lilacmarie213

On a philosophical level I think it makes sense to require some level of health coverage...but given the currently terrible logistics of the U.S. Healthcare system, unless the list can be amended to include "effort to obtain health coverage", this has the potential of being a nightmare.
 
Travel insurance does not typically cover those migrating, so is a no-go. And speaking from experience, it's an extremely lengthy, slow, ridiculous process trying to buy regular health insurance, especially without an SSN. I tried to buy health insurance for my then-fiance so he'd be covered immediately upon arrival (his arrival time also just happened to be during annual enrollment period)...I called all 6 providers in my state, only one of them (Regence, for around $400/month) agreed to cover him without an SSN + on a short term basis. I had arranged this 2 months in advance of his arrival... but never actually received any of the official paperwork, bills, cards, etc. until nearly 5 MONTHS after the application had been sent in/approved. I had been following up on a weekly basis and was repeatedly told "sorry, we're really busy because of the open enrollment period, please be patient". Of course, 5 months in we were married and he'd been added to my health insurance...

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/complete-correct-form-i-9/completing-section-3-reverification-and-rehires
 

Please read the i-9 guide for employers.  Unrestricted SSN and driver's licence are sufficient.

This isn't something the consulate needs, but it is something that you will need to report in your US/IRS taxes every year.
FBAR dictates that anything over $10,000 aggregate in foreign accounts must be disclosed and filed yearly. This is a pretty straightforward form that is submitted online as FinCen Form 114. Even if you are not earning interest, etc., you must report. You may need to file IRS Form 8938 if the aggregate value of foreign accounts exceeds $50,000. All interest/dividends/etc. income from foreign accounts should be included on your IRS 1040. All foreign income must be reported on the Schedule B IRS form (even if you did NOT receive $1,500 or above). Other reporting requirements are based on when you take distributions from the RRSP/Pension plans.
I believe pension income is supposed to be filed as if they were received by the SSA (so basically you'd pretend you received SSA-1099 form, see https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p915.pdf page 6) due to the tax treaty between the US/Canada. It would be reported on the IRS 1040 form as if it was received as an SSA benefit.  RRSP/RRIF distributions are also reported on the 1040 Form, on line 16a and 16b (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-03-75.pdf). You may also need to file Form 1116 (Foreign Tax Credit), if you paid any foreign taxes that year to prevent double taxation. TFSA/RESPs should be closed the year prior to moving to the US, as they are often considered a 'Foreign Trust', and filing Form 3520, Form 3250-A (and potentially Form 8621) is a pain.
 
The Serbinski forum was very helpful when I was navigating these sorts of things.

Guys,
When I was filling out the i864 again, I realized something VERY IMPORTANT. When you fill out Page 3, part 4, it automatically fills out the name on Page 12 part 11 Additional information. If you delete the name in additional information, it will delete the name in Page 3, part 4. Please keep this in mind when filling out the form. I think a lot of people, including myself may have reached the end of the form and deleted the name in additional info so as not to confuse the uscis officer, not realizing it deletes the form in part 4. Hope it helps anyone reading this.

You can certainly go in before 10 business days, but it may be a waste of time... it was for us. The SAVE Case Check thing that is available online is meant for tracking application status and is thus different than what the people at the SSA office use to verify identity (or that's what we were told)... so the online SAVE check will not accurately give you an idea whether or not you can bypass the manual verification process or not. We found it better to ask the SSA agents if his information was in the the "Alien Verification system" so we could "avoid manual verification", rather than mentioning SAVE specifically.

I recently went through the process of trying to find health insurance for my fiance until we get married and I can add him to my insurance. My work will not add him to my insurance, regardless of our marriage status, until he has a SSN. I do not know if that is common, but because of that I would advise submitting the application for the SSN 10-14 business days after arrival in the US. If you try to apply for a SSN sooner, manual verification aka form G-845 may be required which adds a lot of processing time. Despite many people stating that that this is all instant/immediate now, it still took 11 business days for us to be told at the SSA that my fiance would not require manual verification.
 
Your fiance is indeed eligible for healthcare through the government (I-94 is proof of status), just not tax credits and such. The deadlines and sign up process for the government-run plans vary state by state, though. We did not opt for a government-run plan because it wouldn't be active by the time my fiance arrived to the US. Do NOT buy travel insurance as this is not intended for immigrants. You will need to call private insurance companies to find one that will insure someone without a SSN/ITIN. I called around 7, and only one (Regence) was willing to insure my fiance. Blue Cross and United would not, the rest I called were all regional companies. 3 weeks later my fiance's health insurance application is STILL pending, due to the influx of applications insurance companies are getting right now as it happens to be open-enrollment. I suggest calling around and then having him apply for health insurance as soon as you can because of this, as you cannot legally apply on his behalf.

It would so be appreciated if they went by received date and not just by some random pick. This sh!ts frustrating!
It would so be appreciated if they processed by received date and not just by some random pick. This sh!ts frustrating!
I'm on May 10th received date and I truly think it's unfair to skip over previous dates.