Insurance - The Process of Including my Fiance and Child onto my Insurance Plan

[bksballers 0]

Hi VJ,

I have submitted my I-129F in November and am eagerly awaiting a response. I aim to have my fiance, newborn baby girl and her child from a previous marriage come to live with me by the end of March. Needless to say, there are a million things that I am working on to ensure that when they arrive we will be all setup.

My daughter was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in September. One of the first things that I did was get her an American passport at the consulate. This was a very tiresome given that fact that I am engaged and not married. A paternity test was one of the requirements which cost an arm and a leg. My fiance also has an amazing 6 year-old from a previous marriage who will be coming to the States as well.

When my daugher was born we applied for a social security number. This request was sent to Argentina for processing and we have not heard back yet, so no social just yet (am following up).

This leads me to insurance. I did not report the birth of my child to my insurance company within 60 days of birth as I was out of the country and was dealing with a host of other documentation issues (if you have had a child overseas, you know what I mean).

I currently have Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance through my job. My question is how will I be able to get my fiance, child and her child from a previous marriage onto my insurance plan? I believe that the registration period for changes to the plan has passed. Will I be able to get them on prior to marriage? Will I be able to enroll my fiance's child (I am not the biological father)?

If anyone has any experiences that they can share, I would greatly appreciate it.

I still have a good two months before they arrive and would like to have this resolved beforehand.

Thanks,

Brad

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

If you miss the window of a life event you usually have to wait until the next open enrollment period. Some will allow a late mid year enrollment but not retroactive to the event. Check with your employer. Your fiance is most likely not allowed. You have to have a legal relationship to add someone. As soon as you are married you can add her and her child and it will actually create a new life event that will allow you to add your child that you missed the window for.

[Bobby+Umit 161]

You probably will have to bounce this against your HR - but usually, you have a time frame to add family members (like after a marriage) to your insurance plan. (My own plan allows this, but will not allow for "girl friends" or "Fiance(e)s" from joining.

But - talk to your HR - they know the plan requirements that vary from company to company.