We serve immigration clients nationwide. Contact Us to schedule a consultation with one of our lawyers today.

Medicare is health insurance for people 65 or older, certain people under 65 with disabilities, and people of any age with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

As a green card holder your first chance to get Medicare usually starts 3 months before you turn 65 and ends 3 months after you turn 65. Any individual who applies for Medicare will need to show at least 40 Social Security/Medicare credits that were earned in the United States. In most cases 40 credits equates to 10 years of work in the United States.   

Additionally, to get Medicare Part B a green card holder will need to meet a 5-year permanent residency requirement immediately prior to applying for Medicare. A green card holder must continuously physically reside in the United States to meet this requirement. The period officially starts when a green card holder is admitted into the US as a legal permanent resident.

Medicare is an earned benefit and therefore does not count towards the public charge rules. USCIS has listed Medicare as a benefit that it does not consider in the public charge inadmissibility determination.

If you are an immigrant with an immigration question, please contact our office.

Lead Counsel Rated
expertise
Illinois State Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
ASLA
DCBA