rogerpenycate

I'm posting this on both the USA and USA Marriage forums (if it lets me) as there seem to be two seperate issues here.
A good place to open ones heart to the world !!!
Firstly a brief summary of the situation.
I'm married to a USC and moved over here 2.5 years ago with my daughter who is now 20.
We are currently waiting to hear from Baltimore for an interview regarding the removal of our conditions.
I have to be a bit pragmatic here.
My daughter lives with her boyfriend and is currently not working. She was up until last week and had benefits with her job.
Her boyfriend is quite a stable guy who has just bought his own house and earns quite good money, but he doesn't have benefits with his job.
Their relationship seems OK.
Here's the 'crunch'
She phoned me last saying she thinks she's pregnant. She's done two of those testing kits and is planning a trip to the docs early this week.
Putting aside my obvious emotions and trying to be logical there seem to be two seperate issues (hence the double posting)
1/. Does anyone know the legal implications regarding a conditional permament resident having a baby in the US (at the moment, out of
wedlock) ?
2/. Medical costs, including having a baby here are expensive and they haven't got that much money
I appreciate that even if he had benefits they wouldn't cover his girlfriend.
If the pregnancy is confirmed and they do manage to get benefits would it be considered a 'pre-existing condition' and as such probably not be covered ?

Any sensible thoughts, suggestions or comments would be appreciated, I'm to 'fragile' to read any bullshit.

Thank you

BritGuyTN

get ready to pay anywhere between 10-20k for the pregnancy

I have no idea about the immigration stuff but IF she wasn't pregnant then two healthcare options are:

1. medicare (if she has a low income, and i'm not even sure if people in her immigration status are eligible)
2. regular health insurance

as she seems to be pregnant then neither of the options above are possible

I think they will end up paying the fee off over the next 10 years on some payment plan of some kind

I really feel for you

this happened to a friend of mine (USC) who had no insurance and was lucky that her grandparents forked out 15k

healthcare maybe more expensice in your area

Sorry i can't give a lot of positive info, but it may help to prepare you for the worst

FlyergirlUK

Rog,

I can only tell you that in my area, the full cost of the pre-natal care was around $3K and for an uncomplicated birth with minimum meds, (not sure whether I was charged for that dodgy epidural or not) with a one night hospital stay it was $5K for me 'n' his Nibs.

Still expensive, yes, but nowhere near as expensive as I've heard it can be in other states.

Whatever happens though, no matter what the immigration status of the mother - I'm pretty darn sure that the baby will be born a USC and therefore shouldn't complicate your daughter's immigration status at all.

Your daughter will probably need a referral from her doc to an OB/GYN - I would suggest talking payment plans with them and the hospital she is to deliver at asap.

You might also want to investigate WIC - this provides nutrition and information for expectant mothers and young babies.

Wishing you all the best.

AmerLisa

Roger, is marriage a possibility for your daughter and her boyfriend? I'm sorry I don't know the legal ramifications either. But, wondering if they were married, could that help the situation? I mean by changing status? Also, and I'm sure you've thought of this as a last recourse, can she go back to the UK to have the baby? Any family there that she can live with? Of course that probably kills things over here for her, i.e. her application to change conditions. The other thing of course is paying payments someplace for her to have the baby. In the end its only money and we all have to do what we have to do. I'm walking around with no health insurance...should something happen to me I'd have to pay through the nose big time....ahhh the American life.

The best of luck Roger...I'm sure someone on this forum can come up with a reasonable idea.

Englishmum

Roger, I can imagine that you're reeling with the shock....emotions going back and forth - one moment feeling happy that you're likely to be a grandad soon and the next moment worrying about how your daughter is going to cope.

The great thing is - it does seem to be that you are there to support your daughter and help in any way you possibly can.

Here's some ideas which came into my head:

I don't know if you or/and your wife is working but if so, do either of you have insurance which would cover your daughter? I understand that ours does for children up to the age of 23 (Aetna).

I went to ask.com and typed in 'free healthcare for pregnant women' but to be honest it didn't really come up with much for the USA...but there was a site called:

http://www.maternitycard.com where apparently even if one has no insurance and is already pregnant you can get up to 75% discount on some medical charges....no idea what it entails though, I guess it's some sort of payment scheme but you might want to check it out.

