Old parent coming to US on Immigrant Visa.. Educate me on the process and what to do?
- Thread starter jefkorn
- Start date
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
55 is old? Really? Aren’t they working anymore?
10 years (technically, 40 quarters) of work is required to be able to get social security and free Medicare part A. Doesn’t sound like they will achieve this unless I misunderstood, so you will be paying market rates. In any case for Medicare you need to be 65 unless disabled (I believe). Hopefully they have good retirement funds and/or you are comfortable covering retirement and medical expenses for them. Suggest you check with your local marketplace/insurers. Parents are usually not able to be added as dependents on employer-funded medical insurance.
(The green card bit is easy, it comes in the mail about a month after they land assuming the $220 immigrant fee has been paid for each of them.)
10 years (technically, 40 quarters) of work is required to be able to get social security and free Medicare part A. Doesn’t sound like they will achieve this unless I misunderstood, so you will be paying market rates. In any case for Medicare you need to be 65 unless disabled (I believe). Hopefully they have good retirement funds and/or you are comfortable covering retirement and medical expenses for them. Suggest you check with your local marketplace/insurers. Parents are usually not able to be added as dependents on employer-funded medical insurance.
(The green card bit is easy, it comes in the mail about a month after they land assuming the $220 immigrant fee has been paid for each of them.)
Typo..age is 68. Young at heart I suppose 
So unless one works to earn the required points for social security, they don't become eligible for Medicare? Or do some options open up if they haven't paid into the system but due to their age? Instead of purchasing insurance from private market, any other options available based on the age?
What's the monthly premium we are talking about for say a 68 year old person?
Oh really the plastic card comes in the mail so quick? I'm not familiar with the process. Any chances of the plastic card taking longer?
Also the intending immigrant is English speaking but going through the Immigration can be intimidating as to not make any inadvertent mistakes etc while filling up paper work or answering any questions etc at the port of entry...
What does the process look like when one lands and waits at the Immigration window? Are the intending immigrants taken to a different area to process their paperwork?
Thanks for your time and reply!
So unless one works to earn the required points for social security, they don't become eligible for Medicare? Or do some options open up if they haven't paid into the system but due to their age? Instead of purchasing insurance from private market, any other options available based on the age?What's the monthly premium we are talking about for say a 68 year old person?
Oh really the plastic card comes in the mail so quick? I'm not familiar with the process. Any chances of the plastic card taking longer?
Also the intending immigrant is English speaking but going through the Immigration can be intimidating as to not make any inadvertent mistakes etc while filling up paper work or answering any questions etc at the port of entry...
What does the process look like when one lands and waits at the Immigration window? Are the intending immigrants taken to a different area to process their paperwork?
Thanks for your time and reply!
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
On entry: Easiest is they show their immigrant visa to the person directing to lines and ask them which is best. Different airports have different lines. Some have specific new immigrant lines, others don’t. Immigrants don’t have paperwork to fill in and a straight ir5 is unlikely to have any questions.
More importantly:
The US is not a welfare state so no contributions generally means no benefits. (Couple of exceptions once become citizens I think. There are no benefits just because of age.)
You’d have to check with options for your state specifically but from what I understand private insurance for older people can run close to $1000 a month, more or less depending on deductibles etc. for Medicare part A and B combined looks like around $550 a month but you’ll have deductibles and co-insurance costs to consider as well so it can be significantly higher than this if care is needed https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance
It’s important to understand what you might have to pay for healthcare for elderly parents, also bear in mind there are reports increasing that people sponsoring retired parents may have to show they can pay the health insurance costs (which usually means significantly higher than the usual 125% of poverty line for household needs to be shown).
More importantly:
The US is not a welfare state so no contributions generally means no benefits. (Couple of exceptions once become citizens I think. There are no benefits just because of age.)
You’d have to check with options for your state specifically but from what I understand private insurance for older people can run close to $1000 a month, more or less depending on deductibles etc. for Medicare part A and B combined looks like around $550 a month but you’ll have deductibles and co-insurance costs to consider as well so it can be significantly higher than this if care is needed https://www.medicare.gov/your-medicare-costs/medicare-costs-at-a-glance
It’s important to understand what you might have to pay for healthcare for elderly parents, also bear in mind there are reports increasing that people sponsoring retired parents may have to show they can pay the health insurance costs (which usually means significantly higher than the usual 125% of poverty line for household needs to be shown).
