Marie77

Hello

I'm a British green card holder married to a US citizen with a US citizen child.

We left the US unexpectedly in April 2020 during the pandemic for two reasons: 

1. We own a small apartment in Manhattan which wasn't practical to quarantine in with a toddler

2. My elderly stepfather is suffering with end stage renal failure in the UK and my mother asked for us to come and support her during lockdowns as she is alone with him

Because we left fairly suddenly I didn't file an I-131 before I left (which I now realize was a huge error!)

We anticipated being back in NY by the summer - but with travel still being unsafe and the pandemic raging both in NY and UK we have remained in a bubble with my mother and step-father supporting them for the time being.

I'm now concerned we are approaching a year since I left the states but I am reticent to travel with my toddler while things remain so unsafe. We also have a more practical situation to quarantine in the UK with a small child so would ideally like to remain here until things become safer.

As I see it I have four options:

Option 1 - I-131 Re-entry permit

Hi Catknit

I'm married to a USC and have a greencard.

I've been told by IHI Bupa they will cover both myself and my USC husband which I find quite suprising!

Their rates are considerably lower than any domestic insurance plan I can find which covers NYC - however being a paranoid kind of person and hearing so many horror stories about hospital costs here I feel like i should research this further before signing up!

I guess on the plus side - with the company being based in Denmark they might not play the whole 'do anything not to pay' game many of the US health insurers seem to get into here!

The whole system is extremely confusing but I guess IHI might be a workable solution and would also cover me for when I travel outside of the US for work...

On a side note - I checked with Blue Cross and their hospital plan costs $180 a month here (which I was excited to find!) however, from doing some further digging it doesn't cover any of the doctors or physicians fees in the hospital so you can still get stuck with a bill for many thousands of dollars

Those are the main players in expat healthcare. I had a policy with Bupa a few years ago while living in India. Never needed to use it so [thankfully, I guess] I can't comment on how they handled claims.

I think the big question is what the policy actually says - in what capacity are you an expat? Are you married to a USCitizen and a green card holder? Or, are you here on some other type of visa? The expat insurance companies are VERY well versed on the tedious aspects of why you are where you are located [like visa type]. Many of the agents for these companies know the ins and outs of what works best in certain situations.

Typically, many people in the US get their coverage through an employer or other group setting [the local Chamber of Commerce if they own a small business, through a university if a student, etc] or through family [a spouse's employment benefit for example].

I thought of something else - Blue Cross/Blue Shield in many states has a 180-day option that is usually very reasonable in cost. The main catch is that you'll have a gap of 4-5 days every year as it cannot be continuous coverage. Also, I think it has [or at least had] no maternity coverage or pre-existing condition coverage - that was at least true for 3 different states I researched before coming back to the US. The monthly premiums were very, very reasonable as it was mainly short term catastrophic care insurance.

I know its nothing new to say that (as a British expat) I find the US healthcare system to be confusing and exasperating!

As I live in NY, health insurance is particularly expensive here - and as a freelance employee it falls on my own shoulders to sort out an individual plan.

I'm covered under a US freelance programme right now which is around $500 a month, however I've been exploring the option of seeing if I can use a non-US based plan for expats which would cover me in the States.

Does anyone have any experience with companies like Bupa International, Interglobal, AXA International or HTH Worldwide?

They all seem to offer plans for expats which cover living in the USA and are considerably cheaper than local policies. I'm wondering if they are reliable however as it seems a bit too good to be true!

Many thanks in advance for any insights

Hello

I am a UKC who has been living in the USA for 8 years. I have been living with my USC fiance for two years - we are due to be married this Summer.

I have been living here on several I-Visa's which is a media visa for members of the foreign press (magazine editor), and have 3 years left on my current visa.

I have a couple of questions I am unsure of relating to the GC process and was hoping for some advice.

1) My USC fiance was arrested 10 years ago when he was a student (age 21) for possession of a very small amount of cannabis. This happened in Indiana State which means it will stay on his record forever. He is now a private tutor with a masters degree and no other arrests since. I'm wondering if his record could pose any problems for us in the greencard process? Should he get a copy of the police records to bring with him to our interview etc?

2) I have been in the US for 7 years on 3 consecutive I-Visas. My most recent visa relates to my role as Magazine Editor for a UK publication. I've since become one of the directors of the UK company and so earn shares (am paid in the UK in pounds but file both US + UK tax).

When I file my US tax return it shows I earn both salary and dividends. When I attained my most recent visa I tried to find out if there could be any issue with me part owning the company that I work for as it seemed like a grey area. Most lawyers I spoke to seemed to think it was okay so I haven't thought about it much since then. (I was worried it could in theory look like I have essentially sponsored my own visa).

Now I am about to embark on the greencard process I'm wondering if this is something I should be worried about, or if the immigration officials are mostly focused on the Greencard and AOS, rather than the intricacies of my current/past visa?

3) Finally, we plan to be married in a small civil ceremony this Summer and then have more formal ceremonies with friends and family in both London + Indiana next year. This means our initial wedding photos will not have friends and family in them, could this be a problem? (we have many photos of us with our families in both UK and US together from past two years - Christmas, birthdays etc).

Thank you in advance for your thoughts on this.