# Bringing ailing British mother to the united states permanently?



## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

I am currently a U.S. Permanent Resident, in the process of applying for my U.S. Citizenship. A circumstance has come up, where my 87 year old mother, (who is a British Citizen, and presently here with me in the U.S.) needs to come and live with us due to health issues. She came to the US on the 27th of October. Because of the 90 day limit on her visit here, she is due to return January the 29th. I am hoping to have her become a permanent resident of the U.S., because she is unable to take care of herself and I would really not like to have her put into a nursing home. I've looked through the steps required to sponsor her to become a permanent resident, and while it would be no problem, it is obviously required that I am a U.S. Citizen. So basically, what I'm trying to accomplish is to have her be able to stay here beyond her 90 day limit, until I can gain citizenship. Then I would be able to apply for her to become a permanent resident. Hopefully there is a way to have her be able to stay due to medical needs. While I will have to travel back with her eventually, it would be much more convenient to be able to do it on our own time, rather than schedule around the restrictions of Visas.

Thank you for the time and assistance!


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

she must leave at the end of the visa waiver 
it cannot be extended 

when you become a US citizen and you file for her
she may not pass the medical, be prepared for that possibility 

they may even require you provide extensive medical insurance 
which may be difficult to find


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

WVP cannot be extended.
You can sponsor your mother once you have your US citizenship. AoS is an option but there is no guarantee it will be granted.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Not wishing to sound hard hearted, but presume you have thought of the costs of health care for your mother.

She is not going to be eligible for Medicare for at least 5 years or Medicaid so YOU are going to have to provide for her medical needs. A nursing home is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.

In the UK she will get some nursing care and medical treatment on the NHS - this is not going to be the case in the US.

She cannot stay beyond the VWP end date.


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## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

twostep said:


> WVP cannot be extended.
> You can sponsor your mother once you have your US citizenship. AoS is an option but there is no guarantee it will be granted.


Thanks. I've been quoted 5 to 8 months for my citizenship goes through and she is here with us now but is required to go back late Jan. She has no assistance at home and it would be difficult for me to take the best part of a year of work and return to the UK with her


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## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

Thanks that is the reality of it but she is in reasonably good health and she can not live alone in the UK and would not cope well in a nursing home in the UK


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

florida blue said:


> Thanks. I've been quoted 5 to 8 months for my citizenship goes through and she is here with us now but is required to go back late Jan. She has no assistance at home and it would be difficult for me to take the best part of a year of work and return to the UK with her


If she stays then she will be in breach of her VWP. That will not go down well in any future applications you might make for her permanent move to the US.

If she were *so ill* that she could not take a flight home that might be reason for her to extend her stay for a short while. However you would need a medical report to substantiate this.

Is there no-one in the UK who could help you arrange for in-home care, social services or a move to an assisted living place?


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## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

Thanks If the worst came to the worst she could go in a nursing home in the UK was just trying to legally find away to keep her hear until my citizenship comes through


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

you could go and see an Aila Lawyer 
if you want legal advice 
AILA's Immigration Lawyer Search


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## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

Thanks Davis 1
That will probably be my next course of action


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Just to give you some idea of time scales here, if you can obtain your U.S. citizenship in 6 months (let's suppose), and if you _immediately_ start the process to get your mother a visa (through direct consular filing in the United Kingdom), it'll probably take another 6 months, perhaps more, to obtain her visa, assuming it's approved. The best case schedule here is probably 12 months, but longer is certainly possible, even likely. In other words, you'll still need a 12+ month "answer" for her in the United Kingdom, and with the distinct possibility she will never emigrate to the United States.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") means that she will be able to enroll in private medical insurance in the United States through the healthcare exchanges with no preexisting condition restrictions. Federal government subsidies to purchase insurance may be available depending on her level of income and whether or not she's considered part of your household. Regardless, insurance rates will be much lower than what a U.S. insurance carrier would ordinarily charge an 88 year old in the hypothetical alternate universe, assuming she were even insurable. You can go to HealthCare.gov and run a simulation to shop for medical insurance to see what the premiums and coverages would be for an 88 year old female, though bear in mind premiums will change in the next 12+ months.

As others have pointed out, long-term care is not part of regular medical insurance, so please be aware of those very significant out-of-pocket costs. It will be difficult to impossible to obtain U.S. long-term care insurance for her, especially at anything resembling a reasonable rate. Long-term care is most definitely not cheap in the United States. For the record, you will not be able to "abandon" her financially to Medicaid. As her immigration sponsor you will be fully responsible for any/all costs the U.S. state and federal governments incur to care for her, excluding (as I understand it) the PPACA federal medical insurance subsidies she may qualify for.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

florida blue said:


> Thanks. I've been quoted 5 to 8 months for my citizenship goes through and she is here with us now but is required to go back late Jan. She has no assistance at home and it would be difficult for me to take the best part of a year of work and return to the UK with her


Sorry but there is no "quote" for the naturalization process. From processing back logs to the slightest hick up in your documentation to snow days - you name it. 

You are facing what a lot of immigrant spouses deal with which is elderly family members. There is no extension for her VWP, you cannot enroll her in Obamacare until she has the appropriate legal status, she is not eligible for services provided by US government agencies. 

Were she to receive a Green Card are you prepared to deal with the financial side and time required to handle her needs? From medication co payments, hospice services, transportation to access to facilities in your home to vehicles which accommodate her needs?

We were looking into assisted living facilities with tiered services from independent to bed ridden. Buy in for 1 bedroom/living room/kitchenette starts at 150k in our area plus monthly charges around 2k for independent.


