STEPHnRIA

Hi all!!! So I gave birth yesterday, November 25, 2009 at 8:14am, C-section delivery to a healthy baby boy! He weighed in at 7.54 lbs and measured at 20 1/2 inches long. Everything went ok. Im up and walking around now. So instead of a turkey, we are having a baby for thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Hello moms and future moms, on my 38th week and my doctor scheduled a c-section delivery on Nov25, a day before thanksgiving.

verde, I agree with pushbrk that its also the totality of circumstances. But this age difference thing is being used against you. It's not about whether you submitted the right paper or not. To be honest with you, my husband and I have almost 10 year age difference on which I am the one who is older. I was surprised this issue did not even come up during my interview. All the time while I was waiting for the interview, we were so scared of that factor. To our suprise, I was grilled about something else. It was a horrible experience for me. Just stay focused on what they need from you and what they want you and your husband to prove.

A lot of times, complete documents or whether you followed the instructions/laws don't matter anymore. You will be surprised of what they will ask or need in the interview. Honestly speaking, reading from your other posts, the USEM co has doubts whether you have bonafide relationship. As you have said, the co said you are older than your husband.

Question for those na na-CS na: How much was your hospital bill? Anyone who has a 20% co-pay insurance...how much did you shell out?

To those who delivered na: did you select your pedia beforehand? Met with them before birth?

Doc Gracey,

I don't have insurance but they gave me a quote of $17,000. Discounted price na daw yun for c-section kc self pay kami. My doctor gave me a price of $3,000 for all pre natal visits, ultrasound and delivery. I have my own pedia na and I met with her when my son got sick. She was really nice so I asked her if she could be my baby's pedia when I give birth. It's a good thing na she is affiliated with the hospital where Im going to give birth.

On my 37th week and feeling some contractions already!

huta, that mean lady co is not there anymore. After my interview, that was the time that they changed all the consulates. Our batch was stuck in document verification. Instead of three weeks, I got my visa in three months.

It has been a year and two months since this happened. I am now here in US and got my greencard 3 months ago. My ex-fiance, now my husband and I are doing great. I was right all along. He is a very loving husband and very good father to my son. We have our occassional lover's quarrel but our experience always reminds us how much we wanted to be with each other so...

Anyway, Im now 37 weeks pregnant and it feels like I will give birth anytime now.

frankly speaking, I think the co was emphasizing that you two were so much different especially when it comes to status in life. They are so used to seeing Filipinas marrying older men, or Filipinas from barrios marrying Americans. In short, for them, all Filipinas marrying Americans are just seeking better lives. So your case probably made them so curious.

When I was interviewed, the mean woman co asked me repeatedly how I could afford to go to the US so many times when she can't even do that.

monitored?! for what? whatever!!! They are just scaring you. In the first place, they should be happy that you will be helping their sinking economy! Don't worry, I had a horrible interview too. I have moved on since they gave me the visa but I will never forget...

We also wrote them a letter stating (or making them know) that as K1, I had my medical prior to coming here and that I gave it to the poe officer... they still sent me RFE... my son and I had to do it again. Five days after sending the medical, we got our greencard in the mail.

Hi! My pregnancy has no complications, Thank God! But I gave birth to my first child through c-section so my dodctor said its going to be another c-section for me again.

As far as some of the other comments in this thread, there's no doubt that a USC has to invest a considerable amount of time, effort, and money into getting their fiance/e or spouse to the US. However, I don't think it's fair to minimize what the foreign fiance/e has to go through. As the USC, I don't have to dredge up police reports from every country I've lived in the for more than six months, nor travel halfway across my own country for a medical exam and interview. I also don't have to go into an office of a foreign government, and have some foreigner subject me to a 3rd degree interrogation while being required by their own country's laws to presume I'm a fraud. All this, just for the "privilege" of abandoning my life, family, and friends, and moving forever to a country that I may never have even seen, knowing that once I arrive I won't be able to work or even drive a car for months.

