Can you apply for a B2 if you have a K1 pending?

[SalishSea 17,915]

3 hours ago, JojoandTomas said:

Hi guys, 

 

All in the title. My fiancé and I were thinking about the tourist visa because he has been having trouble getting medical attention due to overcrowding and general pandemic pandemonium in the DominicanRepublic.

 

He needs to have surgery on his leg and its proven difficult.  I started looking into the B2 and it does say if you have a medical reason you can apply. He can get plenty of medical evidence.

 

My question is can you apply while you are awaiting processing of a K1 visa?

 

Will having a K1 visa hurt your chances of approval?

 

He does not have many ties to the country. He has a son and no property under his name except his car. Bank account with not much in it. Medical bills have been pretty crazy. 

 

Thanks in advance!

How will he pay for surgery in the US?

[SalishSea 17,915]

3 hours ago, JojoandTomas said:

We are currently working on getting him another insurance plan so he can have a private insurance as well. He has government issued medical insurance. 

If we are able to secure that, would that help at all?

 

Also, if he does go and get denied, is there any negative impact on the K1?

Overseas government-issued medical insurance will not cover a surgery in the US.  Nor will any type of private travel insurance.  If he does not have the cash on hand to pay his medical bills in full, he will not get a visa for that purpose, let alone be scheduled for a surgery in a hospital.

 

A B-2 denial will not impact a K-1.

[SalishSea 17,915]

3 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

The medical visa, itself, requires a great deal of documentation from medical professionals in both countries with specific requirements. 

And no legit US surgeon who performs medically necessary procedures is going to approve a patient for surgery via Zoom or whatever. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 hours ago, JojoandTomas said:

That first one is a tough question. It isn't as if they aren't capable or have the equipment to treat him. They are just turning anyone away regardless who isn't covid related or on the brink of death. Surgeries aren't prioritized while covid is really starting to ramp up there. 

 

I don't currently have a specialist who will see him here but we have been researching a few in my area to present this case to.

 

Lastly, we are looking into international insurance so that he can be covered if he travels. And any other expenses we would both cover

 

It sounds like we are going to have to talk this one out a little more while we explore our options. Its tough because you don't want to see your partner struggling and want to help them so bad

the first one is the least of your worries, if that's the case they should have no problem finding a doctor to say the surgery cannot currently be performed. 
 

I would be extremely surprised to see any insurer take you on specifically for a planned surgery. Normal travel insurance definitely won’t cover it.  Traveling for medical purposes generally requires you to have strong home country private insurance that will pay for procedures overseas if you can’t get them at home, or enough cash to cover it.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

Unlikely to get a b2.

 

I have a lot of family in the DR, 4 of whom have been in to see the doctor or to the hospital in the past 4 weeks with no problems. Has he tried Santo Domingo for doctors? I've had some medical treatments in the DR, and every procedure I have had there has been satisfactory.

 

Paying for private care withput insurance would be far less out of pocket (and easier) than the probable-denial for the B2 plus flights, lodging and US medical care. It seems strange that you're having problems finding medical care, unless the surgery needs is really really specialized or he doesn't have current insurance. 

 

Feel free to pm me if you need some contacts for doctors near the San Juan de la Maguana or Santo Domingo.

[Crazy Cat 41,974]

8 hours ago, JojoandTomas said:

Lastly, we are looking into international insurance so that he can be covered if he travels. And any other expenses we would both cover

That type of insurance, even if covering an expense, would just reimburse him for medical expenses.  He would still have to have the cash to pay for everything out of pocket first . Believe me, private pay for a surgery will be extremely expensive.  Good luck.

[Crazy Cat 41,974]

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

I would be extremely surprised to see any insurer take you on specifically for a planned surgery.

Exactly correct.  They are not going to knowingly take a loss.

[Orangesapples 1,954]

If you're looking into travel insurance, they usually only cover emergencies, not planned procedures. It's possible that some insurance covers planned procedures but I doubt it. Keep this in mind. 

