9 weeks. Moving to USA. Need help! (cost of giving birth)

[iyaamby]

Hi mamas,

I'm from a foreign country and would like to give birth in the USA so my child becomes US citizen. I already have tourist visa to USA and have relatives in NYC and Chicago where I can stay while waiting til the day comes. I'm on my first trimester I believe. I'm 22 years old, 9wks pregnant. Haven't consulted a doctor yet but will definitely consult one during the weekend.

My question is, I do not have insurance and I'm planning to have natural birth in either of the cities I stated above, how much would it cost me paying out of pocket? or do you know any place where I can give birth with cheap cost?

Your replies will very much appreciated. This is my first time and haven't told my parents yet either.

Thanks,
Iya

 

[hunni12]

Im not pregnant just lurking. Not sure of out of pocket costs but if you moved here for your pregnancywe do have ppregnancy medicaid which basically covers the finances throughout your pregnancy

 

[Genevevex]

Are you certain that having a tourist Visa would make the baby a US Citizen when it was born here? I'm not sure of that... as they have certain laws about the types of Visa's given... I'd do more research. I believe that under a tourist Visa, even if your child is born here, it doesn't become a citizen, because you are VISITING. Whereas if you have the type of Visa that lets you LIVE here, then it would apply. But I could be very wrong. Like I said, I would do a lot of research.

Also keep in mind, I have seen it where the parents get deported, even though their children stay here because they are citizens and the parents are not. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

As for costs... I dunno. I've seen a basic delivery go anywhere from $3000 to $5000... but less if you aren't doing it in a hospital. You'd have to check the providers in the area you will be in.

 

[DolceBella]

Why would you like the baby to be a US citizen?

 

[Lil bean]

if you were sponsored by someone to come here...they might become liable for your medical costs which without insurance would be $30,000 - $50,000. If you did not get sponsored or have financial support and have no income...you might get away with paying nothing I am not 100% sure though..but that means that people who are actually working and paying taxes in US will be paying for you to get check ups and delivery your baby in US so that your baby can have a US citizenship.

 

[Lil bean]

Also on Tourist visa...you cannot stay here longer than 6 months at a time I believe. So if they do find out it could cause issues at least if not now then definitely in future they would give you trouble with getting a Tourist visa.

 

[_jellybean_]

Not sure, but I would think you could get into trouble for doing this? Does anyone know?

 

[NandO1]

Im not from the US but i dare say if it was that easy for you to get citizenship for your child everyone would be doing it. I'm in the uk and i think that in ireland and possibly here it depends on the mothers nationality at the time of birth as to whether they become automatic citizens. I would also think that they may think twice about letting you in if you are, say, 5 months pregnant with a 6 month holiday visa.

 

[cookette]

if you were sponsored by someone to come here...they might become liable for your medical costs which without insurance would be $30,000 - $50,000. If you did not get sponsored or have financial support and have no income...you might get away with paying nothing I am not 100% sure though..but that means that people who are actually working and paying taxes in US will be paying for you to get check ups and delivery your baby in US so that your baby can have a US citizenship.

This.

 

[chelsealynnb]

As far as I know, (and I don't KNOW but this is what I understand), if you come here on a tourist visa and give birth, your child will have USA citizenship. BUT - you won't. It is against immigration law to come to the USA under false pretenses. So you would be breaking US law if you told them you were coming here for any other reason than to have your baby. If your child remains here as a US citizen, the child cannot petition the parent(s) to become US citizens until the child is 21 years old under 'family reunification'.

Regarding the health care costs: I only know about Michigan for sure, and if a michigan resident applied for state assistance (Medicaid) they must provide a valid US social security number on their application.
No hospital emergency room will turn you away, but you will probably be stuck with a $40,000+ bill and you won't be able to receive prenatal care unless you pay out of pocket, unless there is some form of insurance you can take out in your country that will cover you over here.

 

[Angelbaby_01]

My husband is in the aviation industry and just the other day we joked that we want our baby to be born in the US instead. (Just joking!!! ) but serious matters now, they won't let you in if you are so far pregnant for that long and will need a return ticket as well. Yes, your child will be considered a US citizen, but that won't apply to you at all. Another thing to consider is that you are not allowed to fly at 33 weeks I think Internationally.

If someone sponsored your birth then great! But expecting US tax payers to pay for the birth would be a bit odd.

I would say you need to think this through.

Excuse typos - on my phone mixed with 1st Tri insomnia

 

[Angelbaby_01]

As far as I know, (and I don't KNOW but this is what I understand), if you come here on a tourist visa and give birth, your child will have USA citizenship. BUT - you won't. It is against immigration law to come to the USA under false pretenses. So you would be breaking US law if you told them you were coming here for any other reason than to have your baby. If your child remains here as a US citizen, the child cannot petition the parent(s) to become US citizens until the child is 21 years old under 'family reunification'.

