SkipSherv

2 hours ago, Boiler said:

The whole point of the ACA is that it is not rated on pre existing conditions or prior claims

OK, you're right.  I should have said, "they find ways to increase premiums that are legal."  😉   I'm barely getting a 2% COLA increases in my retirement every year, while my health insurance increased an average of 23% per year.

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

ACA premiums do not vary with claims

Not during the year.  Your premiums don't change during the year.  Subsequent years, the premiums rise for all sorts of reasons which I'm sure includes your age and existing health condition based on previous year usage.   Here's my actual costs based on retirement income, age, etc...

My monthly premium for ACA Platinum plan (Family of three ages 50s, with child under 18) two with pre-existing conditions:
Health Exchange - Platinum Plan
Family of Three - Monthly Premium

Just a note and something to be aware of when purchasing healthcare from the exchange.  It's just like regular insurance, which means the more you use it, the higher the premiums go in subsequent years.  In our case, it started to be relatively good deal, but after a few E/R visits and hospital stays our premiums doubled and affordable healthcare quickly became unaffordable. 

46 minutes ago, Damara said:

http://familiesusa.org/product/50-state-look-medicaid-expansion

 

This should help those looking to see if they qualify.

 

Thanks.  Yep, Florida didn't expand.  :-( 

2 hours ago, databit said:

I posted this before and my post is being quoted, so let me add to it:

 

Previous post:

ACA or Obamacare is the health coverage designed primarily for working adults. Coverage varies by state. Income is counted. Don't let somebody else claim you as a dependent! It is tied in with Medicaid for subsidy help. If you live in a state that did NOT expand Medicaid, and you file taxes with zero income** there will likely be no subsidy to help you pay the cost.

 

Added:

The minimum income for the person seeking ACA or Obamacare must be $11,880 for 2017. It was designed for working Americans or those who have an income above the poverty level. Having zero income will qualify you for Medicaid, the program for the poor. BUT---some states did not expand Medicaid. If your state didn't, get ready to pay: https://www.healthcare.gov/medicaid-chip/medicaid-expansion-and-you/

 

That answers that!  Flordia isn't one of the States that expanded Medicaid!

3 hours ago, missads said:

 

This is a good summary. I have added more notes to make this relevant for zero income immigrant parents.

 

Medicaid - for low income citizens/residents. Immigrants not eligible for the first 5 years on green card.

 

Medi-Cal - California's Medicaid. All low income immigrants *ARE* eligible, no 5 year waiting period. Only program in the country that waives the waiting period. If you are in CA, jump on this!

 

Medicare - for seniors. Immigrants not eligible for first 5 years. After 5 years, you can buy Medicare insurance, but it's too expensive. Not a practical option.

 

Obamacare - *THIS* is your best option for the first 5 years in America (if you live outside California.) This is proper health insurance for cheap.  healthcare.gov website has issues (might say your parents are not eligible even though they are.) Pick up the phone and call them, or use a local healthcare navigator's help (free!)  Some states (e.g. Massachusetts) have their own exchanges, healthcare.gov will redirect you to the state's insurance website. EVERY state has coverage as of now.

Tip: To browse various insurance plans, plug in an income just above the poverty level ($20 -25K). Only Silver plans are eligible for PTC (subsidy of about 90-95% on monthly premiums.)

Don't bother with bronze or gold plans.

 

Private insurance - not practical (too expensive, poor coverage, can't come close to Obamacare)

 

Remember - do NOT claim parents as dependents on your tax returns. And yes, file a zero income tax return for your parents (everything is zero - income, taxes etc., both federal and state) every year, so there's an official US record that proves they have no income. This will come in handy when applying for insurance and need to show your parents are eligible for a subsidy.

 

 

My mother-in-law has been here for a year going through her change-of-status and just received her green card.  I'm assuming the 60-day life-event period starts on the day she was approved.  Also, we are in Florida and have to use the exchange for this state.  I did some preliminary searching without registering her and using her yearly pension income of $9,500 and the site told me "It doesn't appear you are eligible for any PTC).  The cheapest plan was 989 and the most expensive was 2000.  We will be doing the official search here soon and I will post here what we found out.

On 10/9/2016 at 5:32 PM, nepusa said:

Hi Missads,

Hopefully, what you wrote is true that the sponsoring child's income does not need to be included while determining the total income for the immigrant parents.

However after the parents are in the US for 5 years, assuming that they are =/> 65 years of age, they will be eligible for Medicare.

To enroll in Medicare, Immigrants who have not worked in the US for 10 years, will have to pay monthly premiums for Medicare A as well as Medicare B, which again would be expensive.

Do you know if immigrant parents can continue with ACA or if they have to enroll in Medicare after 5 year stay in US?

Thanks

 

According to the publications I have read so far, they can choose to stay with their ACA plan or switch to Medicare when eligible.  Their choice.

Thank you Sam!

Yes, it is a condition for Obamacare - only permanent residents without conditions. I have healthcare at work, but it does not cover parents.

