Mummy in the foothills

Do you have the kind of money that the US wants you to have to open up your own business. Also do you realize that a bazzilion small businesses have gone under in the last few years here, some that were open and profitable for many many years.
Small businesses also end up paying out a lot of money for health ins.
If I had a child with Cystic fibrosis I'd be moving the other way, back to UK.
Going back annually for a visit and a docs appointment even paid for privately isn't really an answer, what about all those times when the child has emergencies and ends up in the hospital
California is not the best for anyone with lung/allergy/breathing problems (unless you can afford something nice overlooking the Ocean) They give air quality assessments on the news, telling some to stay inside during "spare the air" days here. On those days it looks browner than normal as you look into the distance.

scrubbedexpat099

There is a lot of guessing going on, just do not know enough about their situation to make comments.

murray18

We are planning to move to Temecula which rarely has air quality problems and actually has some of the cleanest air in california. It also blows in a sea breeze and salty air is extreamly beneficial to my daughter.

The business my husband plans to run is a consultancy for the electronics component industry, a business that he already runs successfully here in the uk, and would continue to run in the UK while he establishes the business in the US - therefore we would still have our current income, and anything he makes from new business in the US is a bonus.

We obviously would not make the move without appropriate healthcare which is why we are trying to get rough ideas of cost.

GeoffM - Thanks for your help, gives us somewhere to start. We will try and get quotes for private healthcare and also as a business. See if there is any major difference in cost.

GeoffM

You could start looking at the L1 visas if the UK business continues to run. An E2 is possible if you have a couple of hundred thousand dollars to commit but it's often referred to as the "visa from hell". If you have half a mil then maybe EB-5. Other possibilities too.

You probably won't get any firm (read: realistic) quotes until you're about to buy. You can get quick online quotes but they won't be accurate at all, especially given your child's history. It's a bit chicken and egg for you unfortunately.

Zoe Bell

Perhaps you could get in touch with some support groups for cystic fibrosis,
A quick google search turned up http://www.cysticfibrosis.com/

They would have a much better idea of the financial and medical side of things in the US

Of course as people have pointed out every policy is different but as a ballpark figure , anything they tell you is likely to be more in the correctvrange

Jerseygirl

The rule about visitors using the NHS is not quite so cut and dried. Whether your child is treated on the NHS during UK visits is at the discretion of the doctor/hospital/clinic.

Steve_

There was some big scandal about it a few years back and they cracked down on non-residents using the NHS, "clearer guidelines" I remember being mentioned. Given the massive cutbacks in the UK at the moment, I definitely wouldn't depend on the NHS if you live abroad.

Steve_

L-1 requires you the job at the other end to have some management function so I doubt that would work for a consultant. You can get L-1A in order to set up an office but to renew it requires showing that you have several employees you're managing (and in any event you can only renew it up to a total of seven years).

E-2 maybe, but it has to be a significant business, one person self-employed working mainly from home won't cut it. I knew a dentist who got it (set up his own practice), and I also know a travel agent who had it, he had a call centre running with about ten people working for him. But neither of them applied in London.

ian-mstm

Not necessarily true!

Ian

Steve_

Well you need some sort of evidence you're managing a significant concern, I doubt a consultant would cut that. And in any event there is the time limit, you can't sponsor yourself except into EB-1.

Also I just have to say being self-employed generally speaking in the US is unwise because of FICA taxes, which are a significant amount of money when you have to pay both halves. I keep thinking this is one of the reasons start-ups in the US have so much trouble, because the taxes can look pretty oppressive when you go out on your own, but no-one listens to me obviously.

To have to pay all that money AND not benefit from the medicare tax because you're in a non-immigrant category (unless by some miracle you meet the 40 quarters requirement) AND not have healthcare provision either doesn't make financial sense to me. It doesn't make sense if you're healthy imo, let alone with someone in the family with a chronic condition. Especially in California where there are State taxes too and healthcare costs are higher than average.

scrubbedexpat099

The way you described it sounds like he is a consultant rather than has a consultancy business with employees etc?

How many employees does he have?

Ozzidoc

They will see you at your expense. Have you asked them what the private fee rate is currently. Remembering that it could be doubled next week if they (NHS Private, the individual non-NHS consultants, physios etc etc) want it to be.

Ozzidoc

The "rule" is being clarified/confirmed as part of a current "clarification of residency" document, relating to residence for tax-purposes, health-care, and immigration purposes.

I am part of a UK doctors forum. Healthcare tourism is being clamped down on all over the place.

Ozzidoc

This.

Giantaxe

It's the health insurance as well as the taxes, of course, especially for older people. I would quite like to be self-employed right now, and maybe employ others, but the health insurance situation is so scary for someone of my age that I'm just not willing to risk it. The irony is that Republicans are hell bent on undoing Obama's healthcare act, which actually would really help folks who want to become self-employed. And at the same time they are screaming that the act destroys jobs.

You mean social security and medicare. Yeh, non-immigrant, self employed with dependent with chronic condition is pretty much the worse-case scenario unless, I suppose, the definite intent is to become an immigrant down the road.