Egor

At the risk of repeating other posts, I just wanted to share my experience of being able to find affordable health insurance for my parents. Here are some details:
Parents - over 65, here on Green Card (permanent residents)
Living in the US for less than 5 years (about 2 years)
Eligible for tax subsidy through Obamacare (this does NOT constitute a public charge)
Residents of State of Michigan, have social security numbers
Eligible for Silver level insurance plans
Filed their $0 federal/state taxes jointly, separate from mine (I do NOT claim them as dependents on my tax return - this is important)
I had searched the healthcare.gov website last year for insurance for them and came up empty handed. We purchased "travelers insurance" online (***removed***) but got shafted. My parent had a major health incident and they didn't cover anything (all claims were denied as pre-existing condition) Stay away from these types of insurance.
I tried healthcare.gov again this year and couldn't find anything again. Many seem to assume, wrongly, that everyone over 65 is eligible for Medicare by default. This isn't true for immigrants, they need to have lived in the US for at least 5 years before they can participate in Medicare.
Anyway, the short story is healthcare.gov has still not caught on to this. If you want to purchase health insurance, you will need to work with a healthcare navigator. There are several public service organizations that have these navigators who will help you for free. They will help you do the application over the phone, and then it works just fine. I am in Michigan and went through Jewish Family Service. Have your parents green cards and SSN handy, that is all they need.
There appears to be a widely held misconception that immigrant seniors over 65 are not covered by Obamacare. This is absolutely NOT true. You don't have to wait for 5 years for Medicare to kick in. Recent immigrants older than 65 can purchase health insurance via healthcare.gov, just like any other US citizen or legal permanent resident. Some state exchanges might not know it, the person you talk to on the phone might not know it, the healthcare.gov website certainly doesn't appear to understand this special situation, but trust me parents on green cards who have been in the US less than 5 years ARE eligible for subsidized health coverage.
I was able to get health insurance for my parents who have no income, for around $100 a month per parent (after a $1000 tax subsidy, because their income is less than limit of ~$21K) Now that is REALLY affordable, and it is proper mainstream insurance (Blue Cross Michigan) None of that travelers' insurance BS.
Just trying to get the word out, because the open enrollment deadline is January 31st. If your parents arrive after Jan 31st, you can still sign up at that time, because their arrival date qualifies as a special "life event". But if they are already in the US, please sign up by Jan 31st. Otherwise they will have to wait until November for the next enrollment period to begin.

It's finally over.
Card was delivered to us on 26-May-18.
Done!
 
Good luck, everyone! It's coming.

We are overthinking it way too much. Our cases were sitting without movement for over a year. Now its finally being processed. Even if there is an interview - I don't see any issues with it, but I personally think the reason for transfer is the extreme backlog. So transferring it will expedite the processing. Stay positive, we almost there!

We are overthinking it way too much. Our cases were sitting without movement for over a year. Now its finally being processed. Even if there is an interview - I don't see any issues with it, but I personally think the reason for transfer is the extreme backlog. So transferring it will expedite the processing. Stay positive, we almost there!

Vote Trump out of office in 2020.
 
Major pro.

Good or bad - i don't know, but something...

Federal regulations mandate any individual witnessing or being aware of ant felony offense to report it to Law Enforcement authorities.
Report it and be redy to provide any information necessary for possible prosecution.

Federal regulations mandate any individual witnessing or being aware of ant felony offense to report it to Law Enforcement authorities.
Report it and be redy to provide any information necessary for possible prosecution.

1. 26 December 2013
2. K-1
3. No AP yet. (simply because its only been 1 day. Mandatory AP is due soon. But i am terrified to death of the AP procedure after reading all the lengthy horror stories here)
4. Male/US citizen/white
5. Female/Indian citizen/Hindu
6. Met online, had 3 visits.
7. No kids
8. No red flags that I'm aware of. Interview was approved without any 221(g)'s or anything. Fiancee was told that she should receive her passport within 10 days. (Praying)
I am very sorry for all you guys who was in AP for a long time and praying that you all get your visa soon to be with your loved ones.
I will keep you updated on my status in this tread.

Are you serious? How ignorant and mean is this statement. Why would she want to give her children away for adoption, simply because their father is a jerk. You don't make any sense. I find your comment to be rather offensive and it doesn't contribute anything positive.

My baby just got Approved!!!
Thank You, VJ.
Thank to all of you for good wishes and prayers.
Your time is coming too. All the wait in the world worth the feeling.
Now all we need for complete closure is passport with visa in hands.
Thank You, God.

My baby just got Approved!!!
Thank You, VJ.
Thank to all of you for good wishes and prayers.
Your time is coming too. All the wait in the world worth the feeling.
Now all we need for complete closure is passport with visa in hands.
Thank You, God.

My fiancee have interview appointment at the New Delhi embassy tomorrow morning.
I am extremely nervous. So is she.
God, please be with us...

I am a law enforcement officer, and background investigations is one of the things we do. So i can not speak for the USCIS and their methods, but tendency is - 90% of US-born citizens have used some type of illegal substance in their lives (marijuana being most popular because of ease of access and affordability). Therefore i feel more suspicious when someone reports to me that they have never used any illegal drug and feel more convinced when someone says that they did use the drug once or twice in their lives. Most of the time drug use observed in teen- years, just like many other forms of delinquency, which eventually subside as the person reaches adulthood.
With that being said, to me and to many other law enforcement and personnel management agencies, single or even few instances of marijuana use early in life is not a big deal. It raises concerns and additional questions, but it is not necessarily a disqualifying factor, If, however, person admits a drug use later in life, such as after the age of 18, that means that the person is not socially responsible and is having an addiction problem and can potentially lead to other dangerous behaviors.
So depending on frequency of use and the type of test administered, the traces of cannabinoids can be detected in the system for up to 6-10 months. So lying about it will destroy his chances to gain US entry forever. Its better to be honest and face the consequences. Im not trying to preach about how bad drugs are, but if it wasnt for them we wouldnt be having this conversation.
Good luck to you and hope everything will go good for you two.

I am a law enforcement officer, and background investigations is one of the things we do. So i can not speak for the USCIS and their methods, but tendency is - 90% of US-born citizens have used some type of illegal substance in their lives (marijuana being most popular because of ease of access and affordability). Therefore i feel more suspicious when someone reports to me that they have never used any illegal drug and feel more convinced when someone says that they did use the drug once or twice in their lives. Most of the time drug use observed in teen- years, just like many other forms of delinquency, which eventually subside as the person reaches adulthood.
With that being said, to me and to many other law enforcement and personnel management agencies, single or even few instances of marijuana use early in life is not a big deal. It raises concerns and additional questions, but it is not necessarily a disqualifying factor, If, however, person admits a drug use later in life, such as after the age of 18, that means that the person is not socially responsible and is having an addiction problem and can potentially lead to other dangerous behaviors.
So depending on frequency of use and the type of test administered, the traces of cannabinoids can be detected in the system for up to 6-10 months. So lying about it will destroy his chances to gain US entry forever. Its better to be honest and face the consequences. Im not trying to preach about how bad drugs are, but if it wasnt for them we wouldnt be having this conversation.
Good luck to you and hope everything will go good for you two.

Hello everyone.
We are new here. And we just sent out our package few days ago. Very excited that the process if finally in motion. Dont know how long will it take and if we will need to send an additional evidence... But whatever it takes, we are finally doing it.
Just wanted to share our excitment with everyone here, because we are all in the same boat.
Good luck to everyone.