[JojoandTomas 213]

1 minute ago, Orangesapples said:

If you're looking into travel insurance, they usually only cover emergencies, not planned procedures. It's possible that some insurance covers planned procedures but I doubt it. Keep this in mind. 

I hadn't thought of that but makes total sense. Thank you, will keep this in mind as well

[Crazy Cat 41,974]

1 minute ago, Orangesapples said:

It's possible that some insurance covers planned procedures but I doubt it. Keep this in mind. 

My thoughts as well.......What would be the benefit to the insurance carrier?  After all, most insurance companies are "for profit".

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

31 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

My thoughts as well.......What would be the benefit to the insurance carrier?  After all, most insurance companies are "for profit".

It’s also not the point of insurance even for those insurers that are not for profit. It is prejudicial to other policyholders for someone to knowingly come in to pay premiums for a month or two that will be way less than the payout and cancel after the procedure. The pool of premiums is what (mostly) pays for procedures for those in need. So other policyholders will be the ones who pay for this planned procedure. If they just allow people to do what OP plans, premiums for everyone have to rise to pay for them!

 

And in any case if he really needs to travel for the medical procedure rather than to visit OP, why the US? Medical procedures are so expensive here that it will almost certainly be cheaper overall to fly further to another country to get it done ...or just go to Mexico as so many Americans do for cheaper procedures. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[Boiler 45,646]

Also recommend Mexico, have a friend who has just done this.

 

US especially as it appears OP has no means to fund the treatment would be near the bottom of my list.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Boiler

[mytruelove18 608]

17 hours ago, JojoandTomas said:

Hi guys, 

 

All in the title. My fiancé and I were thinking about the tourist visa because he has been having trouble getting medical attention due to overcrowding and general pandemic pandemonium in the DominicanRepublic.

 

He needs to have surgery on his leg and its proven difficult.  I started looking into the B2 and it does say if you have a medical reason you can apply. He can get plenty of medical evidence.

 

My question is can you apply while you are awaiting processing of a K1 visa?

 

Will having a K1 visa hurt your chances of approval?

 

He does not have many ties to the country. He has a son and no property under his name except his car. Bank account with not much in it. Medical bills have been pretty crazy. 

 

Thanks in advance!

He can apply but for sure he will be denied , as you say he does not have ties to DR.

and also embassy in DR is close for interview, they only are working on visas that do not require an appoitmen .

[Juliet57 304]

7 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Also recommend Mexico, have a friend who has just done this.

 

US especially as it appears OP has no means to fund the treatment would be near the bottom of my list.

I agree with this. I just had surgery in Mexico, stayed 5 days in a private covid-free hospital and with my work health insurance (copay, etc) I only had to pay around 1.5 K USD. My husband wants us to keep paying it when I move to the US (Around 1k per year) so that we are covered in both countries. 

 

The total upfront cost would've been 8k USD. Might be a cheaper option than having a procedure in the US. 

[JojoandTomas 213]

19 minutes ago, Juliet57 said:

I agree with this. I just had surgery in Mexico, stayed 5 days in a private covid-free hospital and with my work health insurance (copay, etc) I only had to pay around 1.5 K USD. My husband wants us to keep paying it when I move to the US (Around 1k per year) so that we are covered in both countries. 

 

The total upfront cost would've been 8k USD. Might be a cheaper option than having a procedure in the US. 

We have just learned today the upfront cost is about 6K USD in the DR through a private clinic.

 

We are looking into enrolling into a private health insurance plan as his government insurance doesn't help much. And our plan is very similar to yours, keep paying the insurance so there is coverage here and there just in case. 

 

@SusieQQQ never said we were canceling insurance after surgery, we are keeping it long term as stated above. 

 

@Juliet57  Thats good to hear! Do you currently reside in Mexico? Or did you travel there for your procedure?