Been gone a long time....got lots of questions

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Hello VJ!

I can't imagine how you've grown since Sasha and I last posted. It's been so long, in fact, that I cannot remember. Sasha arrived here with her K-1 visa last March. Our first year together in America is coming to completion. Our journey lasted quite a long time, but now seems like a distant memory fading to black. I remember the agony we felt, day and night as the months passed slowly. VisaJourney was our savior. Thanks to this community, we were able to bypass common mistakes, interact with countless others in the same boat, and survive the lonely nights....with hope. With everyone's support, we made it. It's a year later and so much has happened.

Sasha and I were married shortly after her arrival. I had a roommate up until she came and the transition was pretty smooth. She moved in and Matt moved out. Sasha went to work almost immediately. She had been here and worked here twice before (2005, 2006) so here transition was a piece of cake. She could work for 90 days while we adjusted her status. Nothing to it. Ahem. The financial transition was very smooth at first. A two income household became a two income household. No problem. We barely got through the first month before discovering that we were going to have a baby. It was something that we dreamed about for a long time. So we were delighted by the news. But we knew the reality. That filing for adjustment might be delayed. Planning for a baby happened quickly and took every bit of time and money. When Sasha's work authorization expired that two income household became one, with added expenses. I wish I could say that I was prepared. I thought I was prepared. I was wrong. I work in hospitality, in a vacation destination city. My income has always been pretty good. No 2 years are ever the same for me, but 2008 was the worst. And 2007 was nearly my best. Go figure. I'm 34 and have seen several economic shifts since I started working in the late 80's. Ups and downs. But I've never really been personally affected. Aside from the typical inflation. I was single, renting, moving from state to state. Mini-recessions seemingly skipped right over me. Irony is a fickle bi.tch.

So, we spent the summer and fall preparing. Meanwhile my income is decreasing and savings have dwindled. By winter, Sasha was deeply pregnant. Due on the 20th of December. We postponed filing for her adjustment, until after she had the baby. We really had no choice. There were other priorities that jumped to the top of the list. I'm not normally one to spout off about such deeply personal things like finances and social standing, but unfortunately these details are pertinent to the questions I'll be asking at the end of this post. My apologies.

The holidays were approaching quickly. I worked more and more as the year came to a close. The baby's room was ready on time. We were very excited to be a family. And a bit worried, understandably. From the beginning of the pregnancy, which we discovered later was just about the moment her luggage passed customs , we had no medical insurance established. It just happened a little faster than our private adjustments. Know what I mean? Prenatal care was paid out of pocket, since no insurance company would accept us with a "preexisting condition" at a reasonable rate. What a difference that made in quotes. Understandable. I just never had to consider that before. Out of sight, out of mind? Oh yeah. Luckily, we were able to pay reduced rates for her prenatal care and frequent appointments. By December Sasha was being seen weekly, and our home was taking shape for a family. Her due date came....and went. We were ready. Then the thought occurred to us. Taxes. We went from 2 incomes, not-that-bad economy to 1 income, pregnant, uninsured, collapsed local economy. Yes, Taxes! It was our one hope of getting ahead again. By this time, we couldn't afford to file for adjustment. not with everything going on in our lives. But we knew that finally filing would allow Sasha to get back to work. Not right away of course. If Alexander managed to make his entrance before New Year's, a tax break. that added tax refund would pay for the adjustment, the new medical (forgot that medical exams expired after a year. Sasha had hers in January last year. Rats.) ,the HPV prevention (#######? ...Amazing) ,and any other little expenses. We estimate our total cost for this step to be close to 1500 bucks.

Alexander entered our world on December 29th. He's absolutely perfect. We're both so in love with him. He's changed us instantly. I don't need to tell you that it's simply amazing. And on top of it all, he gave us a second little miracle. I used to hate tax season as a single man in a tipped profession. Yikes. Now I know the secret. But seriously, Alex is nearly 10 weeks old now, and he's growing so quickly. And his development is facsinating us. My sweet Sasha has become a wonderful, loving mommy. You should see the way they look at each other. It's my favorite thing.

It's March and we're ready to proceed. Finally. But now we have some serious questions. Maybe you can help us with a bit of info.

1) When Alex was born Sasha was granted emergency medicaid to cover the cost of her hospitalization (nearly 5 days). During our K-1 process we filled out an Affidavit of Support. Basically, this is a document that protects Uncle Sam from supporting an immigrant. I've never been one that needed assistance from the government for anything. Now I'm worried that accepting emergency medicaid will hurt us. Of course, my wife cannot be approved for any other type of assistance because she's not yet a permanent legal resident. She's here legally because of her visa and our marriage. Will we have any issues because of this emergency medicaid? Will they even know?

2) Because 2008 was a poor year for travelers to Williamsburg I was forced to take a second job, to suppliment our income. I'm a skilled carpenter and deck builder so I took a part time job working for a close friend who is a contractor. My earnings in the restaurant were considerably less than the previous year. Partly because I worked less, as I was taking weeks off at a time to complete contracts for this builder. Usually was a better financial decision. Unfortunately, my boss, a close friend, failed to claim my earnings. I was expecting him to I-9 me, as it would add to my earnings, as observed by the IRS. I usually earn between 30,000 and 40,000 a year. When doing our taxes this year, I noticed that I made only 20,000 on paper. Yikes. The poverty guidelines for a household of 3 is over 22,000 for the year. Today it occurred to me that maybe I could have claimed an additional 3,000 in "other" earnings, so my returns would show that I cleared the line. But, here's the thing. My wife only worked for less than 80 days. she did pretty good on paper, considering. Something close to 6,000. We filed jointly. Which put our adjusted gross income somewhere near 26,000. Will the new Affidavit of Support look at only my income for the year, or will they look at us collectively? (does my wife's taxable income add to my total?) Can we just send our original proof from last year's interview?

3) My wife's last full medical was right before her interview in January 2008. It's been just over a year. Is it absolutely necessary to have a new complete medical? And what's up with this Gardasil shot series? Its pretty expensive and as I understand its mandatory for this stage now. Is this true? I believe I spelled Gardasil correctly. The HPV prevention.

I'm sorry this post is so lengthy, but as I said this info was necessary for the questions we have. I don't want this to sound as if we're poor now. but we are definitely living a bit tighter than ever before. We're sure this will all change once Sasha's status has been adjusted. Thank you for taking the time to read this and giving us any helpful info. It's nice to finally be back on VJ. We look forward to talking to all of you!

Edited March 6, 2009 by Jason-Sasha

[Zee Bee 61]

Hi Jason

Nice to see you back on VJ and congratulations to you and Saaha on the new addition to your family

The only question I can answer is about the medical. Sasha will need a new complete medical for AOS since it has been over a year since her last one. Don't know about the HPV shots, I think it depends on age.

Good luck

[Kotenochek 0]

Hey nice to hear from you guys!Congrats with a baby!I am sure you will have to do your medical test over again.Gardasil i think is optional-its up to you ...

I do not think using emergency would effect you guys,they can not refuse adjusting Her status since she had a baby here and they would never put baby away from mom!and last year was tough for everyone financially so i think its a pretty good excuse...

My best wishes!post pics!