Angela & Paul

Our experience with immigration was far from easy and there was a point in the process - we used all the resources on this Amazon forum - when the officer at the interview told us to get an attorney which we did. Reading through the OP post and some other issues raised by others, I’d recommend getting an attorney from the get go. The hard part apparently is to find one that is knowledgeable enough and maybe has done it before. Not sure if the attorney has to be from Ohio. I admire her courage and I wish her good luck

Trust me, you don’t see what’s happening behind the scenes and one of the thing they do is check your credit report and credit score. I’m pretty sure the OP spouse situation would be visible to them and they can flatly deny, rightfully or wrongfully but that’s beyond the point. As to the OP, she is not a citizen or permanent resident - hence the post -, so she won’t be able to open the account in the US. Why do people think everything is easy in this country? It’s not, actually pretty hard compared to other countries… and I have experience with a few others.

I was talking about my case, we’re married and have been for over 10 years now. A spouse is eligible for SS benefits, unmarried partner is not, with exceptions. Once married, the foreign spouse is a resident, has a social security number and is eligible for the husband SS benefits s long as the requirements are met (age is one of them).

You forgot to quote the important statement (from the same SSA page) Who receives benefits? Certain family members may be eligible to receive monthly benefits, including: A widow or widower age 60 or older (age 50 or older if they have a disability). I’m in the midst of applying for benefits and I asked that question to the SS rep yesterday and he confirmed the 60-year of age requirement. If I die next year, my wife will not get benefits for another 10 years!!! Welcome to America! And yes, life insurance might be prohibitive but then the spouse might be penniless for a while without it. Best thing to do is for the surviving spouse to work until 60 or early retirement age at 62 (on her own benefits) or retirement age (67 now) or for max benefits (70) IF she would get more than the survivor benefits. It all depends on her work pay, how many years she worked, same for the spouse.

Hold your horses… she would get the benefits - and could be partial benefits - once she’s ELIGIBLE for retirement which is normally 62 and lowered to 60 for survivor benefits. Consult with your local SS office. Until she’s 60 a life insurance policy would be highly recommended. I’m not sure about Medicare, I haven’t called them yet about the issue (spouse much younger than the one applying for benefits).

I think you already got the gist of the story. Please document discreetly any attempt to injure you (take pictures) AND emotionally bully you (write down what he said with time and location). Be aware the emotional bullying can be subtle, it’s rarely “I’ll kill you” but more like preventing you to visit friends, removing phone privileges, giving you orders, limiting your bank accounts/ATM card access,… I’m wondering if you met his family already because it’s a huge red flag if not. You can do searches online about him, about his criminal history because that kind of attitude is usually not a one-time thing. At this point the green card thing is the last thing you should worry about because you’re in charge there. Take care of your home situation first… Good luck and please stay safe!