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

I assume from your user ID that you live in Florida. One slightly "crazy" idea is that she could relocate to one of France's overseas departments in the Caribbean. (I assume she's a citizen of the United Kingdom, i.e. she possesses EU citizenship.) Then she'd be a shorter airline flight away from Florida, particularly Miami -- though it's a mixed bag. There's once per week service from Miami to Guadeloupe with a scheduled gate to gate time of 3 hours 35 minutes. There's twice per week service to Martinique, 3 hours 45 minutes gate to gate. For comparison, there's daily nonstop service from Miami to London Heathrow, 9 hours scheduled gate to gate.

The likely _major_ downside is that she'd be away from other family, friends, and familiar places and situations. But it's a legally viable option, tomorrow if she wishes and assuming she can meet the minor requirements involved in an intra-EU relocation.

Note that, as she would be a resident of France, you would not file an immigration petition for her via direct consular filing (if you still choose that option). You would instead file directly to USCIS in the United States. She'd also have an "interesting" new challenge getting to a U.S. embassy for her visa, I would imagine. I think her new venue would be the U.S. Embassy in Barbados.

As I said, maybe crazy.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BBCWatcher said:


> I assume from your user ID that you live in Florida. One slightly "crazy" idea is that she could relocate to one of France's overseas departments in the Caribbean. (I assume she's a citizen of the United Kingdom, i.e. she possesses EU citizenship.) Then she'd be a shorter airline flight away from Florida, particularly Miami -- though it's a mixed bag. There's once per week service from Miami to Guadeloupe with a scheduled gate to gate time of 3 hours 35 minutes. There's twice per week service to Martinique, 3 hours 45 minutes gate to gate. For comparison, there's daily nonstop service from Miami to London Heathrow, 9 hours scheduled gate to gate.
> 
> The likely _major_ downside is that she'd be away from other family, friends, and familiar places and situations. But it's a legally viable option, tomorrow if she wishes and assuming she can meet the minor requirements involved in an intra-EU relocation.
> 
> ...


And which full service nursing home would you recommend on what insurance?


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Twostep, France has nursing homes, and the original poster has not stated his level of income and wealth -- both of which, it's quite possible, are considerable.

I think it's a far better idea to try to help people achieve the goals they seek, if possible, rather than to completely dismiss them. So let's try to be helpful, OK? Medical and long-term care issues have already been amply highlighted.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

BBCWatcher said:


> Twostep, France has nursing homes, and the original poster has not stated his level of income and wealth -- both of which, it's quite possible, are considerable.
> 
> I think it's a far better idea to try to help people achieve the goals they seek, if possible, rather than to completely dismiss them. So let's try to be helpful, OK? Medical and long-term care issues have already been amply highlighted.


See post #5


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Parking her in one of the French overseas territories isn't really an answer here. While she could take advantage of the "transfer" of her British health coverage, the French national coverage is not 100% like in Britain. Most folks have a "top up" to pay the part of health expenses not covered by the national plan. And the national plan does not cover nursing home care for the long-term - usually just "rehab" after a major surgery or illness.

I can also advise against shipping an elderly relative to a "foreign" country where she doesn't speak or understand the language. What's she going to do all day? Television and radio are mostly in French. Newspapers and magazines are all in French (unless she can hit the airport newsstands for whatever they have in English). We had a case here in our local "newcomers' club" that really proved the impracticality of "keeping granny out of a nursing home" in a foreign country. The lady in question wound up back home in a "home" where she was far happier than she had been in France for the few months they were trying to sort things out for her.
Cheers,
Bev


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## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Yes, all that's stipulated (already), but let's try to offer all possible solutions to our fellow forum member so that he can make his own informed decision. One of France's North American outposts is a possible option (that's all) if being roughly 5 hours and 30 minutes closer is what he and she want to do.

I try mightily to empathize, and I think we all need to do more of that. For many families it's very difficult being apart, especially when there may not be too many years left for one of those family members. I get it.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

No one here is being particularly "unsympathetic" - I guess you had to be here to see the case where the little old Jewish Grandmother from Chicago was trying to cope in, what for her was a totally foreign environment in France. Everyone was doing their best to be kind and hospitable, but the poor dear was hopelessly bewildered and not having a terribly good time of it.

There are tradeoffs that have to be considered - being somewhat "closer" in distance vs. an elderly family member in a strange environment most of the time. Plus, the older you get, the more difficult it is to adjust to big changes like this.

I've had folks here insist that it's "best" for family to take in elderly family without the slightest regard for the cultural dislocation that an international move can be. I wound up having to do my best for my Dad over the Internet with twice yearly visits - and I would do it again that way without hesitation. 
Cheers,
Bev


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

OP did not hear what she wanted which to me sounded like confirmation to keep mother in the US now and adjust status after her own naturalization. I can only suggest that she gets her naturalization done and use the processing time to research every option and mother's needs and wants. As this will have an impact on everybody financially and lifestyle wise everyone involved should be part of planning and preparation. Unfortunately there is no elder visa but as UK national and parent the hoops are relatively few.

Most expats go through this. I keep bringing it up but oftentimes run into the argument that naturalization is nothing but a money making scheme, it does not have an impact on day to day life. Especially holders of the grandfathered permanent Green Cards seem to be comfortable with their legal status until situations with family members occur or the spouse passes.

My naturalization went through in about three months and everything was set. We moved unexpectedly from Alabama to Texas, bought a house with a mother in law suite and extra garage. Mother still visits our friends in Alabama but will not even check things out in Texas.


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## florida blue (Dec 16, 2014)

Just wanted to say thanks for all the honest responses and great information I've been given. I really appreciate the time you all have put into helping me. Thanks again!


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