Dad Has Green Card Son Has Social Security Number But No Green Card

[stable1]

I'm curious what this means ... the father of a friend of mine is a legal resident of the US and his son was subsequently issued a social security card, but it was marked for "non-employment".

I understand this means he can't work in the US without changing his status, but what is the significance of the social security card? Does the fact that he was issued one mean he's in some form a legal resident of the US through his dad?

[LawResearcherMissy]

Your friend may have been issued an SSN for the purposes of school registration, or so his Dad could claim him as a dependent on his income taxes.