Marriage

bta87 wrote:

Solo1,
   I just noticed your comment that you were speaking of survivors benefits after a marriage of 10 years or more. This is what I was referring to as well when I said she must have a green card...If they are not holders of one of these they can't collect on your benefits.

I havn't researched it but I do remember that a US Citizen who marries a foreign national in her/his country then it is considered legal and binding concerning marriage. So how that plays out with SS I am not sure.

Where is DR. GOOGLE??

When you need him. I'll get the SS page that spells this out. I should have done that in the first place.
I too was shocked. I had planned on my VNese spouse being able to draw on my benefits. So before coming over I went to the SSA office. They showed it to me in B&W. That changed my estate planning a great deal.
In fact I was going to stop drawing at my current age and wait until 70 so she could draw more. That all went out the door quickly.
We had never planned on her immigrating to the USA, and still don't. Plan B is for me to simply invest my SS check for her to get once I pass.
I will work on getting you the SSA policy on this…today!

Solo1
   There is a lot of info to parse, but google this and you will get the lowdown from the SSA policy:
SSR 89-12: section 202(t). If the alien prohibition is not enough they also forbid payment to a surviving spouse that resides in any of the "restricted" countries. Vietnam being one of those countries because they do not report vital statistics. Hope this clarifies it better.

bta87 wrote:

When you need him. I'll get the SS page that spells this out. I should have done that in the first place.
I too was shocked. I had planned on my VNese spouse being able to draw on my benefits. So before coming over I went to the SSA office. They showed it to me in B&W. That changed my estate planning a great deal.
In fact I was going to stop drawing at my current age and wait until 70 so she could draw more. That all went out the door quickly.
We had never planned on her immigrating to the USA, and still don't. Plan B is for me to simply invest my SS check for her to get once I pass.
I will work on getting you the SSA policy on this…today!

Here are some sites I have been reading:



http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis- … form-i-130http://www.uscis.gov/i-130-addresseshttps://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplayInit.do

Solo1,
   My bad! I forgot that you are applying for a "Green Card" for you spouse. Not sure where she plans to reside after you pass, but the Treasury Departments "Restricted" status for Vietnam would once again preclude her from drawing on you SS benefits. At least that is my understanding of the SSA policy on alien or resident alien/citozens.

Solo1,
  Yes, I too think the marriage being legal and binding is true. I did not mean to not recognize the point you made.

bta87 wrote:

Solo1,
  Yes, I too think the marriage being legal and binding is true. I did not mean to not recognize the point you made.

No worries mate! Attempting to negotiate one's way thru the maze of jargon and then actually comprehending the information is truly a mind blower. Sometimes when I'm reading I forgot what the hell I was trying to find out!!!

bta87 wrote:

Solo1,
   My bad! I forgot that you are applying for a "Green Card" for you spouse. Not sure where she plans to reside after you pass, but the Treasury Departments "Restricted" status for Vietnam would once again preclude her from drawing on you SS benefits. At least that is my understanding of the SSA policy on alien or resident alien/citozens.

Hopefully the laws will change by the time I check out. Plus she has to put up with me for 10 years to qualify!!

Solo1,
   You mean I'm not the only one?

Solo,
  Correct on the putting up with. However, I do believe that does not apply if she has children w/ you. Then the children qualify. Presuming all the other hurdles are met, like we spoke of.