Canadian trying to get back to US wife and 2 US children.

[canadian1971 0]

Not exactly free, its universal healthcare , so everyone is covered. You can still buy private insurance if you need the best of the best there. But at least its not something you have to worry about with your family. Unlike in the usa, if you have no insurance here =screwed if you need medical attention

Have you experienced the universal health care? I know it sounds wonderful and nice first place its not free at all, it comes from your taxes, which are much higher.

Second the backlog is so bad that ppl pay out of their own pocket travel to US for the medical care they need, pay for the treatment and go back.

I can share a first hand incident, I had a co-worker from CA, her mom had injured her toe it was getting infected but she had no appointment available for 3 months, if she would had waited probably her mom would had to lose the perfect toe.

Fortunately she was working in US, she got her mom her and paid out of her pocket and her mom was able to completely recover.

I really don't buy this.

Ive learned a lot from my wife about Canada health insurance and if its an emergency they will definitely treat you now. There is no 3 month waiting list.

Now if its an optional or not a "high risk" problem, you hit the waiting list.

My daughter got hit by a car last year and I got to experience all the bells and whistles of the childrens hospital in Winnipeg. Let me tell you, going from this hospital to a paid hospital in the US is night and day.

EVERYTHING was old. Like way old. The machines, the tech, everything was older and lower quality. The service was horrible, it took hours to get a nurse to come when we needed assistance. I was so very un-impressed.

I have friends in Quebec who told me a story about how they recently got an upgrades CT machine. It took years and years of them complaining about it until they convinced them to upgrade.

Once they upgraded they decided to send the CT machine to a third world country as a donation. The country they chose REJECTED the machine as being old, unsafe, and more outdated then there current machine.

That kinda stuff is what makes me shrug at the Canadian system.

My wife and I would prefer not to live in Canada as we love where we live now in Arizona. If I am not able to return to the US, we will re-assess at that time.

I will give you all a short reply to this very huge health care debate. Socialized health care is not the end all be all rainbow that many make it to be. Horror stories that are mentioned above are true. In Quebec, where I live now, it is impossible to get an appointment at a family doctor. The only option is to go to the emergency room, wait there for up to 10 hours (if your case if not life or death), then maybe see a doctor.

This comes at a price of MUCH higher taxes.

Not necessarily. The Op hasnt asked for judgment on his case, merely advice. The punishment enough has been handed down by the US Govt, no need for a witch-hunt here really. Now the task in hand is to get the petition out and prepare the waiver whilst waiting. It can be done with the help of www.immigrate2us.net and the laurel scott chats which are free, to get the ball rolling. There are individuals on there, that I know of personally that have overcome more serious instances, without the full time aid of a lawyer, AND overturned the bar / had a successful waiver approval.

Definitely spend more time on the i2us board and do your research, ask questions, dont be afraid to there, everbody is in the same position in one way or another.

Thank you very much RichiJenny. I did not come here to be judged, I came here for advice as to how I should proceed in this case.

I will keep a positive attitude! THANKS!