This is very tough on a foreign fiance/e or spouse. When they arrive in the US they are probably going to be bored, lonely, insecure, afraid, and miss the the life and home they left behind. "Think about everything I went through to get you here" is NOT an attitude that's likely to help them adjust. When they feel like their world is crumbling around them, you can't expect them to be very sympathetic to everything you did to help make that happen. They need comforting, reassurance, regular contact with family and friends back home, and time with people of their own culture in the US. They'll feel better when they see others have done it and have happy lives.

I see what you're saying and perhaps the role of beneficiaries in the K1 process is equally difficult. But at this stage of the journey when she's not pulling herself together after what they both went through, I can't sympathize with her either. When people decide to marry in general, what comes with it is a lot of self-reflection too. Am I ready? Where are we gonna live? Do we want children? I can imagine how it becomes more complicated if your future spouse doesn't live in the same country. More reason to think about how your life will change tremendously. No one can anticipate an abusive spouse but certainly you can anticipate loneliness, homesickness and all when you move to another country. You have to have a plan for this. If the hard journey to get to where they are doesn't matter to her at all, I will assume that she's being selfish and no clear and serious thought process ever occured from the get-go.

you said it better

It's not just talking about the visa process. Everyone of us (foreign spouse) goes through the homesickness, boredom. I am sure a lot of us did not expect things to be the same. When you get married (visa or no visa), its all about change and adjustment. You don't just say, hey I am not liking this so let's get a divorce then oops I changed my mind...let's get married again.

I am not here to make him feel bad... but think about this, you go through the hassles of K1 and after getting here, you realized its not what you imagined it to be... so you go home then realized you you want to go back then what now...go through another visa process again?

What did she think of marriage anyway, bed of roses?

What did she think of US, land of milk and honey?

She can go back to Philippines whenever she wants too. But if she wants to return here in the US, since she has no AP or greencard, she needs a visa... tourist or spousal visa.

Thank you everyone for the help and advices!

Husband just started school this August 24. We have a doctor who is doing all my pre-natal visits. He set up a payment plan for us and we have already paid him 3/4 of the agreed price for professional services. It really was an option to go back to Philippines. However, let's say I get on that plane while I can, then give birth, then do the CRBA then fly back here... hmmmm, let's see that would take more or less 5 months. And in that 5 months, there's a possibility that we will get that letter for my aos interview. Another problem right?

It's true that I can just go to the emergency room. They will have to take me anyway whether they like it or not, right? What is not acceptable for me is the ridiculous amount that they will bill me later. I had a pap smear here and a month later, a got a bill for $3,000. That is not acceptable for me. I had two emergency room trips because of threatened miscarriage and now I have $7,000 bill that we are paying monthly. I am not here to run away from my obligations. If that really is the case then Im here to face it. But I don't want to be in a place where someday I would find out that there was an option but I was just so stupid to take it all because I didn't do my research.

Illegals get medicaid and legals don't. That is so stupid. Im sure all of you wil agree. And yes, I know that the lady we talked to doesn't know what she was talking about. One thing I learned here, not all who are in their jobs know what they are doing or saying. Some people would pretend to know and hope that the person they are talking to is stupid enough to believe them. It happened with my consul in the US Embassy, the lady at the SSA office here, the person who is doing my AOS because I was asked to do another medical and now people from medicaid. I always wonder why there is no precise answer...only different answers from different people who are in the same job.

When I was googling for OB doctors here in our place, abortion clinics website were the most that came up in the list, in fact, it was in the number one list. So there... US is pro choice and abortion should be one of the options. Maybe it is cheaper to get an abortion because having a baby is simply unaffordable.

This will be my second child. My four year old from previous marriage is going to school here in Florida and teachers in his school have talked to me about how smart he was and he needs to be accelerated. They are starting with ABCs and 123s while my son is reading an entire book, newspapers and doing multiplication table. He is not under headstart program of the government. We pay for his school and its more than our monthly apartment rent.

