Implications of Abandoning existing green card on social security benefits in future

[hari69]

Hello,
I have been a permanent resident of US for 15 years. My wife and children are US citizens. Due to circumstances I have to be in India for more time. I have been coming to US about every 5-6 months and staying in US for a few weeks at a time. I work from India for a US company. I visit US partly to maintain my green card and partly as work related. But at this rate I am likely to lose my green card and immigration warned me with the same.

I have been working for 22 years. If I abandon my green card (gained through work visa) in a few years from now and later apply for another green card through my wife who is a US citizen, will my currently accrued social security benefits be available to me if and when get a new green card?

Advance thanks for any direction on this.

Hari

[inadmissible]

You get to continue drawing social security cash benefits you are entitled to even if you lose your permanent residency. As an NRA, your payments will be subject to a flat 30% tax withholding on 85% of your benefits. When you kick the bucket, your surviving spouse and children can draw on survivor benefits while residing in India

[hari69]

You get to continue drawing social security cash benefits you are entitled to even if you lose your permanent residency. As an NRA, your payments will be subject to a flat 30% tax withholding on 85% of your benefits. When you kick the bucket, your surviving spouse and children can draw on survivor benefits while residing in India

Thank you, for the response. But I read that one has to have a permanent residency and live in US at least for a month every six months or be a US citizen to get the social security benefits.

[inadmissible]

I'd like to see where you read that

Yes, SSA requires you to be lawfully present in the United States to collect SS retirement benefits while you live in the United States

But that requirement doesn't apply if you're not resident in the United States

Even illegal immigrants who worked on valid ITIN can collect their vested retirement benefits once they depart the country

The SSA even has a page for nonresident alien SS retirement beneficiaries https://www.ssa.gov/international/AlienTax.html https://www.ssa.gov/international/Al...ference_2.html

Do not the conflate the issues surrounding your retirement benefits with programs like SSI, SSDI, Medicaid/Medicare

[hari69]

Thank you, again. If, as you said, my SS benefits don't expire when my legal status ends in US, is encouraging info for me.

Here is the info I mentioned earlier.

https://faq.ssa.gov/link/portal/34011/34019/Article/3843/Can-non-citizens-living-outside-the-United-States-receive-Social-Security-benefits

Countries that have agreements with US on SS (I am a citizen of India and as of now there is no agreement with India):-

https://www.ssa.gov/international/agreement_descriptions.html

Looks like I have to come and live in US for a month to get benefits for 6 months.

[inadmissible]

The link you provided states, "We may continue to pay benefits to noncitizens outside of the United States if they meet certain conditions" but the page doesn't say what those conditions are

Well, if you read starting from pdf page of https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10137.pdf you'll see it explains "Conditions for payments to continue to non-U.S. citizens while outside the United States"

You should probably read the whole document, but the information pertinent to you begins on page 11

[hari69]

Thank you. I think this article explains it.

[hari69]

I called SS. They said that my SS benefits will not lapse just because I lose my green card. But I will get the benefits only if I have a green card or be a US citizen when I receive it. It kind of contradicts with what is in this document. But some countries in that list apparently allow dual citizenship. So if you are a citizen of one of those countries and resides in that country, you can still get SS provided you are a citizen of US or have a green card.