Does being on SSI effect how they look at you for citizenship/visas?

So I know my citizenship and visas are a ways off at this point, but I’m wondering if I should be prepared for this getting in the way of anything.

For reference I am on the autism spectrum and struggle a lot with depression and over stimulation. I’ve been debating going on social security for this because the workload has been way too much in the field I’m currently in (retail) and has taken a negative toll on my mental health. It’s in part my fault, I always sign up for more than I can handle and often leave ready to meltdown once I get to my car, but also my state has an incredibly high cost of living and I’ve taken a cut to my wages and hours as of late.

Ramble aside, this is why I wanna get on SSI. I worry though if this could effect the way they look at me for visas and citizenship? Like could they deny someone based on disability without saying it’s because of that?

My goal is to get on either a work or spousal visa so I can live with my fiancé (we’ll be married by the time I apply for spousal lul). I worry this could make them question my work ability (if I was to get a work visa). I’m a hard worker I just am struggling to respect my own limits, in part to things in my control and to things out of it :-(

Hi MM.000.

I can't answer your question about how they look at disability income. I suspect they won't want to admit anyone who could potentially be a burden on the state eventually, but I am willing to guess that there are ways around that issue for spouses of citizens.  There will be other people here who might be able to give you some idea of the current climate down at immigration in London.

I'm not sure I understand your plan to "get on SSI". (I assume you mean USA SSI.)  Being on the spectrum won't necessarily qualify you, but you can check here  on the benefits eligibility calculator https://ssabest.benefits.gov/benefits/supplemental-security-income-(ssi) for at least some idea as to it being doable or not.

If you are meaning SSDI, that has similar medical evidence requirements to SSI, but eligibility is based on your work history. Here's a succinct primer on that - https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/ssdi-ssi-how-each-works/

A reminder - the Feds' definition of disabled is:

    You cannot do work and engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA) because of your medical condition.
    You cannot do work you did previously or adjust to other work because of your medical condition.
    Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.

There can be up to a two-year waiting period in some areas for SSDI. It's my understanding that you have to pretty much be unable to do any sort of work at all - it can't be just that you are uncomfortable in your current line of work. Or even that you are unsuccessful and keep getting fired.  I'm not meaning to be flippant here, but if they think you can sit in a warehouse and fold cardboard boxes together for a living, they're going to expect you do do that - and if it earns you more than the benchmark pay per month, it will disqualify you.  Here's a link for SSDI - https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/qualify.html

For SSI, you say you are in a high cost-of-living area (been there, done that!), so you'll need to be very precise in knowing how much you can earn on your own without going over the threshhold that would cut off your SSI payments. (I think it's $841 a month, gross pay). It is my understanding that the benchmark income is the same across the USA without any consideration for the actual cost of living in a given area.  So if you qualify medically, you still have to watch the income limits.

I understand the stress of dealing with a spectrum disorder - seriously, I do. You might want to look to see if you can find a program to re-train into some kind of work that will be less of a challenge on that front. If you can.

Good luck!

Hi MM.000.

I can't answer your question about how they look at disability income. I suspect they won't want to admit anyone who could potentially be a burden on the state eventually, but I am willing to guess that there are ways around that issue for spouses of citizens.  There will be other people here who might be able to give you some idea of the current climate down at immigration in London.

I'm not sure I understand your plan to "get on SSI". (I assume you mean USA SSI.)  Being on the spectrum won't necessarily qualify you, but you can check here  on the benefits eligibility calculator https://ssabest.benefits.gov/benefits/supplemental-security-income-(ssi) for at least some idea as to it being doable or not.

If you are meaning SSDI, that has similar medical evidence requirements to SSI, but eligibility is based on your work history. Here's a succinct primer on that - https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/questions-answers/ssdi-ssi-how-each-works/

A reminder - the Feds' definition of disabled is:

    You cannot do work and engage in substantial gainful activity (SGA) because of your medical condition.
    You cannot do work you did previously or adjust to other work because of your medical condition.
    Your condition has lasted or is expected to last for at least one year or to result in death.

There can be up to a two-year waiting period in some areas for SSDI. It's my understanding that you have to pretty much be unable to do any sort of work at all - it can't be just that you are uncomfortable in your current line of work. Or even that you are unsuccessful and keep getting fired.  I'm not meaning to be flippant here, but if they think you can sit in a warehouse and fold cardboard boxes together for a living, they're going to expect you do do that - and if it earns you more than the benchmark pay per month, it will disqualify you.  Here's a link for SSDI - https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/qualify.html

For SSI, you say you are in a high cost-of-living area (been there, done that!), so you'll need to be very precise in knowing how much you can earn on your own without going over the threshhold that would cut off your SSI payments. (I think it's $841 a month, gross pay). It is my understanding that the benchmark income is the same across the USA without any consideration for the actual cost of living in a given area.  So if you qualify medically, you still have to watch the income limits.