Should have, could have, would have. Asking me why we didnt use birth control won't help. But for the benefit of those who were asking, I was diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and my doctor said I have to go through fertility procedures in order for me to conceive. But not all attempts will be successful especially now that I am 34. My husband and I talked about this before getting married and he had accepted the possible fact that I may not have a child with him. He was already happy with his stepson and so proud of him. He treat him as his own. By the way, my son is a product of fertility procedures I went through. So yes, this baby (another baby boy) is a blessing. Every baby is a blessing.

Now about the emergency medicaid...

You can simply pay for your prenatal visits and when it is time to have the baby go directly to the emergency room. The emergency room cannot turn you away it doesn't matter that you have no insurance and your status will not matter either. This way you get the care you need.

You will however, get the bill in the mail later. But you won't have to pay anything upfront and the hospital will work out a payment plan with you later.

Wait I have a question here - when you adjusted status you submitted an affidavit of support stating that you should not seek for government help or your support could be prosecuted - how are you eligible to Medicaid? I am confused? Is there anything I don't understand?

You should not seek any government aid..that is what the Affidavit of support signed by the petitioner is for. The petitioner signs the affidavit assuring that his/her benefeciary would not be a public burden.I think that is the reason we did not qualify for the medicaid too .

Nope, you didn't qualify for medicaid, because simply you are not a citizen. It doesn't matter about I-864. The I-864 gives the gov't the option to bill the petitioner, but not very many people know if they ever follow through on that option.

Here's a link that might explain at lot of states/locales administration of medicaid programs for pregnant women. There is usually care available regardless of immigration status, and receiving such care is not considered legally that one is a public charge.

http://www.westchestergov.com/hispanicaffa...5%20english.pdf

It sounds like the OP has done an extensive search. If you haven't already done so, call the local health department, listed under the county government pages, and ask for family planning. If they can't answer your question helpfully, ask them to refer you to someone who can. If I can help you search for the info, PM with the name of your county. Take care of yourself and your precious little one.

-Thai Mom

Thanks Thai Mom! I went to the health department here in our county. They gave me phone numbers to call. But what do you do if you call and put you on hold for 30 mins then someone would pick up and say "Im sorry. I cant give you the answer. Let me connect you to someone who can help you."

then put you on hold for another 30 minutes then that "someone" would pick up and say "I will give you the phone number of the right person to call" then blah, blah, blah. It would happen like five more times until in the end, you end up talking to the person whom you first called. It's driving me crazy and it doesnt help that Im also dealing with this pregnancy hormones. AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

So maybe I was wrong to think that there is such thing as "emergency medicaid"...

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_3183.html

Means Tested Public Benefits

Federal means tested public benefits are the following:

Food stamps

Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Medicaid

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

State Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

Frequently asked questions about Means Tested Public Benefits

Can the applicant use government assistance or public benefits?

What assistance programs are not considered means tested public benefit programs?

Can the applicant use government assistance or public benefits?

If the sponsored immigrant uses federal means tested public benefits, the sponsor is responsible for repaying the cost of the benefits.

What assistance programs are not considered means tested public benefit programs?

The following types of assistance are not considered means tested public benefits and do not have to be repaid.

Emergency Medicaid

School lunches

Immunizations and treatment for communicable diseases

Student assistance to attend colleges and institutions of higher learning

Some kinds of foster care or adoption assistance

Job training programs

Head start

Short-term, non-cash emergency relief

This is from the I-864 frequently asked questions.

So I really dont understand why illegals get emergency medicaid and we legals do not.

"April 16, 2009 - Received EAD in the mail" <-- from your timeline

EAD in April and you don't have a GC.... wow! Too bad you can't go back to the RP to have your baby.