My wife is a permanent resident and getting her US Naturalization. Once that is complete we want to bring her mom over from Brazil because she needs care and there is no one there to care for her. She has a pension and income from the rental of property, but my question is when she comes over she needs health care (Obamacare) and she will need to be a permanent resident to get it. If my wife is a US Citizen and brings her over, will she have a conditional status and if so how long or will she be permanent right away? She cannot get healthcare coverage with a conditional status.

Thanks,

Skip

The famous DO NOT OPEN UNTIL ARRIVAL IN USA brown immigration envelope that comes to you with your passports and US Visa after your interview. This is the way the US Consulate in Rio packaged it with rubber bands causing the envelope to rip and making the contents invalid. If it is so important to keep this envelope sealed then why don't they use better envelopes or package them with care before to send it in the mail? My wife had to fly back to Rio just to have them repackage the contents so she could make her scheduled flight to USA. No compensation from US Consul in Rio just an apology and what is there to do with an apology? See the ripped envelope here: http://www.visajourney.com/gallery/display....php?pos=-16199 - I suggest staying in Rio and waiting for your passport and this envelope just to make sure it is sealed. My wife decided to go back to Sao Paulo and pay TNT to deliver the items becasue Monday is a holiday and it would be much cheaper to wait at home than in a hotel in Rio fro as much as 5 days. Well thanks to the US Consulate's mistake, another airfare ticket to Rio just blew that savings! Well, at least she got an apology...right?

My wife and 6 year old daughter had their visas approved 439 days after initial filing! Finally. This after a several month delay when the she sent me all the original documents (police certificates, birth certificates, etc..) by US POST Express Mail with tracking number. Well, the package never arrived and to this day still shows online that it is inbound into US Customs & Border Protection at JFK Airport! Well, UCBP and USPS both deny having the package and we had to replace all the documents and translations and it was a nightmare! Don't trust USPS with any mail...They refuse to accept any responsibility and just point the finger at UCBP. At least, I was able to get a letter from UCBP stating that they do not have and NEVER had this package.

... we didnt receive the AOS bill yet (and they sent to us on 04/28, 2 weeks ago!!!), my husband dont want to pay the bill online... he try to call NVC but it is impossible to talk with a person... they accept my agent (i sent an email - because we didnt receive the form either... it is normal to take that long to receive the bill?

Online payment works, we paid, and print the barcode cover sheet on the same day. Save lots of time. We have not got any email from NVC so far .

Lucy

How do you pay online? I received my AOS fee bill today but there were no instructions on how to pay online. Thanks

Can someone tell me how to write email regarding DS-3032 for a child? I have search the forums and the question has been asked before, but when I look in the search results I am not able to find it. Thanks!

Since my tax return money landed in my bank account this week, I assume they finally assigned my wife her ITN (i had sent in all that stuff needed to get it with my paper return).

I haven't got anything in the snail mail yet, and I need the ITN to finish off my state taxes (which are on hold awaiting this number also)... (way it works is I have to mail it in)....

can I get this from IRS? or is it on it's way in the mail? (if anyone's got theirs would like to hear about it).

will be nice to open a joint savings account also.

When did you fle your W7? I filed 8 weeks ago and still nothing. I called yesterday and they told me 10 weeks to issue ITIN and then 8 weeks for refund. That puts my refund arrival in June!

Tyrobe, Can you add my timeline to your thread? I did not know about or use JSC. Thanks!

Well, first you find out who your representative is, by going here: http://www.house.gov/. You need to know your ZIP 5+4. (look it up here: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp)

Once you know the name, it also gives you the congress person's site. From here, the choice is yours. I simply wrote him an e-mail explaining the full situation, with arguments etc and ask for his help in solving the issue.

The letter was "signed" by my husband, the USC.

In about 2 -3 days we got the answer in an e-mail, where the name and contact details of the immigration person in the congressman's office. We then called and talked directly. No visit to the office was necessary, since she was able to help up by phone.

I also hope that at least one person who got and answered a RFE can answer me whether they sent back the original or the copy of the notice of action...

Sorry to hear you got this RFE. It's frustrating. $60 is not too bad, although I still think it would be better not to have to do the medical again at all when you're not supposed to have to... but anyway, that is definitely much better than another $200-300!!!

We sent the blue copy of the RFE notice that they say to send with the RFE with what we sent as our RFE.

I think that the little blurb about a copy of the sheet is if you write to them inquiring about the case, and not for the actual RFE. I would not send a (photo)copy of the notice with your actual RFE. Send the original blue notice.

Also, something else I wish we would have done - made sure that it was clear on the envelope that this was a response to an RFE. Since we sent medical papers in, we ended up not using the envelope they gave us because it was too small - but the envelope has the big bold red letters and also say "ATTN: Response to RFE" or something like that. We totally forgot about that so we figured maybe my papers got mixed in with all the other mail and was not seen as a priority. I'm not sure if not doing that is what delayed our case for a few weeks, but it did made me think they might take the mail a little more seriously (had we done that.)

Melyssa, I just received an RFE from CSC and they did not supply a return envelope for me. Thanks for the information. I will put that on the envelope when I respond.

For I-130 - I am waiting for the DS-230 now...Do I need to submit all police clearance certificates with the DS-230? The interview will be at Rio in Brazil. I thought she just needed to bring them to the interview. Thanks!