You or your daughter could perhaps also contact your local Planned Parenthood office (US equivalent of the Family Planning clinics) as they will probably have advice and have encountered numerous uninsured young pregnant women over the years. Perhaps there are charities which could help....this is a long shot but maybe even the Catholic church (regardless of your religion or lack of one) as there is a sign outside the one in our neighbourhood saying that rather than a distressed mother choosing to have an abortion they will assist and care for the mother and child until the baby is born (I'm assuming no strings attached eg. giving the baby up for adoption here).

As already mentioned above...perhaps your daughter could deliver the baby in the UK....doesn't her mum live in Blighty? She could go over before the max limitation on flying time kicks in (although my friend returned to live in the UK from South Africa at 8 months pregnant and she had a doctors letter to say it was ok to fly). Her boyfriend could go over just before the estimated date of arrival.......you will need to check but I guess as long as his name is on the birth certificate he can register the birth at the US Embassy in London and they can get a US passport for the baby to return to the US.

See here:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web...ts/robirth.htm (it does seem as if the baby would definitely be eligible for US citizenship if born in England and the parents are not married....the father obviously hasn't been resident overseas for an extended period of time which is one of the main considerations)

You could check the messageboards here for American expats in the UK and ask if anyone there has had a UK/US relationship and birth in the UK and what they did. I guess your daughter is planning to file for a green card but aren't you allowed out of the US and allowed to re-enter as long as you apply for advanced parole? Perhaps you could send an e-mail to the US Embassy in London and explain the situation and see what their opinion is and if she would be able to return to the US if she delivers the baby in the UK.

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php (has a board for pregnancy and parenting issues)

http://www.americanexpats.co.uk

Good luck to your family and all the best......families really do rally round together in such a scenario and it will all be alright in the end..

FlyergirlUK

EM - as a cPR, even when filing for removal of conditions, she can travel outside of the country - a letter of extension is usually mailed out covering the time in-between filing for removal of conditions and gaining the 10 year 'green' card - failing that, the I-551 stamp can be gotten from Baltimore, (InfoPass in in use there now so an appointment would have to be made).

I hope all of this advice has been of some use to you Rog.

britchicknyc

What about her former employer? At my job - I believe the Health Insurance continues for 30 days and they you can still keep it - you just have to pay for it. If she was working as recently as last week - she should definately check with her former employer for the terms and conditions of her discharge and effect on benefits.

KarnalEcho

May not be your bag but a midwife is the cheapest way to go. Even with insurance having a kid is awfully expensive. I used a midwife for my first and it was reasonable. For the second child I used a midwife but ended up with an emergency C-sect, anyway because my daughter decided to turn and go breach at the last minute. I had two expenses then.
There's nothing cheap in this part of the world unfortunately.

Let me add also, that I have no clue how she might be viewed over here, coming over pregnant but I honestly don't think it matters. Most people might not like the idea but there is always the Health Department that can guide her and place her on medicare. It should be free at that point but she might have higher morals than that OR they may refuse her. I wish I could help you more. Good luck in the situation.

Jess5377

There is a program, called COBRA through the govn't that enables past employees to remain on their healthcare for 1 yr. It is madatory for employers to allow their past employees this right. My brother went on it when he quit his last job to start a new business. It would also cover her new dependent. I believe all she has to do is call the insurance company and say she wants to use COBRA to get her coverage extended. I don't believe it costs much- my brother paid the same low price the company paid for him.

COBRA
A 1985 act (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) which allows unemployed workers from companies with 20 or more employees to continue to receive coverage under their health plan for up to 18 months after lay-off, quitting, or being fired, if the employee pays the full cost of the coverage.

NC Penguin

Your daughter may be eligible for COBRA. Depends on the size of the employer. Read more on the DOL website at:

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm

There's links on the page too that maybe useful.




NC Penguin

Englishmum

Roger:

this article has useful info:

http://parenting.ivillage.com/pregna...=adid=13833292

I've also remembered a conversation I had a few months ago; I was shopping in Trader Joe's and when I asked one of the employees if an item was in stock it turned out that he was British. We had a chat and he told me that he had been laid off from his NYC job in a Wall St. company. He had taken the job in Trader Joe's (earning $17 per hour) as he said they had fantastic health insurance from them which covered his entire family (he had three children).

