Can't Win for Losing . . .

[Arabella 4]

I went to the link for TD Canada Trust and they gave me a quote of $239 for a 90-day time period. That's a really good price!

[Rhiannercakes 14]

I found TD to be expensive, and I bank there... which even gets me a discount.

Try comparing it with "The Co-Operators".

Their insurance is pretty cheap too.

Oh. I just found my old bill from The Co-Operators.

I got 3 months of medical insurance with a 1 million dollar coverage rate (or something like that) for... 167 dollars.

Tell him to go check them!

And my parents suggested that my fiance and I live together for a bit.

I went down for 3 months last year. It was a good choice.

Now I'm just trying to deal with my parents not understanding that I need to get married quickly to apply for the EAD.

I don't really want to stay jobless for that long, since until I get a job, we'll be staying with my fiance's parents.

I like them n all, but I want to live in my own place

They insist that they're there for the signing of the marriage certificate, but if they're going to make me wait more than a month, they can just forget about me trying to accommodate them.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Rhiann

[Malrothien 6]

Rhiann, that's ours, too! $167 for one person, $360 for two. Somethin' like that.

[Arabella 4]

Thanks for the links. I sent him both.

That makes me feel better because I wasn't crazy about the "what if's" for the time he would be here and not be on my policy.

Edited September 16, 2009 by Arabella

[SapphireDreams 71]

There is another indurance, I can't remember off the top of my head... that is much cheaper and meant for immigrating people...

Anyone remember the link? I'll try to do a search later once I'm not at work anymore.

[MapleLeafBaby 1]

Sean's parents can't dictate to you what is the best or most necessary arrangement.

They have no clue what this situation is like and we will all tell you that not-working is very, very hard and can be very isolating.

Do what you guys need to do to be happy.

'..entrance is only granted when one answers the door'... translation.... this has more to do with him allowing their influence into the relationship. Each one of you has the ability to keep your respective families 'at bay' sort of speak... not to offend....but i've seen this a few times with many friends I know (only because in the Greek culture...males are kept close to home till marriage lol....although old skool...Greek mothers can't let go lol)....I hope your gearing up for a very crowded marriage....if Sean keeps opening that door, their influence will always make it's way into ur marital bed....this is just a sign of what's to come...I hope ur up for it....if you are, power to ya.

My husband and I made a vow long ago....that although we try to respect each others families and parents...we draw the line at the door. This marriage is him and I and no one else.

Interference for a large part, aided in the demise of my first marriage....I learned my lesson fast!

I really hope that things get better and Sean finds the strength to place them outside of your marital circle.

Good luck.

Edited September 16, 2009 by poprocks

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I just have two comments - one, your statement about waiting the 90 days. Actually, you can't. When Sean crosses the border he will receive a document called an I-94. It is valid for 90 days. He needs to be married before that document expires - not on the 91st day - and even the 90th day may also cause problems if you run into difficulties. You are leaving yourselves no manuevering room. If you go over even by one day he is no longer eligible to adjust status to permanent resident based upon the K-1. As well, his legal status in the US expires on the same 90th day so he will be out of status until he applies for AOS - to adjust his status to permanent resident. He will need to have the official marriage certificate to submit with the application which can sometimes take several weeks to acquire. If you do not marry within the 90 day period of validity stated on the I-94, you will also have to submit - and pay the fee - for an I-130 which is a petition to request permission for your spouse to adjust status. Don't cut it so close to the 90 days that you back yourself into a corner and risk his legal status in the US. Ideally you should also apply for the AOS before the I-94 expires so he does not go 'out of status'.

Why not compromise on the living together? Don't take the whole 90 days but go for something in between - 45 days or so. That would give you the opportunity to get the paperwork for the AOS done in time to protect his legal status before the I-94 expires, yet still give you time to plan for a wedding.

Second, be careful with travel insurance like TD bank offers as it is for Canadians who are travelling and may present problems for someone who is not able to leave the US to return to Canada for treatment. If anything happens to Sean and he needs medical treatment - especially if it is serious - the travel insurance may require him to return to Canada where the Provincial medical insurance will cover a significant part of the cost. If he doesn't do so, then the insurance would not cover him. As he is entering on a K-1 the one option he does not have is returning to Canada for treatment. If he leaves the US before he has filed for AOS and has the Advance Parole document in hand, it means he has abandoned all of the paperwork you have done up until that date and you would have to start all over again with another K-1 or a spousal visa if you are already married. If there was an emergency and he had to leave before the I-94 expired, he 'may' - at the discretion of the US Consulate in Montreal get the K-1 re-validated but the original 90 day period would still be in effect. If he had to leave to be treated for a medical emergency there is no guarantee he would be able to make the arrangements with the Consulate - if they were willing to re-validate the K-1 at all - in time, and again you would be stuck having to start over from the very beginning with him back in Canada. You would be better off looking for insurance that covers 'new immigrants' to the US, rather than travel insurance for Canadians 'visiting' the US.

[Malrothien 6]

Kathryn, when I inquired about the traveler's insurance - they said there is no problem with it being a permanent move. We would not be required to come back to Canada for treatment.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Ah, it has changed then since I had it before I moved to the States. I had been using TD Canada Trust travel insurance for my visits to the US and I asked about if I could use it to cover me until I married and was covered by my husband's insurance. They said if I did I ran the risk of the insurer requiring me to return to Ontario for treatment if it was more than a straight forward situation - ie, if I had a heart attack or in a car accident, they would cover my expenses in the US until I was stable enough to return to Canada for treatment/surgery or whatever. If it was a simple broken arm, then it would be covered in the US. If there was hospitalization involved, then the objective would be to get me back to Canada as soon as possible rather than complete the process in the US at US rates.

