Sponsor using Medicaid

[Magdy614 0]

My wife who is a my sponsor for adjustment of status wants to use medicaid. Her child also uses medicaid already. I do not currently have health insurance and will not need one. We are getting a joint sponsor to ensure that we cover my part of the application. Will this jeopardize our application? Thank you for your help.

[milimelo 4,203]

Get a joint sponsor lined up. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

37 minutes ago, Magdy614 said:

My wife who is a my sponsor for adjustment of status wants to use medicaid. Her child also uses medicaid already. I do not currently have health insurance and will not need one. We are getting a joint sponsor to ensure that we cover my part of the application. Will this jeopardize our application? Thank you for your help.

What do you mean you won’t need health insurance?

[Magdy614 0]

17 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

What do you mean you won’t need health insurance?

I am healthy and don’t have any conditions. Is there a legal need for health insurance?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

2 minutes ago, Magdy614 said:

I am healthy and don’t have any conditions. Is there a legal need for health insurance?

Even healthy people can have accidents, and things like surgery for broken limbs are very expensive in the US. I think you need to do more research into what they look at for public charge. 

[Pmta1 39]

Although health insurance is not explicitly required, it's considered a highly weighted positive factor to have. In short, it's best if you get health insurance to avoid problems with the totality of circumstances and future public charge. By the way, being on medicaid (yourself) is going to be a negative factor. You will have to find private health insurance or another approved coverage.

[geowrian 22,335]

28 minutes ago, Magdy614 said:

I am healthy and don’t have any conditions. Is there a legal need for health insurance?

I was healthy and w/o any health conditions until about 2 years ago. Now I have ~$1 million in medical charges per year through no fault of my own. If I didn't have insurance, I would absolutely be dead by now because they are not required to treat me unless I can afford the treatment, except for emergencies.

Also, we are in the middle of a pandemic...costs for the hospital rooms alone (not even the ICU) is enough to bankrupt most people.

 

Not having health insurance is a negative factor. Use of a public benefit (like Medicaid) is a negative factor. All these negative factors would need to be offset by the sponsor.

Even with a joint sponsor, I'd be a a little skeptical if they believed the sponsor would cover your medical bills unless they are also a close family member.

[Magdy614 0]

Thank you all for your recommendations! I will definitely get private insurance for me. Now my question mainly is regarding my sponsor having medicaid! Will this affect the application and to what extent? 

[Magdy614 0]

1 hour ago, Pmta1 said:

Although health insurance is not explicitly required, it's considered a highly weighted positive factor to have. In short, it's best if you get health insurance to avoid problems with the totality of circumstances and future public charge. By the way, being on medicaid (yourself) is going to be a negative factor. You will have to find private health insurance or another approved coverage.

I am not going to be on Medicaid myself! I am getting private insurance! My wife who is sponsoring me however will be on Medicaid. I will also have a joint sponsor. Will the application be denied based on that?

[Magdy614 0]

53 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I was healthy and w/o any health conditions until about 2 years ago. Now I have ~$1 million in medical charges per year through no fault of my own. If I didn't have insurance, I would absolutely be dead by now because they are not required to treat me unless I can afford the treatment, except for emergencies.

Also, we are in the middle of a pandemic...costs for the hospital rooms alone (not even the ICU) is enough to bankrupt most people.

 

Not having health insurance is a negative factor. Use of a public benefit (like Medicaid) is a negative factor. All these negative factors would need to be offset by the sponsor.

Even with a joint sponsor, I'd be a a little skeptical if they believed the sponsor would cover your medical bills unless they are also a close family member.

I understand! Thank for your answer! I will be getting a private insurance for myself. Now my wife who is my primary sponsor has Medicaid and we will have a joint sponsor. Will this make my application stronger so that it’s not denied? 

[geowrian 22,335]

10 minutes ago, Magdy614 said:

I understand! Thank for your answer! I will be getting a private insurance for myself. Now my wife who is my primary sponsor has Medicaid and we will have a joint sponsor. Will this make my application stronger so that it’s not denied? 

It would be helpful IMO, yes. I can't say what the result will be as it's a judgement call, but it's at least 1 less negative factor so it's an improvement.

[Boiler 43,435]

Depends on the totality of the case but not a plus.

[SalishSea 16,771]

3 hours ago, Magdy614 said:

Is there a legal need for health insurance?

Not having it is negative factor for public charge.  Also - do yourself a favor and research the cost of health care in the US.    You may be healthy now, but anything can happen.  Unpaid medical bills can ruin people's financial lives.

[SalishSea 16,771]

2 hours ago, Magdy614 said:

Now my wife who is my primary sponsor has Medicaid and we will have a joint sponsor. Will this make my application stronger so that it’s not denied? 

They can still view her use of medicaid as a negative.  In other words, if she needs that type of assistance, how would she be able to provide for an immigrant?

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

Q. What factors weigh heavily against a determination that  someone  is likely  at any time  to become a public charge? 

A. The following factors would weigh heavily against a finding that an alien is likely to become a public charge:  

• The alien has household income, assets, or resources and support from a sponsor, excluding any income from illegal activities or from public benefits, of at least 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for the alien’s household size.  

• The alien is authorized to work and is currently employed in a legal industry with an annual income of at least 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a household of the alien’s household size.  

• The alien has private health insurance appropriate for the expected period of admission, so long as the alien does not receive  subsidies in the form of premium tax credits under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  to pay for such health insurance. 

https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/public-charge

Your spouse being on medicaid is not going to help. But you need to focus on the totality of the circumstances as others have said. If your wife is not working (or earning much, given the Medicaid) then you need to focus on you as well and not just a joint sponsor. What work do you do? Do you earn a good living? Can you continue to do this in the US?  The factors listed above are a strong support if they are met.