Dear VO,

I recently got an admission to a school in the USA. I have been in Nigeria due to the Covid-19 situation. My school is to resume this fall which I have already selected the virtual class option. I was awarded a Teaching Assistantship (TA) role and was assigned a Supervising Professor (SP) with a monthly stipend starting from August. I got in contact with the Associate Dean concerning my work by August virtually which was okay by my SP as he was also planning to have his classes virtually this fall and we will be assisting him remotely too. My Dean got in contact with the Director of the International Student office and they got to me by email stating that I cannot resume work since I am not in the USA. They also stated that since I do not have my SSN yet, there is no way I can be on-boarded as a TA since I am a new student. That a new student can only get an SSN if they are in the USA. Also that I do not have what is required to get my I-9 process.
The contract I signed with school stated I resume work as a TA this fall. My stipends are going to be held until I resume work which my Dean is now proposing by Spring semester. I contacted a friend who informed me I can get my social security number while I am still in Nigeria. That once that is sorted I should contact the Dean again and inform him how passionate I am about resuming work this fall. Since my assigned class for the fall is going to be an online/remote instruction.
Please, is it possible I can get my SSN while I am still in Nigeria? I checked out their website but I saw a lot of confusing options. But my friend was certain I can get it if I contact them. How do I go about this?
Thank you VO