Sponsoring Parents & Retirement Programs

S

so_ab

Registered Users (C)
One of my friend is contemplating for sponsoring his parents for Permanent Residency in the United States. He got his Citizenship just a few weeks ago.

We were talking about the pros & cons of bringing his parents over & we discussed about Social Security, Medicare & Medi-cal (State of California one).

Can someone shed some light on the eligibility for his parents - if & when they come over; Are these programs available for PR's or is it only for US Citizens; What kind of paperwork/ documentation is needed to get this commenced?; If these do not start until US Citizenship, what are alternate options.

Looking forward to some feedback.

Thank you very much.
 
Social Security and Medicare are like a bank account - you got to pay in before you can make a withdrawal. Since your parents won't have been making payroll deductions, I doubt they'll qualify for any of the benefits.

As far as I know, the same rules apply regardless of whether you are an LPR or USC.
 
This information is for NY and the rules vary by state.

They will be eligible for Medicaid if their income is less than a preset amount. The qualifying amount includes any foreign income (such as pensions etc) and is pretty low (around 3000$?). If they qualify for medicaid, they may also be eligible for welfare and food stamps. But I am not sure how this will effect any citizenship application in the future. As boatbod says, they will not be eligible for social security or medicare, as they don't have enough work credits.

The only downside with medicaid is that very few good doctors accept it, as the payments are pretty low (~ 1/4 of what an insurance company pays). On the other hand, all prescription medications have zero co-pay.
 
I have another question. What happens if a US citizen sponsors his parents for the GC, and they are already out of status in the US? They came as tourists and by the time their son had become a citizen, they had already stayed longer than 6 months (9 in fact).
Thanks!
 
Thank you!
I heard that there is a special law by which immediate relatives of US citizens are amnestied for being illegal in the US. Is it true? And if yes, are there any specific timeframes like being out of status for 3 months/9 or a year? Could you send some reference link if there is one?
Thanks!
 
I think you'll find its probably an I-601:

I-601 "Application for Waiver of Ground of Excludability"​
or maybe an I-212
I-212 "Application for Permission to Reapply for Admission Into the United States After Deportation or Removal"​
However I have to say I know very little about either of these, except that neither is guaranteed to be approved.
 
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INA 212 covers the definition of an "ALIEN UNLAWFULLY PRESENT" (search for it as its a long way down). The starting point seems to be when someone has been in the country more than 180 days without a visa.
 
What about this program called Supplemental Social Security Program? If US Citizens sponsor their parents for GC or PR, will the parents be eligible for SSI (Supplemental Social Security program)?

Thanks very much.
 
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