Thank you for you reply! The port of entry would be JFK, NY. When I was looking online for private insurance, it seemed as if the options for new immigrants who are not working a full time job were very few and or at least not from reputable insurers.
This seems like a pretty typical scenario where old age parents come to US as immigrants but not having affordable options to health insurance. Some of them are either not able to work or willing to work jobs due to their age.
Wondering how others in similar situations handle this. Simply fork out the money to get a private health insurance? Or maybe get a low paying job at a place that offers these benefits.
This seems like a pretty typical scenario where old age parents come to US as immigrants but not having affordable options to health insurance. Some of them are either not able to work or willing to work jobs due to their age.
Wondering how others in similar situations handle this. Simply fork out the money to get a private health insurance? Or maybe get a low paying job at a place that offers these benefits.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Yes, those are the main options, but bear in mind low paying jobs don’t generally offer great benefits.
The US is not a great place for those without means to retire to.
- on the entry, it differs by terminal at jfk at well. Again, they can just ask which line to go to - there are always people helping direct arrivals.
It doesn't really matter how long the plastic card takes to get, because their immigrant visa, upon entry, automatically turns into an I-551 (equivalent to the plastic card, which is also an I-551) valid for one year from the date of entry. And this immigrant-visa-turned-I-551 can be used in any place the plastic card can.
Not sure where you were looking, but they should be looking to buy a plan from your state's health insurance exchange (Obamacare marketplace). That should be pretty reputable. They can get a subsidy if their income is low enough. They have a special enrollment period for 60 days after moving to the US, so they can sign up even if it's not during the open enrollment period.
If you guys are living in California or New York, they can get free health insurance equivalent to Medicaid in those states if their income is low enough, without a 5-year waiting period. The sponsor could be sued for reimbursement, but I don't think those states are doing that.
Medicare will have a 5-year waiting period, so they cannot get that until 5 years later (and then, they would have to pay a premium because they haven't paid enough years of Medicare tax).
Thanks! So I assume then I-551 could also be used for travel without needing the plastic card?
If the person just landed in US, doesn't work (zero income) but lives with the sponsor whose income is high enough (probably doesn't matter to qualify the new immigrant for subsidy anyway), does this mean the person can qualify for low income subsidy? Are we talking about substantial subsidy?
I would like to know more about NY and CA regarding the free health insurance for new immigrant and how does this interplays with the sponsor's affidavit of support. Is this something that one could go bankrupt doing if ever sued..I would think so given the high cost of health care..but I would like to see what're the real vs. perceived risks..
Also are there places online that have more information on this?
Yes, and the sealed packet that they are supposed to present at the port of entry!
On a related note, one of parents passed away before they could travel. Both had their IV visa stamped. Does the sponsor need to inform USCIS that one of the parents passed away?
On a related note, one of parents passed away before they could travel. Both had their IV visa stamped. Does the sponsor need to inform USCIS that one of the parents passed away?
yes
If they qualify to be claimed as your dependent on your taxes, then they would be considered part of your household for Obamacare subsidy purposes, even if you don't actually claim them. So if you have decent income, then they probably wouldn't get the subsidy.
Permanent residents can get Medicaid in New York state and Medi-Cal in California even if they haven't been a permanent resident for 5 years. There are income requirements, but I believe that if you don't claim them as dependents on your taxes, then your income doesn't count for them for these programs. You should check your state to make sure. Yes, the sponsor is theoretically liable to be sued for reimbursement if they use these benefits.
Why would/should I claim them as dependent on my tax return? Serious question. So if a parent lives with their sponsor/adult son/daughter and receives pension from overseas job, could they still be considered dependent for tax purposes? I know that they are supposed to file taxes, so will their income that comes from their pension overseas be taxed? In this case, new immigrant is from Pakistan.
Will a person's income from overseas pension be considered in determining their eligibility for medicaid? I'm guessing it does. Are these the only two states that don't require new LPRs to wait for 5 years?
This topic may have been discussed elsewhere so please link to threads or websites if you know of any. The subject is how to maintain permanent residency status for situations where one needs to travel overseas and stay for few months or more for family reasons and not employment reasons. The parent is retired so doesn't actively work overseas, owns a home where other his other adult children live.
Would this be considered a valid reason for someone to travel and stay for more than 6 months of the year overseas? The new immigrant lives with his sponsor adult USC child so "maintains" the intention of living in the US.
