QUESTION

How will my future visa application be affected if medicaid pays my twin babies hospital bill?

Asked on Mar 29th, 2012 on Immigration - Georgia
More details to this question:
I am a visitor in the united states and just had my twin babies. they were premies so had to spend sometime at the intensive care unit. I am willing to pay my labor and delivery bills. If medicaid pays the babies bills, is it in any way going to affect any future visa applications by me? The babies medical bills are just way to high for me to pay.
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3 ANSWERS

Immigration Law Attorney serving Orlando, FL at Stoller & Moreno, P.A.
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The answer is that yes, your use of these resources can create problems later on. Keep in mind that officers at the US Consulate are trying to figure out one's intent on visiting the US when applying for a visa. Visitors come here to visit, they do not come to work. They do not come to buy a car, they do not come to rent an apartment and generally they do not come to have children. With that said the fact is that people do come to the US and do have children in an effort to secure US citizenship to their children as a benefit of having been born in the US. Looking at your inquiry it appears that having children here was not necessarily your plan and instead you gave birth a little earlier than expected. One of the issues that consular officers have is trying to determine whether an individual will become a "public charge." This means someone who is likely to need the resources of the federal government to cover the costs of existence. So if you have used the government's safety net to pay for a complicated birth that could come back to hit you in the head in the future if that information were to become known to the consular officer. That is not to say that it will absolutely, positively prevent you from obtaining a visa in the future. But there is the possibility that this may create questions about your intentions of traveling to the US. Consular officers are very concerned that they will make the right decisions when it comes to predicting future behavior. Using the resources that you did could lead an officer to be concerned and you should be aware of this I would highly recommend that you make arrangements to pay the fees associated with the birth. Hospitals and other medical service providers will generally work with you on payment plans and it would be very helpful towards securing a visa in the future if you make attempts to pay the debt incurred back to those who paid the bill. This is indeed a great country that provides to those who need help when it is needed. But a consular officer looks at this and sees someone who took from the system without paying in to the system and that mentality can make it difficult to obtain a visa in the future. Good luck.
Answered on Apr 02nd, 2012 at 12:19 PM

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Immigration and Naturalization Attorney serving San Diego, CA
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You should be fine as the babies are U.S. citizens if they were born here.
Answered on Apr 02nd, 2012 at 10:57 AM

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Immigration Law Attorney serving Atlanta, GA
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Best wishes for your babies. Public assistance for US Citizen children should not create a barrier to future immigration applications by the children's parent(s).
Answered on Apr 02nd, 2012 at 8:56 AM

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