Hi, I don't if this is the right forum or not but I just was wondering.. I have a friend that has been here since November of 2005 and has been working on getting a green card. I was told that since he's here on a I-94 that he can't get any medical/dental/vision insurance? He would be able to get insurance after getting his green card. Is that true, if not, does anyone have any suggestions on what insurance will take him? I was going to try United Healthcare because that's my insurance plan?

Thanks for any comments and help!

I'm sure he is elegable for expat insurance of some sort. I know there were a few topics started about this, so it wouldn't hurt to look them up using the search function. I'll see if I can dig my info up. Is he working and can get insurance through work?

If his I-94 is not expired...then he should be able to get insurance. (Students for example, are able to be insured through their schools, and they don't have a green card, only an unexpired I-94.) If that is expired, then there may not be much change of getting insured until after he gets the GC. Once he has that...there are various choices out there....he would need to see what is best/affordable for him. Perhaps he can get some sort of international insurance through his home country...though that would serve more as coverage for emergencies, no routine medical/dental/vision visits.

Good luck!

-P

He doesn't work. He goes to ESL classes and he's a monk for a local temple.

Hi,
I don't know very much about insurance, but I did get medical insurance through my employer before I got my green card, so I know that's possible. Good luck to your friend!

Anyone can get private insurance. Blue Cross, Blue Shield, all the big companies have individual insurance for those who can't get it through work. You just have to pay the full premium.

Being here on a non-immigrant visa doesn't make an individual ineligible for health benefits through employment. You think all these H1-B software engineers who make 80-100 grand a year don't have insurance? They don't have green cards, and they're doing just fine without them.

Public benefits are limited to permanent residents and citizens. Private insurance isn't.

My employer insurances my wife even though she isn't even here yet -- so that there won't be any pre-existing conditions issues when she arrives (the insurance company has a 6-month exclusion period). So it is possible.