K-1 AOS interview & Health Insurance

[Angela & Paul 12]

Is showing proof of private health insurance mandatory at the AOS interview for the foreign spouse?

Has anyone out there been in a position where the applicant did not have private health insurance because they could not get one, and/or had state-sponsored health insurance?

Is this a valid reason for GC rejection?

Some background: I (the US Citizen) do not have health insurance through work, and have my own private individual health insurance, which does not allow to add dependents without the dependents going through the whole medical history review process. Most insurance carriers only accept people who have a clean record, especially now in the new Obama world. And you would not believe what they use as reasons to reject someone... not having translated medical records from the country of origin is one!

[payxibka 10,047]

it is not required and should not be grounds for denial... many people for many reasons do not have insurance...

[Corinthians 7]

especially now in the new Obama world.

Cause Bush was so pro people having insurance? In what universe?

[Angela & Paul 12]

especially now in the new Obama world.

Cause Bush was so pro people having insurance? In what universe?

Not what I meant

The sweeping reforms that Obama has in store will not go well with the health insurance industry and some hospital chains (like Kaiser) who will lose millions of customers. My take is that they are already making it even harder for anyone having the slightest medical history to join their plans in order to continue the wave of profits they have been accustomed to.

[Angela & Paul 12]

it is not required and should not be grounds for denial... many people for many reasons do not have insurance...

Well, if I am logical with their thinking, anything that will prove the intending immigrant will be a "public charge" is ground for dismissal.

Not having health insurance, meaning relying on County, State and Federal $$$ for health coverage can be construed as being a "public charge".

That's what's getting me worried.

If someone went to the interview and was asked to show proof of health insurance, did not have it and were still granted the GC, please let me know and I will rest better at night

I am sure they must be asking questions about health coverage, don't they?

[payxibka 10,047]

it is not required and should not be grounds for denial... many people for many reasons do not have insurance...

Well, if I am logical with their thinking, anything that will prove the intending immigrant will be a "public charge" is ground for dismissal.

Not having health insurance, meaning relying on County, State and Federal $$$ for health coverage can be construed as being a "public charge".

That's what's getting me worried.

If someone went to the interview and was asked to show proof of health insurance, did not have it and were still granted the GC, please let me know and I will rest better at night

I am sure they must be asking questions about health coverage, don't they?

thus the purpose of the affidavit of support.... don't over analyze

My wife and son have there green cards and we DID NOT provide PROOF OF INSURANCE...

Edited April 1, 2009 by payxibka

[Angela & Paul 12]

thus the purpose of the affidavit of support.... don't over analyze

My wife and son have there green cards and we DID NOT provide PROOF OF INSURANCE...

Thank you. So I guess they don't ask?

I've seen interview reports of people who were showing their health insurance cards, that's what prompted my question to this forum.

And regarding the affidavit of support, you could have $100K in assets and that would not last one month paying for medical bills in case of an emergency.

[payxibka 10,047]

thus the purpose of the affidavit of support.... don't over analyze

My wife and son have there green cards and we DID NOT provide PROOF OF INSURANCE...

Thank you. So I guess they don't ask?

I've seen interview reports of people who were showing their health insurance cards, that's what prompted my question to this forum.

And regarding the affidavit of support, you could have $100K in assets and that would not last one month paying for medical bills in case of an emergency.

yes, and?

[Corinthians 7]

Not what I meant

The sweeping reforms that Obama has in store will not go well with the health insurance industry and some hospital chains (like Kaiser) who will lose millions of customers. My take is that they are already making it even harder for anyone having the slightest medical history to join their plans in order to continue the wave of profits they have been accustomed to.

I'm not sure how they will lose customers...I guess we'll find out. If anything, I think they'd get more customers if everyone had access to a reasonable health plan. Reasonable medical service prices might decrease the amount of collections they all have to worry about and actually bring people to a doctor's office before things are so bad they end up in an emergency room.

Did you see this:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090402/ap_on_...ent_er_patients

[Angela & Paul 12]

thus the purpose of the affidavit of support.... don't over analyze

My wife and son have there green cards and we DID NOT provide PROOF OF INSURANCE...