[Malrothien 6]

This was with Co-Operators, so maybe it's different? She just simply said we'd pay the difference from what MSP would cover.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

My parents said the same thing to me time and time again. They really wanted us to live with each other first, simply because that's what they did when they were married. Because of the time constraints of the K-1, and our own personal views on life and marriage, that obviously wasn't possible. In the end we came to a compromise that seemed to please everyone. We were married on the 55th day, allowing us to live together for 6 weeks before the marriage, but still giving us plenty of time to file the AOS paperwork before my I-94 expired. Like Kathryn said, you want to give yourself some room, just in case a strange and unforeseeable problem occurs, maybe with your marriage license or something strange like that. Just keep in mind that although must get married within the I-94's 90 day validity, its not an absolute must you file AOS within those 90 days. It is just advisable considering he will be out of status, possibly causing him problems if he was to be pulled over for a traffic violation, just as an example.

Although life can be boring without an EAD, it can also be great! If your comfortable financially supporting him and your family while he's waiting on the EAD, then great! If I was him, I'd have no problem with that at all

I also lived in the US for over 70 days without any health insurance. Probably wasn't very smart, but thankfully it worked out. If I would have found something for that cheap ($239) I would have went for it. Its a smart idea.

[Arabella 4]

I just have two comments - one, your statement about waiting the 90 days. Actually, you can't. When Sean crosses the border he will receive a document called an I-94. It is valid for 90 days. He needs to be married before that document expires - not on the 91st day - and even the 90th day may also cause problems if you run into difficulties. You are leaving yourselves no manuevering room. If you go over even by one day he is no longer eligible to adjust status to permanent resident based upon the K-1. As well, his legal status in the US expires on the same 90th day so he will be out of status until he applies for AOS - to adjust his status to permanent resident. He will need to have the official marriage certificate to submit with the application which can sometimes take several weeks to acquire. If you do not marry within the 90 day period of validity stated on the I-94, you will also have to submit - and pay the fee - for an I-130 which is a petition to request permission for your spouse to adjust status. Don't cut it so close to the 90 days that you back yourself into a corner and risk his legal status in the US. Ideally you should also apply for the AOS before the I-94 expires so he does not go 'out of status'.

Why not compromise on the living together? Don't take the whole 90 days but go for something in between - 45 days or so. That would give you the opportunity to get the paperwork for the AOS done in time to protect his legal status before the I-94 expires, yet still give you time to plan for a wedding.

Second, be careful with travel insurance like TD bank offers as it is for Canadians who are travelling and may present problems for someone who is not able to leave the US to return to Canada for treatment. If anything happens to Sean and he needs medical treatment - especially if it is serious - the travel insurance may require him to return to Canada where the Provincial medical insurance will cover a significant part of the cost. If he doesn't do so, then the insurance would not cover him. As he is entering on a K-1 the one option he does not have is returning to Canada for treatment. If he leaves the US before he has filed for AOS and has the Advance Parole document in hand, it means he has abandoned all of the paperwork you have done up until that date and you would have to start all over again with another K-1 or a spousal visa if you are already married. If there was an emergency and he had to leave before the I-94 expired, he 'may' - at the discretion of the US Consulate in Montreal get the K-1 re-validated but the original 90 day period would still be in effect. If he had to leave to be treated for a medical emergency there is no guarantee he would be able to make the arrangements with the Consulate - if they were willing to re-validate the K-1 at all - in time, and again you would be stuck having to start over from the very beginning with him back in Canada. You would be better off looking for insurance that covers 'new immigrants' to the US, rather than travel insurance for Canadians 'visiting' the US.

Thanks for the advice. I wouldn't have waited until the 90th or the 91st day (maybe as last as the 85th day hehe), I was just meaning to wait it out rather than get married immediately.

I live in Florida so as far as "problems with a marriage license" you can get married with no waiting period, no blood tests and no witnesses. You can actually apply for the license 60 days ahead of time, but have to use it within 60 days, so I would get it in advance and then have it ready for our beach wedding. I am not worried about the license or the AOS paperwork.

As for the insurance, I'll be sure to find out if the policy will work for him since he won't be going back to Canada.

Thanks for all of the tips. I am sure I'll come up with more questions and problems as it gets closer to him moving here.

Edited September 17, 2009 by Arabella

[Bern. 3]

Good luck, and just do what's best for you, him and your children.

[Carlawarla 1]

At first you mentioned it was his parents idea for you to live together first, and you said it with a sigh. That's exactly what I did when I read your posting, sighed.

After I got my visa, I waited 2 months to move down. I retired from my job, and said my goodbyes and that took almost two months. After getting my visa, and wanting an outdoor wedding, we planned to be married in April and set a date. Even then it was a record cold day for St. Louis then and was as cold as Saskatoon anyway! This was about 55 days after arriving.

This gave us time as well to finalize the small wedding arrangements we had made and for my girlfriend to finish making my wedding dress. We just had a small ceremony and reception, but we wanted that instead of a courthouse wedding. So, using that time to plan was and is a nice idea if you don't want to do a courthouse wedding.

My only concern is their reasoning. Emotionally I'd be angry at them trying to interfere, but then later in your post you mentioned them coming down for the wedding. I'm so happy to hear that!

I also didn't have to worry about working, then or now, so EAD was not an issue for us.

I would only hope that you're not putting off the wedding date to appease his parents and this is truly what you both want now. If so, then all my best wishes!

[Krikit 1,164]

I came across another link for health insurance: eHealth Insurance

Arabella, I'm confused about your statement that says there's no waiting period in Florida. There isn't a waiting period for visitors, but residents have to wait three days. I know we did. Link