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Immigration Options for a Parent Who Has Cancer

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  • 05-06-2016, 04:25 PM
    NSCLC-TVC
    Immigration Options for a Parent Who Has Cancer
    I am US citizen and have been one for the last 8 years. I have been in the US for the last 19 years and my parents have visited me during this time 6 times always on a multiple entry visit visa. Every time they have gone back before the permitted duration of stay has expired (i.e. the maximum allowed time stamped at the port of entry). During all these visits over 19 years they have had no interest in immigrating to the US.

    However, two months back my mother got diagnosed with lung cancer. For now she is doing pretty good with treatment. But doctors have told me that things will begin to get worse as time goes by. My parents are 80 & 71 years old and I am the only one who can give them the care they need while my mother goes through the treatment fighting cancer. As family we believe it time for them to come over and settle in the US with me. As part of that process I want to sponsor my parents for a Green Card.

    Since time is not on my side because of her cancer stage and because she needs constant help with her daily activities I need to be able to stay with her immediately. Based on that I was considering bring them over to the US on their existing visitor visa and filing for a Green Card while they are here. But I have been told not to file I-130 & I485 until at least 3 months have lapsed after they enter the county. The rational being visitors visa is a single intent non-immigrant visa and filing before 3 months may be interpreted as having intentions of immigrating at the time of entry. The reason I want to expedite and file for her Green Card is to get the documentation required for getting her health insurance through the marketplace (Obamacare). Certainly my intension is to be able to take care of my mother in this time of need and hence do not have the luxury of 9 – 12 months that is required for consular processing. With the above-described situation in mind I would like advise of the following two questions.

    1. Is it advisable to file for I-130 & I485 immediately or may be even a few weeks (but less than 3 months) after they arrive in the US? If I am accompany by application outlining what I have described on this forum and require consideration based on the fact that I am a US citizen who does not have any other viable option to take care of my sick & aging mother, will her application get denied. Will the USCIS not consider this as a valid reason to grant some kind of an exception/waiver and altogether deny her immigration privileges forever?

    2. Further I have seen there is a provision to request expedited process of Green Card. There is one category in that list of situations under which expedited processing can be requested called “Emergency” (the example on the USCIS site indicated health emergency). In my case it is a case of my mother who probably has a fairly limited life span left and during that period needs a caregiver to be with her for most of the day. My question here is -would it make sense for me to submit an application for I-130 & I-485 with weeks of their arrival in the US and write a letter/petition to expedite processing on the grounds that I would like to obtain health insurance cover for my mother so that she can get the required treatment which is time critical based on her illness and condition.

    I can always support my application with copies of the many times they have come and gone from the US (showing no intention on immigrating) and also biopsy reports and medical reports to establish her illness.

    Thanks in advance for you help & response.
  • 05-07-2016, 05:02 AM
    T53147
    Re: Green Card for Mother with Lung Cancer
    Entry on a visitor's visa with the intent to file for a green card is against the law. You have announced on a public forum that this is the intent. There only option is consular processing. That should take about a year. Also, a green card applicant cannot become a public charge. Neither is going to be able to argue that this will not be the case based on his age and her health so both your parents are going to be viewed as in this category and should be denied.

    If they happen to come, emergency Medicaid will not help you out since cancer is chronic - and in her case, pre-existing - and not an emergency. If it were an emergency, she could enter on a visitors visa for medical care as long as the care could be paid for by other that the US government - and no US insurance carrier will take on this losing proposition.

    End-of-life with lung cancer (how do I know, both of my parents died of it) is likely going to require hospitalization or nursing home care. In my area, a relatively cheap one, it was costing me $12,000 per month over 10 years ago for the last few months my mother was alive; before that it was running about $7500 and this did not cover meds or hospice or physician care. Nursing home custodial care is not covered by health insurance. My father was in the ICU with very good health insurance on top of Medicare 17 years ago; it was not cheap. The copays and deductibles were far less than today. Many drugs are not covered by the health insurance plans. Are you prepared to pay hundreds of dollars for a single month of one drug?

    You may not even be able to find a physician to take her on as a patient especially if you use a federal subsidy for their policies. Doctors in my area have enough people with unsubsidized insurance and Medicare; many have closed their practices to new patients. Your mother would be way down on the list even with her condition; there are many US citizens in line with chronic conditions waiting for an opening; those on Medicare who have worked for 40 or more years in the US even have trouble getting into a new physician when theirs retires. You expect someone who has never contributed to the US to get to go to the front of the line; you are kidding yourself. People die while waiting in the line. Even those of us who have been continuously covered by health insurance for nearly 70 years and have unsubsidized policies have to wait months for first appointments primary cares (7 months) and with high demand specialists (5 months).

    Since believe you will need to be at home with them, you have no reason why you cannot go to their home to provide the care she needs since you do not have to worry about employment. If you now claim that you need to be in the US to work, it is obvious that you are unavailable to care for her 24/7. My MIL has no medical issues other than confusion due to advanced age (97); a sitter for her so my SIL could work cost $22/hour; this was also not an insurance covered expense. State provided services in my area are being cut and first priority is for severely disabled children. Since they are cutting disabled adults who have been covered for many years, your mother would have no chance of breaking into that line.

    During the period before any coverage, you/they would be liable for medical expenses. Travel insurance would not cover pre-existing conditions so lying about her illness while asking to expedite because of it would likely be detected. No doctor or hospital is going to provide high cost care for free; many will ask for payment up front. If you are lucky, they might give you a discount for cash.

    I am already paying nearly 40% of my after tax income for health insurance and health care for my immediate family (and am doing without multiple preferred prescriptions - one cost $750 per month and it was just for diabetes - because of the cost, and we have a very good drug policy with a well known company). Plans like yours simply drive up the costs even more. Others are in even worse shape than we are; you will not find a sympathetic ear for your situation. My US born 38 yo child deserves care more than your mother; he has multiple disabling and potentially life threatening conditions and cannot afford to pay for his health insurance or medications so we do. Realistically, who deserves care more - him or your parents? Your 8 years as a US citizen is nothing; members of our family settled in America as early as the 1600s and as late as 1917. Some of the people most desperate for health care services are the Native Americans.

    While I can sympathize with your situation, you needed a reality check; I have just provided it. Since she is getting good care at her home, that is where she should stay because what she will get here is not going to be as good if she is able to get any at all. As a US citizen, you can live elsewhere without repercussions for as long as you need to.
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