foreign spouse ss# and survivor benefits

[lobojohn]

hello members, im new to the site.

i working on providing my pinay wife with ss benefits and or survivor rights benefits and have gotten shut down basically by the embassy with no help and no offer for any assistance.

years ago my then ss agent told me matter of fact that when we reached 10 years marriage and my wife attained 62 years of age we could get her own ss# and to then contact them about it  now , with that agent gone i contacted them. they no reply quickly and in fact i waited more than 2 weeks to hear from them only to be dismissed.

some research does indicate that this battle is possible to win, but im asking if anyone here has the definite low down on getting a foreign spouse an ss# and the rights of survivor ship benefits.

what i found so far ::  

Resides in a country with which the U.S. has an international social security agreement and the withholding of benefits would be against the terms of that agreement (see §107);

Is a citizen of a country that has a treaty with the U.S. requiring payment of U.S. Social Security benefits to citizens of the other country (i.e. Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands (survivor benefits only))

the once very friendly embassy staff doesn't seem to be so helpful these days. has anyone noticed? ive been in the fils for 10 years and i keep a low profile when it comes to dealing with gov agency's. ive never enjoyed red tape much.

in closing , hello to all members and i look forward to hearing from some of you and hopefully being a constructive member.

lobojohn

[Dave Hounddriver]

20 minutes ago, lobojohn said:

hello to all members

Hello back to ya.  I am probably not the one to help answer the question but I'd like to be clear on what you are asking:

Am I correct that you are an American on SS and you have a legal Pinay wife for 10 years and you want to ensure that she gets your SS benefits when you pass on?    Or do you want her to get her own SS, while you are still alive, even though she has never been to the US?

[Ram1957]

25 minutes ago, lobojohn said:

hello members, im new to the site.

i working on providing my pinay wife with ss benefits and or survivor rights benefits and have gotten shut down basically by the embassy with no help and no offer for any assistance.

years ago my then ss agent told me matter of fact that when we reached 10 years marriage and my wife attained 62 years of age we could get her own ss# and to then contact them about it  now , with that agent gone i contacted them. they no reply quickly and in fact i waited more than 2 weeks to hear from them only to be dismissed.

some research does indicate that this battle is possible to win, but im asking if anyone here has the definite low down on getting a foreign spouse an ss# and the rights of survivor ship benefits.

what i found so far ::  

Resides in a country with which the U.S. has an international social security agreement and the withholding of benefits would be against the terms of that agreement (see §107);

Is a citizen of a country that has a treaty with the U.S. requiring payment of U.S. Social Security benefits to citizens of the other country (i.e. Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands (survivor benefits only))

the once very friendly embassy staff doesn't seem to be so helpful these days. has anyone noticed? ive been in the fils for 10 years and i keep a low profile when it comes to dealing with gov agency's. ive never enjoyed red tape much.

in closing , hello to all members and i look forward to hearing from some of you and hopefully being a constructive member.

lobojohn

Do you have any children with her? 

[lobojohn]

yes youre right on the 1st part , but not the 2nd.

my wife came to the US to meet me  we were married in the US and then moved to the fils.

if she can attain rigths of survivor ship , then that would be sufficient. however it was my former ss agent who told us she could also get her own ss#.. its not such an important issue as long as she can get some of my bennys.

[lobojohn]

no children.. im the only kid in the house

[OnMyWay]

Hi John, welcome to the forum!

I am in a similar situation I think and I wish my wife could get SS benefits, but all the research I have done tells me it is not possible.

My wife has never lived in the U.S. and one of the spousal requirements to receive benefits is that you live 5 years in the U.S.

I am going to the U.S. Embassy Outreach here in Subic on Thursday.  I will ask them if it is possible for my wife to get benefits.  If your wife is in the same situation (never lived in the U.S.) then their answer should apply to you as well.

Thursday, SS will "interview" my two children who were born here, and they will receive benefits when I turn 62 in September.  They are U.S. citizens; my wife is not.

[ddeen]

Hi all been lurking for awhile.   I did a quick google search 

http://www.crevelingandcreveling.com/blog/what-expat-americans-foreign-spouses-need-know-about-social-security

[lobojohn]

hi OMW

ill be waiting to hear about your experience with them. im sure it wil also apply to us. its a very frustrating situation. at least your kids will benefit in some way from being citizens.

thanks for your reply

john

[Jollygoodfellow]

1 hour ago, ddeen said:

Hi all been lurking for awhile.   I did a quick google search 

http://www.crevelingandcreveling.com/blog/what-expat-americans-foreign-spouses-need-know-about-social-security

Lurkin and posting links is not good. We have rules so I suggest become a member within those rules. Welcome to the forum. 

[Old55]

I approved the link as it was helpful to the topic.

 Let me guess the link was to ddeen’s blog?