Adding Spouse to Health Insurance Prior to Visa Approval

[mugatu300 8]

2 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

you should check out the deductable in your policy for child birth 

It is expensive in the US to have a baby

and understand CBP may not let a pregnant woman who has a spouse  visa petition  in the computer cross into US

Canadian insurance may be a better idea

 

You can add her to policy with life changing event (30 or 60 depending on policy)

marriage is one,  birth of baby is another and moving to US would be another

 

Permanent residents in Canada qualify for provincial/territorial health insurance, but they should apply as soon as possible after arriving, and there can be a waiting period.

Can you explain why they would not let her cross into the US? She has a Visitor's Visa so shouldn't she be allowed to cross anyways...

[mugatu300 8]

22 hours ago, Boiler said:

You would need to contact your Health Insurer and ask. Or HR. It would be down to the plan rules.

 

Multiple long B visits are not recommended, each entry is at the discretion of the CBP

 

Do you mind elaborating on why the multiple long B visits are not recommended? If she resigns from her job and plans to move to the US after CR1 process is complete, I don't understand why she wouldn't be able to spend 6 months at a time if we are married, I can financially support her, and she has US health insurance.

 

[mugatu300 8]

2 hours ago, mam521 said:

If your partner chooses to travel later in pregnancy and looks like she's partaking in birth tourism, she may be denied entry at the border.  Just something to be aware of.  

 

Also, if you haven't completed the immigration process and she reaches the end of her visa stay, are you prepared to stay with the baby while she goes back to Canada to prevent overstay and jeopardize your petition?  The baby won't be able to just head to Canada with Mom, but will require the appropriate paperwork to do so.  

Do you think they would deny because of birth tourism even tho they know the father is an American citizen so the baby can have US citizenship even if its born in Canada? 

[Boiler 45,445]

3 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

 

Do you mind elaborating on why the multiple long B visits are not recommended? If she resigns from her job and plans to move to the US after CR1 process is complete, I don't understand why she wouldn't be able to spend 6 months at a time if we are married, I can financially support her, and she has US health insurance.

 

B is a Tourism Visa, not a living in the US visa.

[Boiler 45,445]

2 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Do you think they would deny because of birth tourism even tho they know the father is an American citizen so the baby can have US citizenship even if its born in Canada? 

Technically Birth Tourism is not illegal, it does seem fround upon.

 

How would they know who the father is, not that I think it is relevant.

[mam521 2,058]

5 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Do you think they would deny because of birth tourism even tho they know the father is an American citizen so the baby can have US citizenship even if its born in Canada? 

It's up to the adjudicating officer, but what compelling reason do they have to allow her in?  She's entering on a tourist visa, very pregnant, irrespective of who the father is.  Many people attempt to skip immigration lines this way.  

 

You also haven't addressed whether you'd be willing to parent solo if your partner's 6mo stay ended and she had to return to Canada.  The baby would require paperwork since it's not entitled to enter Canada unless it's a tourist.  

 

If the baby was born in Canada, it would get automatic Canadian citizenship and you'd file a CRBA to get it's US citizenship.  

[JeanneAdil 6,489]

17 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

Can you explain why they would not let her cross into the US? She has a Visitor's Visa so shouldn't she be allowed to cross anyways...

if there is spouse petition in the system (or K1)  CBP can turn a person away as it may look like the immigrant has intent to stay in US and Adjust status

all crossings are up to CBP

[Chancy 6,241]

35 minutes ago, mugatu300 said:

She has a Visitor's Visa so shouldn't she be allowed to cross anyways...

 

From https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html --

 

 

[mugatu300 8]

35 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

if there is spouse petition in the system (or K1)  CBP can turn a person away as it may look like the immigrant has intent to stay in US and Adjust status

all crossings are up to CBP

In your opinion, do you think this happens frequently or would likely happen in our case?

 

I know by all your responses (which I do appreciate), that you probably feel having the child in Canada is the better option. There are some definite private reasons why we prefer to have the baby at the hospital in western New York. And yes I would be willing to parent solo if need be. But if you truly feel that having the baby in the states is not a good idea or not feasible, then of course we could still have it in Canada.

 

Also, health insurance company confirmed I can add her post marriage so that covers that question. 

[Boiler 45,445]

Generally people making normal tourist visits do not have a problem entering.

 

The more you push the envelope the higher the risk they start taking notice.

[mugatu300 8]

55 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Generally people making normal tourist visits do not have a problem entering.

 

The more you push the envelope the higher the risk they start taking notice.

Do you think it would be better to pursue the K1 visa route then? We are only engaged at this point in time. At least she can stay in US after marriage under that scenario and we can have child without issue. 

[Chancy 6,241]

1 hour ago, mugatu300 said:

Do you think it would be better to pursue the K1 visa route then? We are only engaged at this point in time. At least she can stay in US after marriage under that scenario and we can have child without issue. 

 

K1 + marriage is not enough to be able to legally stay and live in the US.  Your spouse-to-be will need to apply for a green card too (ie. adjust status to LPR).  So might as well marry soon and pursue a spouse visa, instead of K1 visa.  After US entry with a spouse visa, your spouse will immediately gain LPR status and can legally reside in the US long-term.

 

Edited February 14, 2023 by Chancy
clarification

[mugatu300 8]

45 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

K1 + marriage is not enough to be able to legally stay and live in the US.  Your spouse-to-be will need to apply for a green card too (ie. adjust status to LPR).  So might as well marry soon and pursue a spouse visa, instead of K1 visa.  After US entry with a spouse visa, your spouse will immediately gain LPR status and can legally reside in the US long-term.

 

Out of curiosity, if you get married after K1 visa and apply for adjustment of status, do you get to stay in the US until you receive green card?

 

Probably not relevant for my situation but just curious. In my mind I thought K1 application processing time was much much faster than CR1 so I thought that may be a workaround but once I checked the times I saw they are actually relatively similar so I don't really gain anything. 

[Chancy 6,241]

1 minute ago, mugatu300 said:

if you get married after K1 visa and apply for adjustment of status, do you get to stay in the US until you receive green card?

 

Yes -- K1 visa holder can stay in the US while pending adjustment of status.

 

You're right that there's no longer any significant difference in the K1 and CR1 estimated timeframes, at least for Canada.  So no real benefit to pursuing K1 over CR1, unless they have kids aged 18 to 20 years old.