Britinsac

My wife and I lived in the U.S fifteen years and came back to UK in 2017 to look after parents with Alzheimers. We relinquished our green cards because we knew it might be for the long haul. Now we are waiting for approval of I-130 sponsorship by our daughter, the processing time is estimated to be 10.5 months which will give us a response date around mid February 2023. I know if we are approved we then have to file I-485 adjustment of status following that. I have read that this could take 8-14months to approve. Does this apply for I-130 sponsored too? Will we have a total wait of almost 2 years? I have read conflicting information online. The processing time for I-485 seem to apply to those applying for green card within the U.S. but do they also apply to those applying from outside the U.S? We are trying to estimate so many things, house sale, purchase, etc so it would be handy to have a clear estimate of the time it will take from I-130 approval. We also qualify for Social Security. I believe we will have to wait five years after returning before we can claim Medicare. We do have the ability to support ourselves with savings, pensions and social security. I sincerely appreciate any insight members can give.

newacct

I-485 is the form for Adjustment of Status, which is the process of getting a green card from within the US. You are not in the US, and will not go through Adjustment of Status. Instead, you will go through Consular Processing to get an immigrant visa at a US consulate. This process does not involve an I-485. After the I-130 approval, your petition will go to the NVC and the consulate for processing. The total time from I-130 filing until you get the immigrant visa could take 1-2 years.

SanDiegogirl

A resident of the US ordinarily applies for Medicare at age 65. How old are you now?

Britinsac

I am 64, my wife is 66. However we are not in the U.S. and not permanent residents currently so we are assuming that we cannot apply for Medicare until we have been approved and resident again for 5 years. I think that because we left the U.S. and abandoned our greencards we cannot get Medicare straight away if we are approved for our visas.

Britinsac

Thank you so much for clarifying this for me.

SanDiegogirl

You say that you lived in the US for 15 years and that you qualify for SS . I presume that is US Social Security?

So, if you paid into US Social Security did you not also pay into Medicare? Did you obtain 40 credits for Medicare?

If so, then once you have your new visas you might find that you qualify for Medicare immediately (at least wife does) if you have the necessary credits.

Britinsac

Yes we do both qualify for U.S social security and we both have 40 credits for Medicare from our 15 years 2003-2017.
I have been unable to find any information on Medicare eligibility for those who have Medicare credits, left the country and abandoned green card, but returned. The information online all seems to state that you have a wait of 5 years following entry. It would be wonderful if my wife can apply when we do obtain our visa. I don't think she can register for Medicare now while we are still waiting I-130 approval because technically we are not residents.

S Folinsky

This post made me curious. Google being your friend, the official government site is at cms.gov. It has the eligibility standards therein. What is the source of your information that suggests you have to wait for five years after your readmission to apply?

Do note that delay in applying for Part D coverage when eligible incurs a premium surcharge. My late father tripped over that one.

Britinsac

Everything that we have read seems to apply to citizens who live abroad. We cannot find anything relating to ex permanent residents living abroaad who are planning to return. We assumed that we would not be able to apply until we were green card holders again. I guess it might be wise for my wife to enroll - they will tell her if she can't I guess.
The issue we have is that the social security website tells you that you need to apply through the consular office for the country you reside in. And you go to the consular website and they tell you to sign up at ssa.gov! As per the links below.
https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen...s-or-medicare/
https://www.medicare.gov/eligibility...lledIn=neither

Britinsac

This document specifically states that you need to be a lawful permanent resident for 5 years immediately prior to enrollment in Medicare.
https://www.justiceinaging.org/wp-co...d-Medicare.pdf

This indicates that we cannot enroll until we are back in the U.S

SanDiegogirl

The link you provide is talking about new immigrants, those without any work history in the US and don't have credits for SS or Medicare.
You do have the necessary credits. As far as I can see your credits will still be in the system regardless that you left the US.
Yes, you cannot enroll until you are back in the US and have your green cards - but I don't believe you have to wait 5 years.

Britinsac

Thank you SanDiegogirl for your reply - Our set of circumstances is not specifically covered in any documentation I have discovered online. I tend to agree with you, and that would be the best case scenario. We will apply if and when we are once again permanent residents. Many thanks for your response.

S Folinsky

Actually, your circumstances are covered in the material you note.SanDiegogirl’s analysis strikes me as spot on. That said, beware that a U.S. clerk may make the very same mistaken reading that you did. It can be corrected, it’s just a PIA.

(I’m reminded of a lesson I received over 50 years back as a very young 1L in my class on Legal Research & Writing. An example was given of an attorney requesting a legal memorandum regarding a situation of a Cocker Spaniel biting a child. The law clerk comes back empty handed saying she could find no law. Attorney is amazed that there is no case law on dog bites. Law clerk replies that there are many published cases, but they involved setters, collies, retrievers, etc etc. But no cases regarding a Cocker Spaniel.)

SanDiegogirl

Please let us know how you get on.....

newacct

8 USC 1611(b)(3) seems to exempt the Medicare recipient from needing to be a qualified alien if they accrued enough credits to get Medicare Part A, or something like that: