Okay, so the break-down is this:
- I'm a U.S. citizen
- My husband is a Canadian Citizen
- My husband and I got civilly married October 2008
- Had our wedding ceremony July 2009
- We were going to be going to California for a while because my Father was diagnosed with cancer (all is better now though) and were thinking about staying in California
- Husband was allowed to stay in California only 1 month because the U.S. didn't think he had enough ties.
- He went back to Canada without me
- I came to visit him in Canada November 26th 2009
- We were planning on filing all my paper work and sending everything in finially
- Found out I was pregnant in January, which will delay me not being able to do the medical exam
- My husband wants to have the baby in Canada
Okay -- those are the facts. I am really stressed right now, not sure what to do. I am currently 2+ months pregnant and am stressing out because I still haven't gotten any prenatal care. If we were to submit my application with everything besides the medical what will happen? Will it just be an unnecessary delay?
Is there also any way I could legally have the baby here? I know I have to extend my visit status asap. But could I get medical help? I spoke with Toronto medical today and they said I have to ask immigration if I can have the baby here. I don't want to do anything back-handed or end up doing something that could jeopardize my application.
ANY advise would be so helpful! Thank you!
Private insurance can be purchased in Ontario. But since you are already pregnant, I am not sure if you can obtain coverage for the costs of the pregnancy.
You can also pay directly for medical care in Ontario . . . though every doctor I ever dealt with prior to becoming a PR required payment in cash and upfront . . . when I went in for surgery, the hospital accepted a credit card but also wanted a payment upfront for all anticipated costs plus some in case of complications. Medical care is, of course, expensive, but I found it to be less expensive than in the States and so I had the care done here (I was uninsured at the time).
You may have to do some research and make queries to find a doctor and hospital that will accept a FN, non-resident patient. (Where I am the doctors actually seemed pleased to take me, since it was in effect extra cash; the hospitals I have dealt with simply had a prescribed procedure for dealing with non-resident patients and it was no big deal, so long as I was paying upfront).
I don't know the answer to your primary question about the medical exam and pregnancy . . . hopefully someone else will provide a more direct answer to that. However, you can at least telephone the office of a DMP (designated medical provider I think this means; doctors who can do the immigration medical exam anyway) and ask about taking the medical exam without having the x-ray done . . . you can also call the CIC information line.
Subject to what advice someone more familiar with this particular issue has to offer, personally I think you do need to get the application submitted forthwith -- subject to the medical exam requirement (which, again, I hope someone else has a better answer for you).
If you husband is a Canadian citizen, it does not matter where the baby is born, it will be both a U.S. citizen (because you are) and a Canadian citizen (because he is).
Hi
dpenabill Wrote:Private insurance can be purchased in Ontario. But since you are already pregnant, I am not sure if you can obtain coverage for the costs of the pregnancy.
You can also pay directly for medical care in Ontario . . . though every doctor I ever dealt with prior to becoming a PR required payment in cash and upfront . . . when I went in for surgery, the hospital accepted a credit card but also wanted a payment upfront for all anticipated costs plus some in case of complications. Medical care is, of course, expensive, but I found it to be less expensive than in the States and so I had the care done here (I was uninsured at the time).
You may have to do some research and make queries to find a doctor and hospital that will accept a FN, non-resident patient. (Where I am the doctors actually seemed pleased to take me, since it was in effect extra cash; the hospitals I have dealt with simply had a prescribed procedure for dealing with non-resident patients and it was no big deal, so long as I was paying upfront).
I don't know the answer to your primary question about the medical exam and pregnancy . . . hopefully someone else will provide a more direct answer to that. However, you can at least telephone the office of a DMP (designated medical provider I think this means; doctors who can do the immigration medical exam anyway) and ask about taking the medical exam without having the x-ray done . . . you can also call the CIC information line.
Subject to what advice someone more familiar with this particular issue has to offer, personally I think you do need to get the application submitted forthwith -- subject to the medical exam requirement (which, again, I hope someone else has a better answer for you).
If you husband is a Canadian citizen, it does not matter where the baby is born, it will be both a U.S. citizen (because you are) and a Canadian citizen (because he is).
1. The x-ray needs to be done to complete the medical. As to x-rays during pregnancy, the OP needs to discuss with a Dr. Some say no during the pregnancy, others not in the first trimester, but with a shield, it can be done later in the pregnancy.
2. Without a medical exam, the application will probably be returned as incomplete.
PMM
Thank you so much for your advice/help/answers. From the research I've done, it costs something around $5,000 to have the baby. But I'm just going to call some hospitals and see what they say.
I don't want my application to be returned, so I guess the only thing I can do is wait to do my medical.
