Pregnant and apart... What to do?

[NikLR 13,220]

Have the baby in the UK. Cr1 or k1 depending on how you want to immigrate. Cr1 is cheaper overall but takes longer.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,369]

Even if it was possible to get K-1 in time, fly at 9 months pregnant, get married AND get her on his insurance in time for the birth (big if), what about deductible? Depending on the insurance plan, this is probably $3k+ which would need to be paid. Having baby in the UK= zero medical costs.

[Cathi 5,610]

Check with your employer if you can add her to your health insurance. Note: Most organizations have open enrollment going on right now (Oct/Nov), so you need to move on this quickly. If your employer won't add her to your insurance, then EM_Vandaveer's advice is probably your best bet. The $20k cost sounds right to me. A USC friend with illegal wife just spent that exact amount for a recent birth. Good luck!

EDIT: Oh, and note, you'll have to do some airline shopping if she's going to travel in the 9th month of her pregnancy. From previous VJ threads, some airlines are really restrictive and others are a little more lax.

they are not married, he cannot add her to his insurance until they are married.

[Dreaming-big 13]

I went through the k1 visa process pregnant and I am now in the U.S. However I just found after we sent the I-129F app. I went through the UK medical without issue but was still required to have a X-ray. Some of the injections may not be compatible with pregnancy however I only need Tdap, which is given in pregnancy anyway so ended up being given it twice.

Due to being so far along and not having sent anything in, I would do K1 asap and alongside work on preparing everything you need to get baby docs in quickly after birth so that once your gf visa comes through it won't be too long that your apart, if your going to attend the birth, you could attend the embassy to get baby docs in person with gf.

[JFH 12,189]

The $20,000 estimates given here are assuming a normal delivery at around 40 weeks. A pre-term delivery, complications, surgical intervention will ramp those costs up considerably. It's not unheard of for NICU costs of a pre-term baby to go into the six figures.

Also, the six months quoted for the K-1 visa are again assuming all goes well, with no delays, RFEs, etc. As we approach holiday time where government departments will be closed for some days at a time processing will slow down. Mail will also slow down. Embassies will be closed.

Although Delta may allow women to fly in advanced stages (I'm sure that doesn't apply to transatlantic but I work for a different airline so the policy may be different) she would struggle to find travel insurance to cover her for a transatlantic flight whilst 9 months pregnant.

I understand you don't want to be apart. None of us does. That's why each and every one of us is doing this. Many couples have had much longer separations and survived. Women have given birth alone. I was scheduled for brain surgery last year to cure my epilepsy and I had to face that without my husband. You've got yourselves into a pickle but the health and wellbeing of mother and child should be your first priority. The baby will still be able to acquire citizenship if born in the U.K. So what's the rush to get her there? You can come here to be with her for the birth.

I know someone commented on being able to do DCF on a tourist visa but that won't fly at the London embassy. But it would only take 12 weeks for a partner visa for the U.K. So you could consider moving here if you are keen to be together quickly.

Edited October 25, 2016 by JFH

[*Snowdrop* 603]

Two other considerations:

Continuity of care during having a baby. It depends on how the pregnancy goes and how your girlfriend feels but it can be better to have the same team of people looking after you during the prenatal care and the birth. It can be scary having your first baby, and getting to know your midwife/doctor, the hospital etc before the big day is comforting. Rushing though an unpredictable immigration process and not knowing definitely where you will be when you give birth and who will be providing the post-birth care etc seems a very stressful option. Also if she has the baby in the UK she will have easier access to her family and current support network.

Your baby will have duel citizenship wherever it is born. But if born in the UK he/she will also be able to pass on UK citizenship to his or her future children as well as US citizenship.

And re costs in the US. My uncomplicated, 2-day hospital stay simple birth cost well over $60,000. Luckily covered by insurance for us but a terrible burden if not.

Edited October 25, 2016 by Trellick

[mfranc68 31]

Another thing to consider. Even if you get her over here and marry her before she has the baby, just about all U.S. health insurance providers do not cover "pre-existing conditions", meaning they wouldn't cover your girlfriend/wife's pregnancy, and the birth of your child. If your girlfriend/wife needs to have a C-section (mine did) you could only imagine the costs. In my opinion it would be best to relax and have the baby in the U.K. Pregnancy is already a stressful time period. Added additional stress wouldn't be helpful.

[NikLR 13,220]

Actually obamacare made disqualifying for preexisting conditions illegal.

Chances of a c-section is less in the uk too.

Also being born in the Uk doesnt guarantee uk citizenship. Having the uk citizenship parent does. Uk does not have jus soli.

https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality/british-citizenship

[N-o-l-a 7,167]

People here are talking to you about just delivery costs, but if there is a problem with the baby, the NICU costs will be a burden too. Maybe they'll be covered, maybe they won't depending on how much you make, but NICU costs can be 6-10k per day and up. The NICU ambulance alone for my son was 10k. Pricey.

