Bringing over my parents from UK

[daveslaguna 0]

Hello everyone, ive been in Georgia, USA for 15 years now.......H1B initially then a Green Card.....ive just applied for my Citizenship......im looking to bring my parents over to live with us from the UK .......any pitfalls to be wary of and any timeline stories would be greatly received  

[Unlockable 7,315]

Only pitfall that are commonly mentioned when bringing parents is the cost of healthcare. Especially coming from a country where healthcare is relatively free to coming to the US where people have been quoted hundreds to thousands of dollars a month for medical insurance.

[JFH 12,191]

18 minutes ago, daveslaguna said:

Hello everyone, ive been in Georgia, USA for 15 years now.......H1B initially then a Green Card.....ive just applied for my Citizenship......im looking to bring my parents over to live with us from the UK .......any pitfalls to be wary of and any timeline stories would be greatly received  

Once you are a USC the process is actually very simple and straightforward. Takes about 14 months or so. I assume your parents don’t have anything in their background that would make them ineligible. 

 

As mentioned, the biggest obstacle is overcoming the public charge matter in particular regarding healthcare. Are they of working age? Why anyone would leave a state-funded healthcare system in the advanced years of their life for the country with the highest drug and doctor costs in the world is a mystery. 

[daveslaguna 0]

They are both in their early 70's........i will have them on my work insurance, which fortunately is pretty awesome......they have no one in the uk so coming to be with us is a good option 

[JFH 12,191]

1 minute ago, daveslaguna said:

They are both in their early 70's........i will have them on my work insurance, which fortunately is pretty awesome......they have no one in the uk so coming to be with us is a good option 

Sounds good. Make sure they have evidence that they will be added to your employer health plan within 30 days of arrival, it’s now a requirement for IR interviews.

[daveslaguna 0]

good to know JFH thank you

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

30 minutes ago, JFH said:

Why anyone would leave a state-funded healthcare system in the advanced years of their life for the country with the highest drug and doctor costs in the world is a mystery. 

It depends on each person's circumstance. For example, my mom is in her mid 60s and healthy. However, we had a very serious discussion and the one thing we were worried about was that say if she gets sick for an extended period of time, no one will be able to be there to take care of her. She has only two children, I live in the US and my brother lives in Canada. One of us will have go back ( or both and alternate), but however we would do it, it would jeopardize our careers, jobs, ... we're both married and have children, it's not easy. The easier way was for her to come to live with one of us, and that's what we did.  

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Unusual for parents to be eligible on employer plan.  Usually children get dropped at age 26.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

1 hour ago, daveslaguna said:

They are both in their early 70's........i will have them on my work insurance, which fortunately is pretty awesome......they have no one in the uk so coming to be with us is a good option 

Make sure that is allowed and get it in writing from your provider and employer along with the cost. Make sure someone of Medicare age can be covered by a regular family policy. Of course two years from now when they immigrate, it could change. 

Edited January 2, 2020 by Wuozopo

[geowrian 22,338]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

Sounds good. Make sure they have evidence that they will be added to your employer health plan within 30 days of arrival, it’s now a requirement for IR interviews.

That provision is currently on hold (no way to know what will happen by then, though): http://travel.state.gov/healthcare

Also, it does not cover IR-5. The only requirement there is being able to show that the costs would be covered (as has always been part of the public charge criteria).

[SalishSea 18,123]

On 1/2/2020 at 6:23 AM, Nitas_man said:

Unusual for parents to be eligible on employer plan.  Usually children get dropped at age 26.

Exactly.  I have never heard of this anyplace but on VJ, in 20 years as a healthcare professional.