Would this be considered a valid reason for someone to travel and stay for more than 6 months of the year overseas? The new immigrant lives with his sponsor adult USC child so "maintains" the intention of living in the US.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
Are you talking about one trip or doing this regularly each year?
Absences of less than a year are not presumed to break permanent residence, however if your parent is absent longer than present for a number of consecutive years they may be found to have abandoned residence.
Bear in mind an absence of longer than 6 months resets the naturalization countdown clock to the next entry.
And yes a green card holder needs to declare all worldwide income whether or not it’s brought into the US. If it’s just a pension payment I can’t imagine tax will be owing.
Absences of less than a year are not presumed to break permanent residence, however if your parent is absent longer than present for a number of consecutive years they may be found to have abandoned residence.
Bear in mind an absence of longer than 6 months resets the naturalization countdown clock to the next entry.
And yes a green card holder needs to declare all worldwide income whether or not it’s brought into the US. If it’s just a pension payment I can’t imagine tax will be owing.
Probably every year as the parent has other adult children who are dependent on his presence etc so would need to figure out a time period every year that he can be out of US for certain period of time..trying to figure out what's the safe period and what needs to be in place in terms of proof that he has not abandoned his residence in US.
Also thinking of getting re entry permit so it may give the parent two years after the initial travel to US, to go back overseas and get affairs in order. What are the things to keep in mind when applying or using re entry permit? Is it safe to go this route? Are there any gotchas to be aware of? I assume one can only apply for rentry permit once or can it be applied for more than one time?
Also thinking of getting re entry permit so it may give the parent two years after the initial travel to US, to go back overseas and get affairs in order. What are the things to keep in mind when applying or using re entry permit? Is it safe to go this route? Are there any gotchas to be aware of? I assume one can only apply for rentry permit once or can it be applied for more than one time?
Your parent needs to be careful about leaving the US for more than 180 days if the proposed rule on public charge inadmissibility takes effect. Although green card holders are mostly not affected by inadmissibility, even when returning from abroad, there are a few conditions under which a returning green card holder is considered to be seeking admission, and thus would be subject to public charge inadmissibility. One of those conditions is if they were away for more than 180 days. Under the proposed rule, use of Medicaid would be a negative factor. But even if they don't use Medicaid, their age itself is a negative factor that could cause them to be denied entry. The rule says DHS would "consider a person's age under 18 or over 61 to be a negative factor in the totality of the circumstances when determining the likelihood of becoming a public charge". There are other things in your parent's situation that can also be negative factors, e.g. the fact they are not working. So it's best to avoid these issues by not staying out of the US for more than 180 days.
SusieQQQ
Well-Known Member
With other adult children “dependent” on your parent being there and you looking at preferring minimum 2 years out the country (yes you can renew a re-entry permit, for up to 5 years total btw) I’m not really sure why you are looking at this parent immigrating right now. The parent will need to submit tax returns even if residing abroad on a re-entry permit, and repeated long trips out of the country in the absence of that will lead to scrutiny. At what point do you anticipate the parent’s responsibility to the other adult children will be dispensed with in such a way that will enable the parent to spend the majority of his time in the US? It’s probably at that stage that you should be considering an immigrant visa.
Scary stuff in the pipeline should it pass!! Are you suggesting that on each entry regardless of the length of absence, one could be subject to such questions if they fall in that age bracket? That would be rough.. I know the rule hasn't passed yet but you never know and when it does. The atmosphere and attitude towards older immigrants could change..not sure what one can do about such concerns .. in my case parent already got their visa and now gotta figure things out..
Yeah they already got the Immigrant Visa and have to travel before its expiry. Thinking that make the first entry...do all the paperwork, establish their presence in the sense that get the SSN, DL, Bank Account going and then at some point maybe apply for re entry permit to buy some time for travel back to the country of birth.
You bring up valid points and all well-taken but in my case, we are beyond those at this point.
If the parents lands in US on Jan 2019, I don't think they need to file taxes this year (deadline Apr. 15, 2019) since they never worked in 2018 and their tax life should start in 2019..first time they would need to file taxes would be Apr. 2020 for the year 2019.
You bring up valid points and all well-taken but in my case, we are beyond those at this point.
If the parents lands in US on Jan 2019, I don't think they need to file taxes this year (deadline Apr. 15, 2019) since they never worked in 2018 and their tax life should start in 2019..first time they would need to file taxes would be Apr. 2020 for the year 2019.