Personally, if you have absolutely no interest in moving to England, I'd get married and do the CR1.

Edited October 25, 2016 by N-o-l-a

[EM_Vandaveer 2,369]

Two other considerations:

Continuity of care during having a baby. It depends on how the pregnancy goes and how your girlfriend feels but it can be better to have the same team of people looking after you during the prenatal care and the birth. It can be scary having your first baby, and getting to know your midwife/doctor, the hospital etc before the big day is comforting. Rushing though an unpredictable immigration process and not knowing definitely where you will be when you give birth and who will be providing the post-birth care etc seems a very stressful option. Also if she has the baby in the UK she will have easier access to her family and current support network.

Your baby will have duel citizenship wherever it is born. But if born in the UK he/she will also be able to pass on UK citizenship to his or her future children as well as US citizenship.

And re costs in the US. My uncomplicated, 2-day hospital stay simple birth cost well over $60,000. Luckily covered by insurance for us but a terrible burden if not.

An uncomplicated 2-day hospital birth would not typically cost $60k if you were paying cash, though. Hospitals love cash pay as long as it's arranged in advance and partially or fully paid in advance. $20k is more accurate in that situation.

[Chris and ZhiJia 146]

Two other considerations:

Continuity of care during having a baby. It depends on how the pregnancy goes and how your girlfriend feels but it can be better to have the same team of people looking after you during the prenatal care and the birth. It can be scary having your first baby, and getting to know your midwife/doctor, the hospital etc before the big day is comforting. Rushing though an unpredictable immigration process and not knowing definitely where you will be when you give birth and who will be providing the post-birth care etc seems a very stressful option. Also if she has the baby in the UK she will have easier access to her family and current support network.

Your baby will have duel citizenship wherever it is born. But if born in the UK he/she will also be able to pass on UK citizenship to his or her future children as well as US citizenship.

And re costs in the US. My uncomplicated, 2-day hospital stay simple birth cost well over $60,000. Luckily covered by insurance for us but a terrible burden if not.

You got royally screwed by your hospital, We just had a baby, and there were complications, She was 37 weeks along when her water broke. My wife spent 4 days in the hospital, the baby had to be born via C-Section, after 7 hours of trying the traditional way, and the total out the door cost was $35k. $30k of which was picked up by insurance. If you had to pay $60k for a 2 day no complications stay, something else is very very wrong with that medical institution.

To the OP:

You will be hard pressed to find an Airline that will let your pregnant girlfriend/fiancee fly at 9 months pregnancy, god forbid the baby comes early. You are much better off having the baby in the UK, and filing a CRBA.

[*Snowdrop* 603]

Actually obamacare made disqualifying for preexisting conditions illegal.

Chances of a c-section is less in the uk too.

Also being born in the Uk doesnt guarantee uk citizenship. Having the uk citizenship parent does. Uk does not have jus soli.

https://www.gov.uk/types-of-british-nationality/british-citizenship

Yes - I know. I was assuming the the OP's girlfriend is a UK citizen through birth. If she is then her children will (usually) be UK citizens. But they will not be able to pass that citizenship onto their own children unless born in the UK.

I was disappointed to learn that my daughter who was born in the US, but is a UK citizen through me, will not be able to pass on UK citizenship to her own children.

[*Snowdrop* 603]

You got royally screwed by your hospital, We just had a baby, and there were complications, She was 37 weeks along when her water broke. My wife spent 4 days in the hospital, the baby had to be born via C-Section, after 7 hours of trying the traditional way, and the total out the door cost was $35k. $30k of which was picked up by insurance. If you had to pay $60k for a 2 day no complications stay, something else is very very wrong with that medical institution.

To the OP:

You will be hard pressed to find an Airline that will let your pregnant girlfriend/fiancee fly at 9 months pregnancy, god forbid the baby comes early. You are much better off having the baby in the UK, and filing a CRBA.

It was a very fancy birthing unit within the hospital - not by choice - it was just the most convenient one within our insurance network. And the costs on the breakdown were ridiculous (from a UK perspective particularly). But we were lucky with our insurance and had no co-pays at all throughout the whole prenatal - postnatal experience. So I guess our insurance company were the ones being screwed - and they are usually pretty good at avoiding that.

[Rc123rc 528]

Given the time frame and how many real and potential obstacles there are, I would have the baby in the UK route. Reading the posts I see that the cons stack up heavily against trying to make it work for a US birth. Good Luck and safe delivery!

[Andrea&Henry 311]

I never heard of an insurance company covering a pregnacy for a girlfriend. So since you are not married and therefore can't probably get insurance, you would be stuck with an approximate $20K bill. The safest bet economically would be to have the baby in the UK. Plus some airlines do not permit flying transatlantic after 6 months pregnancy.

AETNA and other insurance cover what we call "domestic partner" which is usually a girlfriend or boyfriend but they must prove they live under the same roof