Medicare- The 5 year residency rule may or may not apply

[Crazy Cat 41,981]

Ordinarily, we think a Green Card holder must be a legal resident for 5 years before qualifying for Medicate.  However, I just discovered that the 5 year residency rule does not apply to all new Green Card holders.  It appears that if a new immigrant marries, or is married to, a US citizen or LPR who already qualifies with 40+ quarters of work credit, the Medicare 5 year residency rule goes away after 1 year of marriage.  This is important info for immigrants who are approaching 65 years of age.

 

https://justiceinaging.org/older-immigrants-and-medicare/

 

"...is an LPR who came to the U.S. three years ago. She married another LPR shortly after arriving. Her husband, a long-term U.S. resident, has enough work credits for premium-free Part A. Ms. Lopez is turning 65. Because she can rely on her husband’s work history, she can start her Part A and Part B coverage right away, even though she has not been a U.S. resident for five years."

 

",...... a 65-year-old LPR, came to the U.S. from Jamaica last year when he was 64. Because he is subject to the five-year continuous residency period, he cannot enroll in Medicare until he is 69. However, next month he plans to marry Ms. Allen, also an LPR and age 63. She has been in the U.S. over 15 years and, because of her work history, qualifies for premium-free Part A. Once they are married for a year, Mr. Williams will be entitled to Part A based on Ms. Allen’s record. He won’t have to wait for five years to enroll or pay a premium for Part A. "

Edited September 19 by Crazy Cat