Giving Birth in USA before recieving my Greencard, possible problems?

[NikLR 13,230]

You should probably talk to your doctor.

Pretty sure flying at 6-7.5 months pregnant isn't advisable.

it's fine unless it's a high risk pregnancy and with a midwife in mind and a homebirth, it's likely not.

Most women can fly up to 34 weeks (aka almost 9 months) and the only restriction is generally by the airline.

[oreos 0]

My back up plan is to go to Canada now, and reactivate my OHIP card, this way the Health care would cover the birth in Ontario. The problem with this plan means the kids and I would be separated from my husband for quite some time before we can be reunited which is obviously something we don't want. We will have to take out of our savings to be able to finance a home birth (with a midwife) in both georgia and in Canada. so far with my past two kids and this pregnancy as well I have had (thank God) healthy pregnancies and healthy births which makes me an ideal candidate for home births. I understand there may be complications in which we will dig out of our savings for any unforseen hospital expenditures. My main concern is not the birth in itself as I am quite confident that with God's will things go smoothly, rather it is the potential damage a birth in the USA will have to my immigration.

Also wanted to thank everyone for all the useful information!

[NikLR 13,230]

The birth won't have any damage on your immigration. It simply may have you denied entry until after the birth. Denied entry doesn't affect a visa, only a ban will.

FYI:

Eligibility

Ontario residents are eligible for provincially funded health coverage (OHIP). Generally, to be eligible for Ontario health coverage you must :

• be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or among one of the newcomer to Canada groups who are eligible for OHIP as set out in Ontario’s Health Insurance Act ; and
• be physically present in Ontario for 153 days in any 12-month period; and
• be physically present in Ontario for at least 153 days of the first 183 days immediately after establishing residency in the province; and
• make your primary place of residence in Ontario.

OHIP coverage normally becomes effective three months after the date you establish residency in Ontario. The ministry strongly encourages new and returning residents to purchase private health insurance in case you become ill during the OHIP waiting period.

[oreos 0]

Thank you NLR, this information is very beneficial to me specifically the first part. I'll update everyone once we decide which route to go. My major problem with giving birth in Ontario right now is I don't have a place to stay and leaving now means taking the kids and myself and settling down in Canada for the summer while hubby is away, although this is a possibility it does not seem particularly appealing at the moment. The thought of settling down in a new place alone during the final stages of pregnancy is scary.

The other possibility of moving to atlanta with hubby after June 8th, and delivering the baby seems much more comfortable to me because hopefully by then my parents home in canada will be available for me to reside in while I await my interview call.

hubby cannot leave his current work until June 8th and he has to report to his new job by Aug 18. The baby is due on Aug 19th, and we need to coordinate around these dates.

[milimelo 4,513]

What's your PD (priority date) for I-130?

[oreos 0]

November 2010

[Boiler 45,756]

That is odd, 6 month delay currently.

[milimelo 4,513]

November 2010

Did you get your immigrant visa yet? That PD has been current for a while now, could've established residency long time ago.

[Hypnos 6,577]

The biggest issue I see is that your husband is an LPR who isn't living in the US.

[PallasAthena 101]

Hello All,

My name is Oreos and I am new to these forums.

My husband is a US permanant resident. My 2 kids and I are Canadian citizens. I am currently 6 months pregnant with baby no 3. We have been living abroad (KSA) for the past two years (with hubs applying for a multiple entry visa in order to keep his green card alive.) We will be leaving for America, indefinitly as my husband has found work in Atlanta. The application of our kids and myself for our US permanant residency is currently pending and past the first stage. Hubby has sponsered us as his dependents.

Due to unforseen contraints I am unable to give birth in Canada or in KSA, and I was wondering if giving birth in Atlanta (without insurance, a homebirth with the assitance of a midwife) would create any problems for us with the immigration officers? Would they assume I had the intent to reside in USA before recieving my residency because of the birth and hence destroy all my chances of getting the greencard? and how do I explain to them that I had no other option but to give birth in USA and that my intent is/was to return to Canada as soon as babys birth in order to fullfill my requirements to obtain the greencard?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Oreos

If your husband has a full time job with benefits, he can extend the benefits to you so that you could have your child and costs would be covered.

I think that in this case, it would be more advisable to consult with an immigration attorney about these types of questions and what your options are. (Look around, you can get a free consultation from many of them.)

Some people here are giving strange advice and making it sound like you're committing a terrible crime or something.

Ah, I didn't read every single post and I see that you have a backup plan. That's good! Good luck!

[Sweetcheeksss 91]

Seems like almost all of the "big name" airlines follow the same rule :

" International/Over Water Travel

For international travel or any flights over the water, travel is not advised within 30 days of the due date, unless you are examined by an obstetrician within 48 hours of outbound departure and certified in writing as medically stable for flight. Travel within 10 days of the due date for International travel must have clearance from our Special Assistance Coordinators. Travel within 7 days after delivery requires clearance as well"

[oreos 0]

That is odd, 6 month delay currently.

Yeah I see how that comes off as odd... basically what had happened was at the time we had our immigration pending I was also sponsoring hubby for his canadian immigration. His canadian PR arrived much sooner than our American papers did and the Canadian government doesn't pose as many restrictions as the Americans. They state that as long as he is married to a Canadian citizen spouse and is living abroad with her then his residency is valid. Due to those circumstances and the fact that he had at the time got a great job offer from ksa we had decided at the time to accept the offer and move abroad for a couple years. Because of this my American paperwork (and the kids paperwork) had been put aside for some time. It is just now, due to another job offer from Atlanta that we have decided to try get serious about the American green card.

As for husband being a LPR and not residing in the USA:

This is the primary reason for his multiple reentry visa. Using this and entering USA each time in the past couple years within his 6 month time frame has kept his green card alive and active. Another reason why it shouldn't pose too much of a problem with him being outside of the country are the special circumstances of his particular work, he was still doing his phD at the time and used his time abroad to do some research which would have been impossible to collect in the states. We are now once again returning to the same university so that he can continue on with his research except the only thing changing this time his status as a "student."

It seems many people here are wary of heavily pregnant women flying. Given the choice I would definitely prefer to stay at home and relax and not get involved with moving, immigration and flying, but circumstances are rather tricky right now, and it is absolutely vital for the children and I to receive our immigration ASAP so that we can enter USA legally and live as a family together. This is especially more so as I am a stay at mom and my husband is our family's only source of income. So flying isn't an "option" at the moment it is something that needs to get done and as I've said before I am deemed "healthy" to do so by my current ob/gyn.

[Boiler 45,756]

So your visa number is current, not quite sure what the issue is, have you kept everything live?

[oreos 0]

^^ Yes we have

[oreos 0]

The issue was my fear that in case of a possible birth in Atlanta, the birth messing up my immigration. It seems most people are saying it's fine to do so as long as the kids and I fly back to Canada within our 6 month time frame.