IR-1 entry and health insurance

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

I'm getting married in either December or March, then filing for IR-1.

This leaves me with one question re: health insurance.

My partner's got health insurance through her job and it's really good and really affordable. I won't be signing up for it immediately upon getting married because I have OHIP in Ontario and frankly it doesn't make sense to pay for health care in the US that I can't use because I won't be there.

But the opt-in period for her healthcare is the beginning of the school year (her job is at a school). And we don't think I'll probably get to move down at the right time for that. Does a spouse moving from another country often count as a 'life changing event' like marriage or child-birth that would allow me to qualify? Or will I likely need to have health insurance on my own in the interim between arriving and the next opt-in period?

I know that details may vary by plan, but I am wondering how this worked for other IR-1/CR-1 beneficiaries. I've done a lot of reading and haven't seen a lot on healthcare that wasn't specifically K1, which obviously you get married shortly after arriving and there's your opt-in.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I'm getting married in either December or March, then filing for IR-1.

This leaves me with one question re: health insurance.

My partner's got health insurance through her job and it's really good and really affordable. I won't be signing up for it immediately upon getting married because I have OHIP in Ontario and frankly it doesn't make sense to pay for health care in the US that I can't use because I won't be there.

But the opt-in period for her healthcare is the beginning of the school year (her job is at a school). And we don't think I'll probably get to move down at the right time for that. Does a spouse moving from another country often count as a 'life changing event' like marriage or child-birth that would allow me to qualify? Or will I likely need to have health insurance on my own in the interim between arriving and the next opt-in period?

I know that details may vary by plan, but I am wondering how this worked for other IR-1/CR-1 beneficiaries. I've done a lot of reading and haven't seen a lot on healthcare that wasn't specifically K1, which obviously you get married shortly after arriving and there's your opt-in.

No you won't be obtaining the IR-1 (10 yr greencard) as that is for couples married 2 yrs or more...You will be obtaining the CR-1 (2 year greencard--married less than 2 yrs) Same initial process though.

[Flames9_RN 358]

It is best she contact her health provider and see if they can do anything as each company has their own policies

[Sukie 1,465]

Not A Tailor - you are still in Canada, right?

IF you are living in Canada until you get your green card...

If you marry in December 2013 and file immediately, best guess says you might get a green card anywhere from July through December 2014. If you marry in March 2014 and file immediately, you might get a green card anywhere between October 2014 through March 2015.

You really need to have your partner check her plan to see if a spouse becoming a Legal Permanent Resident is a "life event". I put my partner on my insurance as soon as we married, as her Australian health insurance isn't good outside of Australia, so she either had to buy travel insurance each time she came to the US (expensive), or go on my plan. A lot depends on how much you plan to be inside the States. A few months of double coverage is better than no coverage at all.

Sukie

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Generally immigration is a "life event," yes. Contact the insurance company.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Yeah, in Canada still. And I keep getting this IR-1 and CR-1 thing muddled. They're put together everywhere. Sorry. She'll contact her healthcare provider for sure, but I was just curious in a general sense. There's so much planning, so many questions to ask and so many bits of information I want to be sure are in place when I move down. You should see our google doc of answered and unanswered questions, checklists for things that will need to be bought when I get down there, that can be bought prior to me getting down there, etc. We're planners by nature and spreadsheets are sexy.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

If you are working your "loss" of work is a life event for most insurances

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

Oh, and I'm probably not going to be in the US very much between filing and getting down there because most of our financial resources will be tied up in working towards a better apartment for us and our pets, replacing stuff I'll need when I get down there, refurnishing (she just lost everything in a fire), maintaining two separate households in the interim, etc. And my cat needs to have surgery almost as soon as he gets down there (he has an inner ear issue which is manageable at present with medication, but the surgery costs nearly twice as much at my vet as at the vet who I'll be seeing when I get down there, so I want to have that done fairly soon after we get down there).