I understand the stress of dealing with a spectrum disorder - seriously, I do. You might want to look to see if you can find a program to re-train into some kind of work that will be less of a challenge on that front. If you can.

Good luck!

Suella Braverman is the new home secretary and as a disabled family immigrant I now fear they'll introduce policies that will restrict my ability to get ILR & citizenship. She's worse than Patel in pretty much every way possible.

Also, autistic employment rates in the UK are worse than general disability employment, and as an immigrant unless in either extremely low skilled or very high skilled/high demand work you will probably experience discrimination just for being an immigrant and not having "UK work experience". I'd recommend going to uni here if you can, and follow some UK autistic folks on social media to understand the systemic struggles they face.

I would also advise any disabled person to consider hard what they will lose if they move - and what support network you may or may not have access to in the UK. My husband is a loner. We don't live near any of his friends - but when I asked who he'd want to spend time with if we lived closer to them he had *no one*. I should have asked that before moving because I was under the impression he had lots of people he liked spending time with, and that his family would be supportive since they are the reason I moved here vs him coming to the US. I lost my entire support network and haven't been able to rebuild one here because my disabilities require other people to change habits to occupy the same space as them without becoming ill, and no one is willing to do that for someone they don't know well. His family resent me for being disabled and unable to give him the social life they expected.

Also, the equalities act does not protect your employment. There's a lot of case law that would not be the same in the US under the ADA - they are allowed to claim your personal health and safety can't be reasonably protected and therefore discrimination is just fine. Or the adjustments aren't reasonable because of cost, or any other number of things and the only way to challenge that is with a tribunal - which means paying for lawyers and putting yourself through significant stress. It's pretty dire for disabled folks here right now. (The US is also bad, but it's the devil you know etc.)

For my Master's my research was on social welfare policy dysfunction. Specifically, I looked at disabled populations and barriers for them in higher education. When I went on working towards a PhD one of the requirements was that I have work in two additional fields. One of those was comparative governments. (The other was fiscal policy -  gaaaak, retch!)  So I looked at the same social policy area, but in the UK and (if memory serves) Germany & Scandinavia on a broader scope than just higher education.  It's been a lot of years since I was behind the typewriter tapping away on all that, but if things hold as they were then, and from what I've seen in recent years, my general impression is that you are better off in the USA than in the UK, by a long-shot, as a person on the spectrum. Not sure I'd say that about the Scandinavian countries or Germany - IF you were a native of one of them. But I haven't spent a lot of effort looking at those in a long time.

You didn't ask for this advice, but I'm going to offer it anyway. What you do with it is, of course, entirely up to you: 

If you're to be married, I think I'd suggest your partner try to live in the USA with you for at least the first several years of your marriage. Those are the times when you are having to become adjusted to being married - and it is an adjustment. Once all the flowers and the honeymoon fade there can be some hard interpersonal work involved. Being on the spectrum can make that... let us say "somewhat challenging"... depending on where you are on it and how understanding your spouse is. (Seriously, the last thing you want to do is end up divorced in a foreign country without a support system.) Once you've got a really serious grounding with each other after several years,  then you might want to look at living overseas - if you still both want to do it.

And, as a corollary, the UK economy is going to have some very, very rough years for some time to come. The government has borrowed heavily to keep the economy afloat during Covid and post-Brexit, and they are still borrowing heavily. The piper will have to be paid someday, as the saying goes. It's a pretty good bet that the folks at the top of the economic pile are not going to be hurting much in that process.  Everyone else is going to feel the pinch, and those at the bottom will probably find it more of a gut punch. (Example - The government won't windfall-profit tax the energy sector, where stockholders are earning hand-over-fist while home energy bills shoot into the stratosphere. But they'll propose cuts to social welfare programs to "balance the budget". Pretty amazing, but not very surprising.)  One of the first things I expect they will cut will be funding that is directed towards helping  persons with special needs.  If you rely on their social net, you could find it doesn't help much. If it even functionally remains, in a few years.

Another thing to check, and I simply do not remember about qualifying (if I ever actually knew at all) - if you go overseas, does your SSI or SSDI go with you, or do you have to be a resident in the USA to collect those payments?  In fact, I'm pretty sure SSI can't be paid to overseas residents. SSDI might be case-by-case, but I think it may be possible if you're already on it before you leave the country. (?)  You will definitely want to know the realities before you do your planning if you hope to depend on USA disability payments of any variety while living abroad.

Good luck, whatever you choose to do.