Hey everyone,
I've been in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend for 3 years now. We have a 16-month-old baby together, and I visit her in the U.S. every 3-6 months (I'm from the UK). She also has a 5-year-old from a previous relationship. Both kids are receiving benefits like EBT, WIC, and Managed Medicaid. My girlfriend is on disability (stress-related) and has Medicare as her primary insurance and Medicaid as secondary.
We're seriously considering marriage, but I’m worried about how that would affect the benefits she and the kids are currently receiving. I won’t be working in the U.S. right away until all my visa papers are finalized, so I’m concerned about income requirements and how they calculate household income. I'm also a recent grad, and once I get my work situation sorted out, I'll be in a corporate job, but that might take a bit of time.
We’re planning on going for the CR1 visa, but I know she’ll need to sponsor me. Since she’s on disability, I’m pretty sure she won’t meet the income requirements, and I’m not sure how that might affect things like Medicaid, WIC, or food stamps for the kids either.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should we go through a lawyer? If so, how much might that cost? I’ve thought about trying to do the paperwork myself, but I don’t want to mess up her benefits.
Any advice on the best process for us would be really appreciated!
Thanks!
Hey everyone, I've been in a long-distance relationship with my girlfriend for 3 years now. We have a 16-month-old baby together, and I visit her in the U.S. every 3-6 months (I'm from the UK). She also has a 5-year-old from a previous relationship. Both kids are receiving benefits like EBT, WIC, and Managed Medicaid. My girlfriend is on disability (stress-related) and has Medicare as her primary insurance and Medicaid as secondary. We're seriously considering marriage, but I’m worried about how that would affect the benefits she and the kids are currently receiving. I won’t be working in the U.S. right away until all my visa papers are finalized, so I’m concerned about income requirements and how they calculate household income. I'm also a recent grad, and once I get my work situation sorted out, I'll be in a corporate job, but that might take a bit of time. We’re planning on going for the CR1 visa, but I know she’ll need to sponsor me. Since she’s on disability, I’m pretty sure she won’t meet the income requirements, and I’m not sure how that might affect things like Medicaid, WIC, or food stamps for the kids either. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should we go through a lawyer? If so, how much might that cost? I’ve thought about trying to do the paperwork myself, but I don’t want to mess up her benefits. Any advice on the best process for us would be really appreciated! Thanks!