Thank you. So I guess they don't ask?

I've seen interview reports of people who were showing their health insurance cards, that's what prompted my question to this forum.

And regarding the affidavit of support, you could have $100K in assets and that would not last one month paying for medical bills in case of an emergency.

yes, and?

... and if your affidavit of support does not show millions of $$$ in assets, they might construe that without health insurance you might become a "public charge" at some time in the future (they look at a 5-year window) and use that argument to deny the GC or give a conditional approval pending getting private insurance.

What I am trying to understand is if the risk of potentially being a "public charge" is taken into account for the GC approval?

I know it definitely was in the K-1 approval process. But how many people have been denied for that reason?

Yes, I might be over-analyzing, but I like to have data, i.e. facts. That's the best way to get prepared for what could be a nasty interview (and Angela has had her share of this kind of interviews already).

[KHPerfectMatch 1]

Don't worry you can get insurance for Angela... I bought a policy for my husband with Assurant Health that is specifically designed for new immigrants... I got a 5 month policy with $100,000 coverage and a $100 deductible for $107 a month, and my husband is 48 years old... we can renew and extend the coverage if we want, but I will try to get a different policy before this one expires since he will have been here for 7 months by then...

There's no way I would take the risk of having NO insurance for him. I didn't want to have to worry about what I'd do if something happened... Just a trip to the ER when I had gall stones cost $3000 for a diagnosis (ultra sound) some blood work, and a big fat shot of demerol.... I left 3 hours later and still had to have the surgery (another $11,000) later on...

I am self-employed so I have an individual policy, can't add him because it's through the state's high risk pool because I was denied insurance... I tried to buy a policy for him from a standard ins. company and they sold it to me, but when I read the fine print it said policyholders who were not US residents for 6 months were excluded! Boy was I ticked! (They wouldn't refund my application fee, but did refund my premium!) There was NOTHING in their website or brochure that indicated this was their policy and NO questions were asked in their application!!!

If she was denied insurance for some reason, you might check and see if your state has a high risk pool.. especially if you think she is going to need some care.. although pre-existing conditions are excluded on our state's plan, but only for the first 6 months.

Assurant's website is: http://www.buyinternationaltravel.com Don't get confused by the part about coverage for people traveling outside of their country... that's exactly what she's doing... and she doesn't have to buy it before she leaves her home country... I actually found this site by googling: health insurance newly arrived immigrant...

You might also try a short term non-renewable policy on Ehealthinsurance.com but be careful of any exclusions like I found...

You can be sure that if she gets sick and you take her to the hospital they will treat her, and they WILL send you the bill... and no discounts... YOU are not a BILLION DOLLAR ASSET insurance company, YOU MUST PAY FULL PRICE!

While I'm 100% certain that there's no way they could deny your AOS because of no health insurance for her, why risk it? Too stressful thinking of losing my husband, AND my entire life savings, etc. if he had a heart attack, and I either didn't go to the hospital quick enough, or did go and he had to stay a long time, or had to have surgery, etc. $250,000 POOF... GONE....

[Anh map 2,098]

Is showing proof of private health insurance mandatory at the AOS interview for the foreign spouse?

Has anyone out there been in a position where the applicant did not have private health insurance because they could not get one, and/or had state-sponsored health insurance?

Is this a valid reason for GC rejection?

Some background: I (the US Citizen) do not have health insurance through work, and have my own private individual health insurance, which does not allow to add dependents without the dependents going through the whole medical history review process. Most insurance carriers only accept people who have a clean record, especially now in the new Obama world. And you would not believe what they use as reasons to reject someone... not having translated medical records from the country of origin is one!

Showing the immigrant on the USC health insurance plan is just one of the typical pieces of evidence of a spousal relationship. That's why you see it in lists.

Having to provide translations of documents from our spouse's native language is one of the responsibilities we should expect as we integrate our lives.

I think that you are over thinking the impact on your AOS. Best of luck.