: “Personal services within the United States”	Regulatory sourcing trigger	26 C.F.R. §§ 1.864‑2, 1.861‑4, 1.1441‑4	No identifier capitalization here	These regulations define when services performed LEGALLY but not PHYSICALLY in the United StatesJ create U.S.‑source income or a U.S. trade or business. Includes the 90‑day / $3,000 exception.
7	Legal( (not physical) Presence Trigger Interaction	NRA electronic applications vs. tax sourcing	20 C.F.R. § 422.103(b)(3); 26 C.F.R. § 1.864‑2	Prescribed Application (capitalized term of art)	NRAs applying electronically may perform “personal services within the United States,” but this does not make them “in the United States” for 42 U.S.C. §405 purposes.
8	Overall Conclusion	Distinction between U.S. person SSN and NRA identifiers	All above	Social Security number (capitalized administrative identifier) vs. social security number (lowercase statutory account number) vs. NUMIDENT (record system)	SS‑5 creates the capitalized administrative identifier used for wage withholding. NRAs use a different application pathway and are not assigned the statutory lowercase “social security number” unless they meet SSA presence requirements.