I don't know if there's a Trader Joe's near your or your daughter's residence but she might want to see if they have any jobs going....for example the TJ's not far from where we live has jobs as in-store food demonstrators (part time and full time) going, as well as check-out staff:

http://www.traderjoes.com

Franklin

Give consideration to your daughter discussing her fact pattern with a professional immigration attorney ... for a few hundred bucks it is best to get the right advice; I never understand why folks avoid using a lawyer when the downstream implications can be huge and far more expensive or time consuming to fix absent acting on good advice. Having the baby in the UK might lead to more problems if your daughter wants to stay in the USA. But yes, if the baby is born here in the USA this will likely mean medical expenses (with most insurance coverage the parents are usually out of pocket for a sum of money, not totally huge, probably in the range of about $1,000 to about $5,000). Your daugher and her bf could try for free health care at a USA hospital, but good luck with that.

But your daughter should check into her entitlement under COBRA ... her previous medical insurance might cover some costs of having the baby (your daughter could find out by reading the policy details originally given to her by her former employer and by making appropriate enquiries with, e.g., the medical insurance company in question (your daugher could also ask her previous co-workers who she might still be in contact with who have had a baby under the same coverage/policy, but there is a time fuse on applying for medical coverage under COBRA (it is usually 3 months, but I had one employer who I left who quoted me 1 month to apply for that firm's medical insurance through COBRA; your daughter's previous employer should send your daugher a letter detailing her COBRA entitlement and the firm's system for accepting applications for coverage under COBRA. If your daughter has not received this letter then you daughter should not be shy enquiring about her entitlement under COBRA - your daughter might consider faxing a letter (e.g. from Kinko's) to her former employer asking for immediate clarification on the COBRA entitlement. The fax machine should be set to give a confirmation receipt of delivery of said fax.

Englishmum

OK...this is v. difficult for me to write this but I can't keep silent any longer (although I have posted on the following scenario before):

I used to do voluntary work for the Australian & New Zealand Association in Singapore. One day we received a letter from a Scottish lady who was going out of her mind with worry. Her husband (also a Scot) was working for a local Singaporean businessman and they were on very local terms eg. they lived in very basic accommodation and without any benefits or bonuses other than medical insurance. The wife became pregnant and suddenly out of the blue, the businessman decided that he no longer wanted to employ the Scottish guy and made him redundant without any compensation. This also meant that his employment pass had to be cancelled. Unfortunately his wife was too far advanced in her pregnancy to be given permission by the doctor to fly back to the UK.

Not only did the couple have hardly any money to pay for their rent (husband also unable to just 'transfer' to another job) but there was a terrible problem when the baby was born....the poor little mite needed major heart surgery. The couple had no money whatsover to pay for the medical bills (which are far lower than in the US) and they couldn't ask their families in Scotland to help as they were on low incomes themselves. The newborn baby needed the operation in Singapore as he was too sick to be evacuated to the UK. The heart surgeon agreed to go ahead with the op but waived a portion of his fees. The wife had written to all the expat organisations in Singapore as the British High Commission was unable to provide money 'from the public purse'.....she was desperate and her letter was heartrending....she said she had never in her life been so embarrassed as to have to beg for money to help pay the medical bills.

All the expat associations put out an appeal and there was a good response -just enough to pay for the huge costs for the delivery and heart surgery. Sadly, the little baby died soon afterwards. The couple didn't even have enough money to pay for their airfares home and to take their baby in his coffin. British Airways came up trumps and transported them all free of charge. We received a lovely letter of thanks at the ANZA office from the couple once they'd returned to the UK...and we all thanked our lucky stars that we hadn't been in their shoes.

I find it really scary in the US just how many people declare bankruptcy due to medical bills - quite often they have health insurance but it's not unknown for the insurance companies to just cancel coverage.

Perhaps Roger and family can rally round if his daughter is confirmed to be pregnant and pay for the pre-natal care and delivery....but I truly hope that there are going to be no complications with mother and/or baby... as mentioned previously, perhaps delivery in the UK may be something to think about.

Rete

Other than the additional need for an I-551 in her passport is the more important need of a re-entry permit. For any stay outside of the US of over six months USCIS recommends and this was confirmed in my immigration law class last Tuesday that the [C]PR should apply for a travel permit I-131 before leaving. This will help show that she did not intend to abandon her status in the US and she should keep as many ties to the US as possible, i.e. place to stay, bank accounts, etc.

Rete

Rete

My daughter's employer had all of five people, she was offered COBRA when she left their employment.

Rete