I think this should be moved to a better forum... might get more answers. Or, you should post it in a different forum for better answers.

Anyway, I found this:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;hl=medicaid

There are others out there. You only have to search and read... boring, but might help.

Good luck.

Thanks! I found some and I think Im going to send them a PM. Thanks again.

Every state has a different Medicaid program for anyone about to give birth and to look after the child's health. Here in Virginia, one goes to their local office of the state social services dept. Eligibility is up to them....maybe your joint income level is too high to make you eligible. They will observe that you have already had 4-5 months to save up for the delivery.

You may need to use a different hospital, not a specialized women's center. Or, at the time of delivery, you can go to an emergency room and get the medical attention you will need, even if you can't pay for it.

Good luck!

Nope, our joint income is not high. I work less hours now since getting pregnant. My husband is in college right now. We get by with my savings from Philippines and getting my "share" in our family business back in Philippines.

Anyway, the lady said I am not eligible for medicaid for the simple reson that I am not US citizen. What I was trying to tell her was about EMERGENCY MEDICAID which is available for non US citizen. I know that they can't turn me away if I go to the emergency room. But I know also that they will bill me a very ridiculous amount like $40,000 that will make us financially ruined.

"April 16, 2009 - Received EAD in the mail" <-- from your timeline

EAD in April and you don't have a GC.... wow! Too bad you can't go back to the RP to have your baby.

I think this should be moved to a better forum... might get more answers. Or, you should post it in a different forum for better answers.

Anyway, I found this:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;hl=medicaid

There are others out there. You only have to search and read... boring, but might help.

Good luck.

Yes, that was the plan. Me to go back to Philippines where I can give birth in one of the top hospitals and one of the best doctor for $2,000. Where my family can help after I give birth. My husband and I have free airline mileage so that will save us a lot of money.

Anyway, you might be wondering why I don't have my gc. Well, I got an RFE for form I-693 or medical. I was one of those unlucky people who had to do another medical again. I think they lost our medical. So yeah, we paid another $300 for medical so that they can go back to processing our papers again.

I am now 6 1/2 months pregnant so we went to a hospital (women's center) to pre- register. I have no insurance so we were going to talk to them about discount and payment plans for self pay patients. The financial person gave us an estimate of $25,000 for c-section. Since we are on self pay, they gave us a discounted price of $14,000+++ and required us to pay half before giving birth. So its $7,000 ++ up front. My husband asked if there's another way to do this as there's no way we can raise that amount in 2 months and the lady said no and that she is sorry. This is a public hospital by the way. My husband was stunned so I mustered enough courage to ask about medicaid. She said I am not eligible since Im not a US citizen. Then I mentioned emergency medicaid. She asked me of my status and I said Im under the process of getting my permanent residence status. Then she said again that I am NOT eligible because Im legal. Emergency medicaid is only for the illegal aliens here in the US. I argued with her that it doesnt seem to sound right. She just answered me with... "Ive been doing this thing for a long time, trust me, I know you are not eligible.

We went to the Department of Children and Families website here in Florida. It said that emergency medicaid is available to those who are eligible for medicaid except for the US citizenship requirement. So we know we are eligible. We have been calling different numbers but all they do is keep on transferring us to different numbers. They can't tell us anything. We went to the place and they just said to apply online. We went online but there's no application there for emerency medicaid. We don't know how to go about this. It's so frustrating. Are we supposed to apply for emergency medicaid after the emergency happened? And how do we do this? Hope anyone can shed light on this. Thanks again.

It seems to me that American men have their own way being romantic then.

TRUE! But greencard issues would always come up when an American decides to marry a non US Citizen. With me, I got offended but it's a fact. My hubby said he never thought about it, its the people around him.

It's not always the "greencard" that Filipinas are after at. My husband is sooooo cute and so hot, I was already imagining what our kids would look like when I met him.

HEY GUYS! im on my 24th week and its going to be another BOY!