natodo

Hi,
I am now a US Citizen and I have applied for my parents to move here (they are living in the UK).
The i130 has been approved for each of them.

I-864
What do I need to fill out for part 6, question 24a, b ,c..... (total income on the 1040.)

I am the sponsor of my parents but I have $0 income, so my husband is sponsoring as a household member- I believe he completes form i864a.

We are married filing jointly on our tax returns.
All income received is my husband's income from his W2.

Do I put $0 for all 3 of these (24 a, b, c) because it isn't actually 'my' income - I am just named filing jointly on the tax return?
Or do I put the tax return total earning? (its all my husband's earning)

Thank you so much for any help

Natalie

newacct

For Part 6 #24a-c, you put the exact number from the "total income" line of your (jointly filed) tax returns from the last 3 years.

civilservant

How old are your parents? Are they independently wealthy? Healthcare costs may be prohibitively expensive.

natodo

My parents are almost 60, so the plan is they will work here and pay taxes.
I believe the requirement is they have to pay taxes for 40 quarters (10 years) to qualify for Medicare when they retire. Is that correct?
If they file taxes as 'married filing jointly', but only my father works, does this qualify as my mother having paid taxes too (even though she didn't work)

Thank you

Natalie

natodo

Thank you so much. That was what I was thinking

civilservant

They can enroll once they have been legally present in the US for 5 years but not before, so they will most likely be 66 (I'm guessing, based on what you said) at best before they are eligible. Even then, since they will have not worked the required 40 quarters before 65, they will not be eligible for premium free Medicare.

The Part A premium is currently $471 a month per person.

The current Part B premium is $148.50 a month per person.

Prior to that they may have to enroll in the ACA exchanges to get coverage.

I assume they have a full UK state pension coming to them at retirement age? The US is really not the place to be poor, and they will mostly likely struggle to find employment at their age. These are things that need to be considered.

natodo

Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.

Do they have to have worked 40 quarters prior to age 65 to qualify?
They wouldn't be able to qualify if it took until age 70 for example?

civilservant

Although I am not 100% sure about Medicare, I know you can't do this for Social Security.

Since SS and Medicare are essentially administered the same, I would surmise that the answer is no. When you reach 65, you're done earning quarters.

I would reach out to the Social Security Administration now if this is a potential deal breaker.

natodo

thank you, I will do that

Nutmegger

I don't think the clock stops running on earning SS quarters at 65. The possible cited retirement ages are 62, 66, and 70 (in terms of the rate one will receive), so if one can keep bolstering the account up to 70, I believe it is possible to accrue the quarters up to 70. Of course, it would be a very close thing for the OP's parents, as they have to arrive here and find employment, which will not be a snap. Presumably they could start out paying for Medicare under the five year rule, and if the situation changed, it would then be deducted from any SS they were eligible for at age 70. But as you say, the OP needs to check all this with the SSA -- or AARP can be helpful, too.

scrubbedexpat099

I know California allows new Immigrants to get Medicaid from Day 1, most States do not so a lot of this is State dependent. I think the common for Medicaid is 5 years as a LPR.

But we are of course talking about today and 10 etc years away is anybody's guess.

SanDiegogirl

While California allows new immigrants to apply for Medical (California's equivalent of Medicaid) there are criteria to follow such as age (must be 65 and above) and income. It's not a slam dunk.

scrubbedexpat099

Well there are situations you can combine Medicaid and Medicare but it is complicated and I do not remember all the details.

Here they are c 60 so Medicare is not currently a factor and presumably will have little income. So Medicaid could be a factor.

SanDiegogirl

Have you budgeted for what happens if they don't get jobs - or get only minimum wage jobs?
Have you budgeted for their personal, individual health plan costs if they don't get jobs or get job which don't have group company plans?

At nearly 60 an individual health plan will cost several hundred dollars a month each.

civilservant

I think the fairly obvious answer to this question, bearing in mind the demonstrated assumptions, is probably not.