Ask Larry

Hi Larry, My former husband may have given up his naturalized USA citizenship. He has been disabled for a long time. Would he need to reply or would he just have to forget it? He has family here in the states. Not even sure he could survive an air flight. He's 61 and owes back child support. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thank You

Hi. You don't have to be a U.S. citizen to potentially qualify for Social Security benefits as long as you have enough Social Security covered earnings to be insured for benefits. There isn't enough information in your question for me to be able to tell you whether or not your husband may qualify for benefits, but he can always apply for benefits in order to find out (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/). If your husband's living outside of the U.S. and if he's unable to apply for benefits online or directly with Social Security, information on applying for U.S. Social Security benefits while living in a foreign country can be found on the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/foreign.htm.

Best, Jerry