Pregnant and in the process...

[Permacyclists 0]

Hello VJ Gurus!

Here is our situation: my wife (Belgian) and I (US Citizen) just got NOA2 for our I-130, it's on its way to NVC and all that (yay!).

The wrinkle is that my wife is pregnant (yay! yay!), and for a variety of reasons we're hoping that she can come over to the US and have the baby here. I have 2 questions for y'all:

1 - Could her being pregnant be grounds for expediting the process?

2 - It seems that here in the states you need a Social Security Number to get health insurance - how long does it take from when she arrives in the US to when she will get her SSN? If this gap is a long time, then I think we might just stay in Europe rather than rush over to the US and be left pregnant and without health insurance...

Thoughts? Thank you all!

[cdneh 3,112]

Normal pregnancy is not grounds for expedite. Congratulations

[JohnR! 5,495]

Hello VJ Gurus!

Here is our situation: my wife (Belgian) and I (US Citizen) just got NOA2 for our I-130, it's on its way to NVC and all that (yay!).

The wrinkle is that my wife is pregnant (yay! yay!), and for a variety of reasons we're hoping that she can come over to the US and have the baby here. I have 2 questions for y'all:

1 - Could her being pregnant be grounds for expediting the process?

2 - It seems that here in the states you need a Social Security Number to get health insurance - how long does it take from when she arrives in the US to when she will get her SSN? If this gap is a long time, then I think we might just stay in Europe rather than rush over to the US and be left pregnant and without health insurance...

Thoughts? Thank you all!

First of call - Congratulations!

Pregnancy is not a reason to expedite the visa process. Besides, SSN notwithstanding, she would not be covered for the delivery of this baby for it is a preexisting condition. Once she gets stateside she can get her a SSN and you can include her as a dependent in your policy, but certain restrictions will apply to her. It all translates into saying that even if she could get here in a month's time, she would still not be covered for the delivery.

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

The SS# should arrive in 2 weeks, but you can go pick it up in person if you so wish.

The pregnancy won't be enough reason for an expedite, otherwise we'd be trying extra hard every day so I could get out of DK more quickly.

I'm not sure what the deal is with LPRs and medicaid and what your financials look like, but that could be an option. Homebirth might be another.

How many months will she be at interview time? That might also be a defining factor for you. Don't forget you'll also need to add on time to get the CRBA and passport for the new little one if you decide to stay in Belgium.

[Mithmeoi 29]

Congrats to you both!

She will receive her SSN when she hits the states, they send the card out within 2-3 weeks. They had already put my husband in the system when we hit the PoE but we went down to the social security office the following week just to be sure, got his number then, and he had his card by the 2nd week we were here.

I wish you both the best!

Edited December 18, 2012 by Mithmeoi

[NikLR 13,232]

Congrats! How far along is she?

[Permacyclists 0]

Thanks everyone for the congratulations! She is at 17 weeks, the baby is about as old as our green card application in fact - we are thinking of naming it "I-130" just to commemorate that...

2 weeks isn't so bad at all actually - we had heard 6 weeks or so and were kind of getting stressed.

With regards to pre-existing conditions, as we understand it, because she is currently covered by Belgian insurance (as opposed to being uninsured), this isn't an issue. Moreover, I think that NY State law (and Obamacare soon enough!) requires coverage of pre-existing conditions and so since we'll be in NY, she couldn't be refused on those grounds even if they applied.

And yes, this does make for an interesting race to the finish, particularly since flying with a newborn is not really advisable either - so it's either before, or a few months later. Ugh!

Thank you all for the info!

[merc0230 28]

First off congrats.

I recently relocated back to the US for a new job (leaving my wife in Costa Rica in the process), however that being said I was able to add her to my new insurance policy without a social security number...maybe it was just my employer, but it was never required.

HOWEVER, when I tried to add her to my old (self-employed) health insurance (read blue cross/blue shield) they would not add her without a social security number...so in summary it might be worth while to check with your new insurance company.

PS

We are 13 weeks pregnant with our first.

[Roosha 51]

omg, i'm at 17 weeks too! How crazy is that!

Although I'm the US citizen we were also going through the same decision. It was either I travel in April to have the baby in the states and add about 4 months to the time we'll spend apart or I wait and have the baby here and then travel to the states in August. We decided not to add an extra four months apart, not to mention he wouldn't even meet his baby until it's like 3 or 4 months old! Anyway, we didn't have the issue with health insurance since like I said I'm the USC and so I could have gotten medicaid once I arrived in the states, but when I was researching my options I found out that I would NOT be covered by any insurance, it would be a pre-existing condition. So I found this: https://pcip.gov/ it's health insurance for those who have been denied insurance b/c they have a pre-esixting condition. You're basically guaranteed insurance. I'm not sure international health insurance counts by the way...you might want to double check that.