Question:
Can I get disability for my 3-year-old son who was born here even if I am not a citizen?
Response:
Yes. A child’s eligibility for benefits is not based on the citizenship of his parents. But it will be affected by your own income and assets which are deemed to your child until he reaches age 18. So, if you have income above $1,550 a month (in 2024), or $2,590 a month if your child is blind, he will be intelligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), the main disability benefit in the United States. Some sources of income are exempted from these amounts, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Veterans benefits, and there are deductions for other children living at home.
After your child reaches age 18, your income and assets will no longer be deemed to him and his eligibility for SSI will be based on his own income and assets. In addition, once you or his other parent retires or passes away he will become eligible for Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefits which are not affected by his income or assets. Usually these benefits are higher than the monthly SSI payment.
Here’s another post I wrote on this issue: https://askharry.info/can-disabled-child-receive-ssdi-if-parents-are-not-u-s-citizens/
And here’s an explanatory brochure from the Social Security Administration: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10026.pdf
