moving to a different city for faster AOS

[rich rich 10]

1 minute ago, K1visaHopeful said:

You're going to bring someone to the US and not offer to buy them health insurance?

You are going to wait until they can work and get their own HI through their own employer?

One does not need residency to buy health insurance.

Hehe you make me sound cheap and callous lol 

 

All the policies I could find for people with pending AOS are travelers insurance that don't cover stuff like pregnancies. 

[K1visaHopeful 2,695]

Just now, rich rich said:

Hehe you make me sound cheap and callous lol 

 

All the policies I could find for people with pending AOS are travelers insurance that don't cover stuff like pregnancies. 

I honestly thought you were.

 

Correct, because GC holders don't usually qualify for discounted programs.

You'll have to spend the money.

[powerpuff 6,022]

5 minutes ago, rich rich said:

Thanks! Will do. I'm self employed so I'm on the healthcare.gov Obamacare. I think you have to be GC holder. Need to double check that. 

In this case, you need to buy a private health insurance through market place. That’s what we did for me, we got it before we sent off the AOS packet. It was really great and comprehensive insurance and they cover pregnancies. I was on that until I found a job and now insured through my employer.
 

Even if she gets a GC, new immigrant aren’t eligible for Medicare and other similar programs until they’ve been LPRs for 5 years 

[Timona 3,974]

You have to establish residency in those states before you file. I think that's what I read a while back. So, that may delay your case. 

 

USCIS knows about FO shopping. 

 

Just relax. What's the rush? 

[Rocio0010 5,573]

First of, I understand you’re concerned about your spouse getting an insurance, so that’s why you want the green card. That being said, I don’t think you need a green card for health insurance.

As for the green card itself, once she gets her work/ travel permit, that’s a huge relief. I have a hard time understanding folks that want the green card so badly when you already have your employment and travel document. 
I will never vouch for planning your life based on USCIS processing timelines. My local fo at the time (Pittsburgh) had a timeline of 17 months. We were done at exactly 6 months, partly because we were very organized, we had compelling evidence,  and we were also lucky, so much so that our Interview was waived when that wasn’t the standard procedure.

Whats your plan if you move and the processing times in your new FO go longer? Are you moving again?

Last but not least, lawyers make awful mistakes and give wrong information quite often .

[beloved_dingo 1,942]

Keep in mind that many people here can attest to the difficulties of moving to a new country, having a new marriage, not being able to work or get a driver's license for a lengthy period of time, etc. It's a lot of additional stress for newlyweds, and it's an especially stressful time for the immigrant, even if everything goes perfectly smoothly.

 

I'm saying all of this because getting pregnant before the AOS process is finished will add even more stress to the situation regardless of insurance. She is already in a position where she will likely be completely dependent on you for at least 6 months while waiting for EAD/AP and/or approval of the green card. It is not an ideal time to be pregnant as well. 

 

The helpful members here are giving you advice on how to get her insurance before she has a green card, and that advice is accurate. Just pointing out that if you take that advice, it's still worth considering waiting until she is more independent and stable in her status before trying to have a baby. 

 

Not trying to step on any toes or get too personal. Just something that stood out to me.

[ineedadisplayname 449]

8 hours ago, rich rich said:

Hehe you make me sound cheap and callous lol 

 

All the policies I could find for people with pending AOS are travelers insurance that don't cover stuff like pregnancies. 

So what is the plan here? Get her a GC, start working to get insurance and then get her pregnant? As far as I know insurance even for a GC holder is expensive if the person doesn't work....

[rich rich 10]

10 hours ago, powerpuff said:

In this case, you need to buy a private health insurance through market place. That’s what we did for me, we got it before we sent off the AOS packet. It was really great and comprehensive insurance and they cover pregnancies. I was on that until I found a job and now insured through my employer.
 

Even if she gets a GC, new immigrant aren’t eligible for Medicare and other similar programs until they’ve been LPRs for 5 years 

Hi power puff, thanks for the info. Just to make sure I understand, you were able to get Obamacare while waiting for AOS?

[SalishSea 16,948]

14 hours ago, rich rich said:

Right, but spouse is faster than parent or nephew, which are also family.  But family is the closest wide spectrum category.

 

Might be worth moving if Memphis is twice as fast as ALbany...

You must be thinking of visas.   For family based  GCs, there is no difference.

[SalishSea 16,948]

13 hours ago, rich rich said:

Hey thanks for chiming in from Memphis!

 

I want the shortest AOS possible because fiance would not have health insurance until she gets her GC.  No insurance = no pregnancy.

 

But I know what you mean.  Need to consider other factors before moving.  Memphis is awesome.  

Why not get a job that offers the option for you to add her to your employer-based insurance?   That’s what most of us do.   
 

Had you not thought to plan for any of this when you started the K-1?

Edited August 25, 2022 by Jorgedig

[mitzab 285]

You can easily purchase health insurance for your spouse without her having GC. It will cost a bit more then healthcare.gov but will be much cheaper then uprooting your family in hopes of a few months faster processing time which is not a guarantee.

 

Wish you luck and hope that she gets adjusted quickly.

[rich rich 10]

22 minutes ago, mitzab said:

You can easily purchase health insurance for your spouse without her having GC. It will cost a bit more then healthcare.gov but will be much cheaper then uprooting your family in hopes of a few months faster processing time which is not a guarantee.

 

Wish you luck and hope that she gets adjusted quickly.

Thanks. Any specific insurance you can recommend? The only ones I've found are traveler's insurance which doesn't cover a lot of things

Edited August 25, 2022 by rich rich

[powerpuff 6,022]

9 hours ago, rich rich said:

Hi power puff, thanks for the info. Just to make sure I understand, you were able to get Obamacare while waiting for AOS?

after googling I realized that Obamacare is the Marketplace/ACA exchange. So yes I was able to get Obamacare while waiting for AOS, we also received some premium tax credits which lowered the monthly premium since it was only my husband working at the time. 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by powerpuff

[mitzab 285]

7 hours ago, rich rich said:

Thanks. Any specific insurance you can recommend? The only ones I've found are traveler's insurance which doesn't cover a lot of things

You can start by calling your own insurance company. Then Google some visitor coverage options. Local community health clinics and planned parenthood can cover most of the early pregnancy visits.

 

I put my wife on my insurance after we got married and without social security or EAD. 

 

 

 

[CaLi90 56]

The processing times on the USCIS website, New York City was 19 months when I applied last December, and now 15.5 months. 
 

From start to finish for I-485 adjusting from K1 was only 7 months for us. 
 

My US spouse luckily had insurance with employer and I was able to be added to that before getting green card. If self employed it’s not as simple as that but there are still plans out there, not always cheap. Even if your partner is not yet pregnant and is in the US, health insurance is still a necessity incase it’s needed for something else, otherwise you will find yourself hugely out of pocket. Insurance is expensive but It’ll cost a lot more if it’s needed and she doesn’t have any.

 

If you do want to wait until GC for pregnancy to get health insurance then of course that is your choice, and hope your petition doesn’t take long to process. Just make sure your case is very clear and organized, that’s all you can do. Every case is different so it’s hard to predict timelines accurately. 
 

Good luck with your journey!

Edited August 26, 2022 by CaLi90