1846.Limitations on Use of Certain Exceptions

1846.1What limitations apply to the exceptions to the alien nonpayment provision?

Limitations apply to the use of several of the exceptions listed in §1845 beginning July, 1968. The exceptions in §1845 (A.1) and (A.2) cannot be applied to any alien who is:

  1. A citizen of a country that has a social insurance or pension system of general application paying periodic old age, retirement, or death benefits that does not provide for full payment to eligible U.S. citizens who are outside the country; or

  2. A citizen of a country that has no social insurance or pension system of general application and is a country to which Treasury Department regulations currently or within 5 years prior to January 1968 prohibit the delivery of checks. These countries are:

  3. The limitations on the exceptions in §1845 (A.1.) and (A.2.) apply to citizens of the countries shown below.

Algeria

Moldova

Andorra

Mongolia

Angola

Mozambique

Armenia

Namibia

Azerbaijan

Nauru

Bahrain

New Zealand

Belarus

Niger

Benin

North Korea*

Brunei

Oman

Cambodia

Papua-New Guinea

Comoros

Paraguay

Congo, Democratic Republic of the

Qatar

Cuba*

Russia

Djibouti

Rwanda

Egypt

Sao Tome and Principe

Equatorial Guinea

Saudi Arabia

Estonia

Seychelles

Georgia

Suriname

Guinea

Syria

Guinea-Bissau

Tajikistan

Iran

Turkmenistan

Iraq

Tuvalu

Kazakhstan

Ukraine

Kiribati

United Arab Emirates

Kosovo

Uzbekistan

Kuwait

Vanuatu

Kyrgyzstan

Vietnam

Libya

Zambia

Maldives

Zimbabwe

*Treasury restrictions apply. See also §§1847-1848.

Note: This limitation applies only to those beneficiaries who are citizens of the countries listed above. It does not affect payment to other beneficiaries on the same earnings record who are not citizens of those countries.

1846.2What limitations to the exceptions apply to aliens entitled to benefits on another person's record?

The exceptions listed in §§1845 (A.1), (A.2), (A.3), (B.2), and (B.5) cannot be applied to an alien entitled to spouse or child (auxiliary) or survivor benefits unless certain residency requirements are met. The auxiliary or survivor must have:

  1. Resided in the U.S. for a total period of at least five years; and

  2. Had a relationship during the five-year period with the worker as a parent, a child, or one or more of the following:

    1. Spouse;

    2. Widow(er);

    3. Divorced spouse; or

    4. Surviving divorced spouse.

Note: The U.S. residency requirements do not apply to aliens who are citizens or residents of a country with which the U.S. has an international social security agreement (see §107) except for Australian citizens who do not reside in an agreement country and Danish citizens who do not reside in an agreement country.

1846.3How does a child meet the residency requirement, other than on his or her own?

A child of the worker who cannot meet the residency requirement on his or her own may meet it if the worker and the child's other parent, if any, each resided in the U.S. for a total period of at least five years. In addition, if the child was adopted, the worker must have adopted the child in the U.S., lived with the child in the U.S. and meet a support requirement. During the period the child lived with the worker in the U.S., the worker must have provided at least one-half of the child's support for a period:

  1. Beginning before the child turns age 18; and

  2. Consisting of the year immediately before the month the worker:

    1. Began a period of disability;

    2. Became entitled to retirement or disability insurance benefits; or

    3. Died.

Last Revised: Oct. 21, 2015