My only question now is when I apply for an extension of visitor status, what should I stay? Would it be granted to me? And how long should I request to stay for?
Thank you so much again! I really appreciate it!
Actually, the application will not be returned as incomplete, so you should still submit it (and proof of that with your extension application so that you much improve your chances of getting the extension).
You can still have the rest of the medical done at a DMP, tell them you're pregnant so that they won't order the xray, and they will still send the results of what they DO do to the RMC so it's ready when Buffalo wants to review the file. Buffalo will not, however, finalize the file until you get the xray done - so, if your baby doctor gives you some indication of when s/he will allow an xray, you can include that info in a cover letter with your PR application.
It's important that you apply via an outland application because that gives you the ability to get your pre-natal care and have the baby in the States if it turns out that Canada is going to be too expensive an option. Your husband needs to know that the baby will still be a Canadian/US dual citizen - regardless of where s/he is born - so you getting proper care is more important than which country the child is born in. You're still able to apply for PR via the outland process (and even have your medical done in Canada) even though you're staying with him in Canada. But you need to understand that whether you apply for PR via the inland or the outland route, leaving Canada means you might not be allowed to re-enter (you should never try to re-enter alone, especially married to a Canadian and pregnant with his child once you start showing) - and that's why outland is so important. If you apply inland and you aren't readmitted after a trip back to the States, for example, for pre-natal care, your inland ap fails. Outland continues to process without interruption no matter where you are.
Now, healthcare is Provincial - so without knowing which province you're in, it's difficult to give you an accurate idea of what types of benefits might be available to you for pre-natal care. I had one friend who was able to get some benefits in Quebec for pregnancy while she was with her Canadian husband awaiting the birth of their child while also awaiting finalization of her PR application. And in Ontario, there are some benefits available, paid for by an OHIP grant, for FN spouses of Canadian citizens who have an application in process and are awaiting PR status. I'm in Ontario and have recommended this option a couple of times for pre-natal, but never heard back whether it was actually an option given them or not.
Maybe you could let us know where you are and someone in your same province might have a better idea of how things work there.
RobsLuv thank you so much for the addition information.
I feel so much more relieved...I felt a bit stuck for a moment. I will go ahead with the medical then, and submit & pay for the application asap. I hope to get all this done before the end of the month!
I am currently in Ontario. I called the Toronto health ministry but they said that I would have to ask immigration if I could have the baby here....do I really need to do that? If you know of any numbers I could call to get more information, that would be great!
Thanks again!!
Go ahead and get the medical exam done! I'm in the same situation as you...I'm pregnant and living in Ontario right now with my husband who is Canadian. My doctor did not allow me to have the Xray, but he called Ottawa and they waived it until after delivery (and they also said it would not affect the processing of my visa). My application is processing in Los Angeles. I'd also recommend calling your husband's MP (member of parliament), who can make a call to Buffalo or wherever your visa is processing on your behalf. Not many people know this (we know this because someone we know used to work for an MP and was in charge of doing this kind of stuff in his office), but if you have an extenuating circumstance such as being pregnant and needing medical coverage, an MP calling the visa office gets your application moved up in the pile (meaning, they'll go pull yours out of the stack and look at it faster). But I don't think they'll do it for just anyone...there has to be a good reason a person might need their visa approved quicker in order for them to make the call like that. But pregnancy is definitely one of those circumstances, since there is no coverage for those of us who are waiting and it's one of the only things you can't buy coverage for once you're already pregnant.
I could go to Detroit to have the baby, but because medicaid has a residency requirement for the state of Michigan (you have to live in the state for so long), I don't qualify, and so for me going to the States to have the baby will be more expensive since everything seems to be pricier over there. Plus, the benefit of having the baby in Canada (at least it's this way in Ontario) is that the baby will get coverage as soon as he/she is born. So if my baby is born premature and needs to go to the NICU, we won't have to pay anything for her care because she'll get OHIP right away. If I were to go to the States without medicaid, we'd have to pay everything for me and the baby out of pocket.
I haven't been able to get any coverage for pregnancy, so we're paying out of pocket...it's pretty expensive but we've been saving money and our families are helping us a little bit. I might be able to have some of it reimbursed depending on when I get OHIP (after my application is approved). From what I've heard there is a certain window of time from the day you get your card that OHIP will reimburse costs, and have heard of other women who didn't have OHIP at the time of birth who later got the costs covered.
The hospital's been really nice too...they're giving me the out of province rate instead of the uninsured rate (which is a lot lower). I didn't have trouble finding an OB...I pay her in cash, and she seems to be happy. Just call around. My husband had a family doctor before we got married so she made a referral for me.
Hope some of that was helpful!