I did not have a job until January 22, 2018, and I could not get health insurance for the first 90 days, so do I have to pay a penalty for Jan, Feb, and March?

[cdanger1-]

I moved to this country at the beginning of 2017. I had to file paperwork to request asylum, and then wait for my work card and my social security card. 

[TaxGuyBill · Accepted solution]

If you did not have health insurance, yes, you need to pay the penalty for those three months.

Although your employer did not offer you health insurance, you were eligible to purchase it elsewhere, such as the Healthcare Marketplace.

However, are you sure you did not have any health insurance?  As far as I understand, asylum applicants are potentially eligible for the free Medicaid health insurance (if the are unemployed).  So you may want to double check to see if you were covered by Medicaid.

[Anonymous]

even if you had no insurance those months you may be entitled to exemption . look at form 8695 and related instructions at IRS website