Bob

You can't extend the stay, one of the terms of the VWP....but an emergency stay is a good reason for over staying so getting a B1 in the future probably wouldn't be a major hassle to get.

Noorah101

Exactly what Bob said.

Rene

AmerLisa

What a hassle all the way around. Well certainly nothing to worry about at this point, for sure.

taradem

Hi,
As the mother of 2 premature babies (30 and 35 weeks) I thought I'd just send a quick note to wish you lots of luck. I'm sure your mind is reeling at the moment but really your number one concern needs to be the health of you and your baby. Whilst not quite as far away as you I was transferred away from my local hospital to have my daughter so I know how much you must be desperate to get home and back to everything that is familiar to you. Just remember that every prem baby is different (believe me I am quite familiar with this world now!) Some are born early and very low birth weight and these are usually in the hospital for a while until they can breath, feed and gain weight. Others are born early and at a good weight so their stay in hospital is much shorter. Please be assured that the standards of care for prems here is excellent. On the subject of travel, my daughter wasn't ambulanced back to a more local hospital for us until she was able to breathe on her own and even then it was with paramedics and a ventilator on hand.
This is a great British charity for advice and support with prems - www.bliss.org

Take good care of yourself, sending positive thoughts that you will be able to cook for a little longer!
Tara x

meauxna

A ten million dollar baby... wow, how would you like to know that about yourself?! Would you feel more valuable, I wonder?

upwoodlady

Lots of best wishes .
xxxx

BritishGuy36

Do you imagine that the US government cares what the reason is? DHS is a law unto themselves.....

Southsearocks

Great, thanks again to you all, I feel very reassured. I'm resigned to the fact we're here long term but just trying to get my head around it today Family and friends in the UK are being just brilliant so I don't really have any worries there.

I will let you know how things go!

AmerLisa

I imagine that they should.... While I understand going case by case is time consuming and of course there should be laws in place, certainly someone who is in the hospital should be exempt.....

Anyway, its a moot point, I don't make the laws and its senseless to debate....

fatbrit

Some thoughts that haven't already been aired:

Somewhere in the hospital there will be a social worker. Get him/her to investigate possible Medicaid coverage for the child if the insurance doesn't happen. Although you won't qualify, the future child is a US citizen and very well might.

For US citizenship documentary purposes, the sprog should have:
* US birth certificate
* social security card
* US passport
The aforementioned social worker should be able to point you in the right direction.

For UK citizenship documentary purposes, the sprog should have:
* UK consular record of birth abroad
* UK passport
If you PM member here "British Consul", he'll put you on the right path.

Read the primer on dual citizenship issues from the US perspective @ www.richw.org/dualcit. The UK perspective is sparse but there's a paragraph in your passport.

Southsearocks

Thank you again, this is most helpful.

My partner has just contacted the travel insurance company and they've confirmed that they will be covering medical and travel expenses. I can't tell you how relieved I am! I had visions of us living in masses of debt for the rest of our lives.

We will look into all the other bits in due course. I think partner was going to contact the consulate today. For now I'm going to concentrate on lying still and keeping the baby in!

I'll let you know how we get on. Thank you again everyone for your help and kindness

CAdreaming

Sending you lots of good wishes

British Consul

Best wishes for the next few days.

If you haven't already done so, please contact the British Consulate-General in New York for advice and assistance: telephone (212) 745-0200 (select the emergency option for British nationals).

Information on obtaining a passport for your baby can be found at www.UKinUSA.fco.gov.uk/passports - it will be your responsibility to apply for the passports, but it's a fairly simple process. Our staff in New York can provide further advice on this.

Don't worry too much about your VWP status. In certain circumstances you can stay over the 90 day limit, but you'll need to appeal to the Regional Office of Customs and Border Protection for an extension of your stay (the Consulate-General staff will have contact details for this).

Hope this helps. Best of luck.

Dean

Southsearocks

Dean, thank you. I'll ask the other half to do it tomorrow as I'm sure it would be helpful to us.

As an update everything is gonig ok so far and we're being very well cared for. Baby is still staying put so far - one week on.

Thanks again for your support

JAJ

It's understood they will cover your medical expenses ... but will they cover expenses for the baby?

If not, I'd definitely look into the Medicaid option as the baby will be a US citizen.