hi all,

was just hoping someone here could help me with a question, i want to apply for a fiance visa but have been diagnosed with pars planitis recently (an eye disease). i need to know how soon i'd be able to get medical insurance after moving over to the US as there's a good chance i'll need to get it treated, it's a rather longterm thing, could possibly clear up on it's own but it's unlikely. also now i'm really worried that i won't pass the medical exam required to be approved, even though besides that my health is perfect and i even had a clear chest x-ray done recently. i'm living in australia now, and it wouldn't cost so much to be treated here, neither i or my fiance want to live here, but we're rather low on cash and there's no way we could afford it without insurance in the US... also worried that i might not be able to get insured for a pre-existing condition... so depressed and stressed out about this.

anyone have any clues?

thanks,

ell.

If you can be added to his employer's group medical plan immediately after you are married, you will be fine. If they only allow changes at certain times of the year, you would have to wait. He would have to contact his health insurance plan and find out. Individual plans do have pre-existing limitations so that's probably not the best option. Might want to consider treating it while you are still there especially if you haven't started the petition process yet.

First of all if you are not the USC then you cannot file for the visa. (not quite sure from your post)

If you are talking about employer sponsored insurance then it is dependent on your employer's individual company's plan as to eligibility and since you have been diagnosed it will probably be considered a pre-existing condition but it all depends

Your condition will most not disqualify you from the visa as it does not sound like it is one that would be on the "list" of excludable medical conditions




Kitkat1,

Most plans have "open enrollment" only once or twice a year as you mention. However, you can typically enroll outside of this period if you have a "life" event (ie... marriage, child birth, adoption, etc...)

sorry, i should have specified a little more.

i'm an australian citizen, my fiance is the USC and yes, he will be the one filing for the visa, and he has no health insurance so i cannot be added to his plan since there is none. so basically i need to know how long it would take me to be able to apply for individual health insurance after arriving in the US on a fiance visa.. i'm hoping just after marriage but really have no clue..

and i would love to get it treated here but treatment is at least a two year process and we could not handle being apart that long, this is hard enough as it is..

thanks for your replies,

ell.

You can take medical insurance as soon as you arrive in the USA if you can afford to pay the cost.... most wont cover pre-existing conditions for at least 6 months...

I would search for information for individual health insurance for new immigrants - each will have their own costs based on where you live as well as rules regarding pre-existing conditions.

You should also try to get your fiance to get on a "major medical" or "catastrophic" individual health insurance plan - it's extremely risky (and rather shortsighted) to be uninsured in this country due to this astronomical cost of health coverage.

Have you considered DCF in Australia instead of a fiance visa? Seems to be the fastest way to go if he is there with you.

ah good, at least i know i can get the insurance fast, even if it won't cover me for a while, the less waiting the better! (provided that we can afford it, which we probably can't..) i was worried it'd have to wait until two years after we got married or something like that.

and no, jon is not here with me unfortunately, he is at home trying to get a better job so we can apply - and he can't afford to get insurance or anything like that at the moment

Without meaning to sound like a mother, for Jon to be without health insurance is just incredibly risky. There are plenty of low monthly cost/high deductible plans meant for major health catastrophies rather than regular doctor visits. These plans cover things like car accidents or really major health issues. Since you cannot control those kinds of things, it's whole lot smart to pay $60 or $75 bucks a month to know you would covered than to find yourself in a major medical situation with zero coverage and eventual financial ruin.

Speaking from my own personal experience, having a "catastrophic" plan is what prevented me from spending all my savings and going completely into debt when I was suddenly very ill. It's something well worth thinking about . . .

You both look young so a decent health plan wouldn't be overly expensive. We are currently on an insurance hunt as I have transferred jobs and of course my other half needs coverage. Anthem has some very good individual rates, and humana offers some reallllllllllly good rates on plans that don't cover all of the extras like maternity, mental health etc, that might be a place to start so that you at least have some form of coverage. I believe these types of plans for my husband and I, ran only about $70 each and we are in our late 30's. Try health insurance quotes in google and see what you can come up with, at least you will have some idea and can plan a budget around that. Also have your fiancee seek employment with a company offering group health insurance since he is on a job mission anyway.

Not sure if this will help, but I tried to get health insurance before I was diagnosed with a certain ailment and we were already in the process of filling out the forms until the insurance agent asked for a SSN. Apparently, I can't be given insurance (even if we had the money to pay for it) because of the absence of the SSN.

But, if you enter on a K1 visa, then most likely, this won't be a problem for you because you're eligible to obtain a Social Security Number.