Health Insurance K1 VISA

[Adze 0]

Hello! I just got issued my visa and i'm flying to America very soon, my questions is, is Health Insurance a requirement for my adjustment of status? My fiance does not have health insurance as part of her job. Will it be an issue, She lives in Texas.

[Boiler 45,451]

Not for AoS more an issue for life 

[Adze 0]

Just now, Boiler said:

Not for AoS more an issue for life 

Luckily i shouldnt require health insurance at this time as i take no medication and plan on not injuring myself haha. Do you think it's a good idea to get one of those temporary insurance plans, Also at the interview if i do not have health insurance or a joint health insurance can i get denied?

[Boiler 45,451]

Plans do not always work out

 

The temporary plans I looked at are pretty #######

[powerpuff 6,686]

*** Topic moved from K1 forum to AOS K1 forum as the question is about health insurance impact on AOS ***
 

3 minutes ago, Adze said:

Also at the interview if i do not have health insurance or a joint health insurance can i get denied?

No, it’s not grounds for denial but joint health insurance is one of the evidences of bona fide marriage. I suppose if you have other strong evidence this could be “excused”.

So if the interview wait is over a year long, you’re planning to be uninsured for that whole time?? That’s concerning. 
 

4 minutes ago, Adze said:

plan on not injuring myself haha.

I don’t think anyone plans on getting injured but it does happen, hence it’s called an accident. Medical bills bankrupt people in the US, I don’t think you should approach this so lightly.

 

When I came to the US on a K1, my husband didn’t have insurance through a job but we got a proper full health insurance through NY Marketplace and he got some tax credits to lower our monthly premium. 

[yuna628 9,671]

OP: No it won't affect AOS, but it is good evidence of marriage, and the question is do you think that not having health insurance is ultimately wise?

 

You may be young, seemingly healthy, and take no medications but having health insurance in the US is one of the most important things we pay for. For a part of my young 'healthy' life I also had no health insurance. I couldn't afford it, but a normal illness all the sudden turned into something serious and I ended up in the hospital. After that there was thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay, and being hounded and threatened by the hospital when I did not pay them fast enough. After that experience, I found a way to pay for it and I certainly would never have dreamed of not having my husband who was also healthy and took no medications on my plan. And that came in handy, because a year or so of him living here he ended up in the ER in terrible pain and needed a scan. A couple hours, a scan, and medication would have cost us thousands of dollars without insurance - instead all we paid was a copay. A few years after that, my gallbladder said "nope I'm done with life" without warning. I was very sick - a long hospital stay, surgery with complications, medications, anesthesia, follow-ups would have cost roughly $50,000. Our insurance covered most everything, and we only owed a few copays. No one ever plans on getting sick or injured, unfortunately medical costs in the US can break a person. Temporary insurances are junk coverage, they are not adequate for any sort of protection. Open enrollment is currently available in the US, I'd encourage you and your fiancé start looking into something for the future.  

[leviiathan 206]

No, and though its good evidence for proving a bona fide marriage, there are other ways. We had used a lease and a joint bank account.

 

I didn't get insurance either; for the first year living here. I enrolled today though. It's important to have for emergencies but I understand it isn't always affordable (but nor would the hospital bills be in the event of the unexpected!)

 

Good luck!

[SalishSea 17,807]

9 hours ago, Adze said:

Luckily i shouldnt require health insurance at this time as i take no medication and plan on not injuring myself haha. Do you think it's a good idea to get one of those temporary insurance plans, Also at the interview if i do not have health insurance or a joint health insurance can i get denied?

What will you do if you get into an accident, or have appendicitis?   
 

That is a very short-sighted way to think.   You should read about the US health care system.   By not having insurance, you could be in for a world of hurt with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt.

[TexasRafael 134]

Health insurance is not mandatory for anyone in the US, however it is the smart thing to do to have health insurance. 

[Marieke H 2,496]

While I agree with everyone else that the safest option is to try to get some kind of insurance, I know from experience that this isn't as easy as it sounds. Not having insurance will not necessarily affect your AOS application, as long as you have other evidence that you can include.

 

When I moved here on my K-1 visa, my husband had not had health insurance for many years. His employer did not offer health insurance, he could not afford plans through the Marketplace, but his income was too high to qualify for Medicaid (he was in the "gap population": income too high for Medicaid, too low to be able to afford other plans). I moved here, and there were no affordable insurance options for me either, especially because we were living on just his income for months. I was very homebound because I was just waiting for my EAD and couldn't do much, but it was still a scary situation. As soon as I was getting close to receiving my EAD I started looking for jobs and specifically looked for employers providing health insurance. I was able to get a job offer even before I received my EAD, they were willing to wait until my EAD would be approved, and I started working the day after I had received my EAD. That job came with health insurance for both of us.

 

We had my AOS interview a few months after I had started working. We had initially filed my AOS without much evidence, but were able to bring the insurance policy and statements of our joint account to our interview and were approved.

 

Long story short, yes you should have health insurance if at all possible. And in some states it can be very challenging or simply impossible to find affordable health insurance. Having health insurance is not a requirement for AOS, but it may help as evidence.