Regarding the health care costs: I only know about Michigan for sure, and if a michigan resident applied for state assistance (Medicaid) they must provide a valid US social security number on their application.
No hospital emergency room will turn you away, but you will probably be stuck with a $40,000+ bill and you won't be able to receive prenatal care unless you pay out of pocket, unless there is some form of insurance you can take out in your country that will cover you over here.

Exactly this and as far as I know this is the same for most countries.

 

[messica]

I'm curious how the new federal law mandating everyone carry some kind of insurance would apply to visiting internationals....does anyone know? Are they exempt, or if here long enough would have to purchase some kind of coverage just like anyone else?


I flippin LOOOOOOVE my country, so it's not at all difficult for me to understand why someone would want their child to have citizenship here, but at the same time clarifying your motives will definitely help sort out the overall expense and what it could mean for you and your baby long term. Is it because of what the child will have rights to in life with that citizenship? (don't fault you there, and there would be nothing inherently wrong with that as long as you plan to seek citizenship legally to stay here as well - that won't be a given just because your peanut is born here but maybe that's not what you're after?). Is it because you think it will automatically grant you longer or permanent stay here? Is it that you think our healthcare is better than what is available in your home country? Or because you think you can get your healthcare cheaper and then head back home?

Clarification will help to determine if what you're wanting to do is not only ethical but even legal at all, and what sort of resources may be available to you depending on what you're after

 

[Lau88]

Op where are you actually from?

 

[Angelbaby_01]

That is what I want to know as well. Where are you from?

We have health insurance and one of the benefits is that they will evac us out of a country should something happen to us and get us to our own hospitals. That alone tells me it's best to be in your own country by law.

Anyone thinking of having a baby in another country on purpose tells me there should be some agenda behind it which I don't understand since you won't get citizenship yourself so how will it benefit your child from birth to around 18?

 

[Surprised26]

Well it's possible... No racism intended but that's one of the big struggles with the Mexican border, woman coming over and having babies to grant them a "right" to be here. If a baby is born on US soil, it is a US Citizen. However, as the others have said, if you're caught doing this I'm sure there will be repercussions. Medicaid, as I understand, requires citizenship, so you'll have to foot the bill which runs well over $30,000 uninsured. Most countries that have health care provided also have travel insurance available, I know that's the case in Canada anyway. I'm not sure what the motives are, but I'm not sure that this is a good idea, if anything it risks you losing your child and to me there's nothing worth that..

 

[messica]

I think it's pretty unfair to judge the OP unless she clarifies her circumstances. Especially because she never said she was trying to come here to knock off her labor costs onto the backs of tax payers. She specifically asked how much it was going to cost. Why would she do that if her intent all along was to stiff her delivering hospital with the bill?

There are lots of good and ethical reasons a woman may want her child to have US citizenship. Until she comes back and lets us in on her what's really going on, I'm not sure it's right to drive her away by automatically assuming the worst about her.


There are lots of countries where women and children don't have the basic and fundamental rights most of us here on this board are entitled to. If this is a case where she wants a better or safer life for her child than they would have being a natural born citizen of her home country I say more power to her. As long as she goes about it legally she may not be doing anything different than the rest of us do with our own - which is trying to give them the very best.

 

[Angelbaby_01]

Messica, no one is judging. But in my country we have to fight for what we want and sadly we have loads of people from other countries that are coming in and taking up most of our benefits that WE pay for. So it's also fair of us to protect our countries and our rights?

 

[messica]

Messica, no one is judging. But in my country we have to fight for what we want and sadly we have and loads of people from other countries are coming in taking up most of our benefits that WE pay for. So it's also fair of us to protect our countries and our rights?

You say you aren't judging, but at the same time you're projecting your feelings about what others have done directly onto the OP. She never once said she had any intent to come into your country and take up any sort of benefits YOU pay for, or contribute to any sort of social injustices others have created.

Protect your country and your rights - but it's hardly necessary to take such a defensive (and even offensive from others here) stance towards someone who never once said her intent was to infringe on or take advantage of either.

 

[Surprised26]

I don't see anyone judging except you sweetie, we're all trying to answer her question to the best of our ability. I certainly would like to know if something I was planning may have negative consequences, most definitely if those consequences could have an impact on my child. True, we don't know the situation, that's why everyone is giving feedback for different scenarios. We're trying to help and attacking someone's opinion isn't very helpful.