unwed mother

December 18, 2005 10:56 AM

UK social services: Unmarried twenty year old with an unplanned pregnancy, baby due in a few months...

...father is much older, and wants to do the right thing, however he has never held a normal job and lives by his wits, so that support is uncertain. She is a UK citizen in the US on an expired visa. I am guessing its probably best to go ahead and have the baby here so it will get dual citizenship, but then what? Can she get any support from the UK while she is here? What kind of support can she expect if she returns to the UK? Are there time limits on registration, application, or residency?

posted by StickyCarpet to human relations (19 comments total)

I am guessing its probably best to go ahead and have the baby here so it will get dual citizenship, but then what?

May I ask why you think that? Perhaps a US passport might help in several years' time, but having to negotiate the US healthcare system while being out of status seems to me a far greater immediate risk.

The British consulate can, as an absolute last resort, lend her the money to get home, where she'll be entitled to pre-natal care from the NHS, and various other benefits. But if you were wondering whether they'd cough up for medical bills and suchlike while she's in a foreign country without authorisation... um, no.
posted by holgate at 11:10 AM on December 18, 2005

US citizenship isn't worth nearly what it was; EU citizenship carries many more benefits these days.
posted by awesomebrad at 11:34 AM on December 18, 2005

Addressing the mother to be directly:

IANAL - but if you leave the US now, you'll never get back in - having outstayed your visa. Someone correct me/affirm? Is the father a US or UK resident? If the former, is marrying an option? (for all sorts of reasons, not least being residency should you choose that path)

I'd go for the stay until you have the baby option. DC is a great option to have in todays world, with more pros than cons IMHO

This pre-supposes a few things: that you have *some* kind of support that will assist in the short term - friends or family and so on - that you have *some* kind of funding available to you and will not be living off the streets - your health care is going to be as good as the UK if not better - the process might not be though, but at the real end of the day (you know, when it gets dark;) it's going to be your little ones' best interests that should be front and center - would there be more support at home?

I don't envy your situation, it's a tough call - best wishes for the future, and especially for a warm Xmas.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 12:23 PM on December 18, 2005

Lots of info here.

I'm not sure exactly what she'd be entitled to in the UK, but certainly free medical care, some benefits, a place to live if she needs it and access to further education/various work training schemes. So I'd say she'd be much better off in the UK than the US.
posted by speranza at 12:29 PM on December 18, 2005

Father is US citizen. Divorced, and marriage shy.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:44 PM on December 18, 2005

Immediate expenses are not the problem, its mid and long term that needs to be sorted out.
posted by StickyCarpet at 1:46 PM on December 18, 2005

DC is a great option to have in todays world, with more pros than cons IMHO

Although it would mean that the British consulate isn't allowed directly to help the child while it's in the US. And no, overstaying a visa doesn't mean per se that you'll 'never get back in'; we've discussed this before.

That said, if you're out of status and want medical care, you're more likely to be forced into the kind of actions that would warrant sanction, deportation and barring from entry. Not to mention the ongoing rabble-rousing against the 'anchor baby' phenomenon.

Finally, getting married is very much not an option unless she intends to return to the UK and apply for a new visa; otherwise she might as well send a wedding photo to the ICE showing her wearing a 'Deport Me Now' badge.
posted by holgate at 1:47 PM on December 18, 2005

How mid is 'mid', StickyCarpet? What sort of visa is she on?
posted by holgate at 1:48 PM on December 18, 2005

If the father is a US Citizen, it shouldn't be very hard for the child to get dual citizenship without being born here (IANA immigration L), so it would make sense to go back to the UK to have the baby if all you're worried about is dual citizenship for the wee-one.
posted by delmoi at 1:53 PM on December 18, 2005

Does she have a family support network in the UK? If so get her back to the UK, in the short term having people to share the load of looking after a child is more important than dual citizenship.

And as Delmoi said if the father is a US citizen then they'll be able to apply for that anyway when they're older (This page as the US Embassy London website covers that).

Go where the mother has the most help to bring up a child, slightly shoddy free medical care is better than none.
posted by invisible_al at 2:38 PM on December 18, 2005

invisible_al: the child will be elegible for all sorts of government goodies here in the US as well, including free (quality, even) health care untill they turn 19.
posted by delmoi at 3:37 PM on December 18, 2005

Does the mother want to remain in the US longterm? Is her career a big part of this decision? What does she do? This has a huge bearing on her chances of getting a green card for the US. If the father to be lives in the northern US going to Canada in the interim this might be an option. I think Canada has a reciprocal health care agreement with the UK, and she should be able to get a Commonwealth visa/ residency of some sort at which point she can work on re-entering the US legally, which is a bit easier from Canada, especially if you're young and have specific skills. She can probably leave without getting her passport stamped and they might never know she overstayed her visa.
posted by fshgrl at 3:43 PM on December 18, 2005

the child will be elegible for all sorts of government goodies here in the US as well, including free (quality, even) health care untill they turn 19.

Only if the mother is poor.
posted by fshgrl at 3:44 PM on December 18, 2005

Clarification: She is being taken care of now, but how can she best preserve and build her own security independent of the father? And she's twenty years old, she has no career, she's a bright high school graduate, interested in writing and editing.
posted by StickyCarpet at 5:56 PM on December 18, 2005

I'd wager she should stay in the US and get a court order for child support and medical coverage from the father.
posted by acoutu at 7:03 PM on December 18, 2005

how can she best preserve and build her own security independent of the father?

By getting educated and getting a career. For a UK citizen, this possibility is also likely much cheaper for her in the UK.
posted by normy at 10:11 PM on December 18, 2005

I think Canada has a reciprocal health care agreement with the UK

I don't think this is the case
posted by lunkfish at 3:51 AM on December 19, 2005

They certainly don't appear to be listed on the UK Dept of Health list of countries with reciprocal arrangements with the UK. In fact, going further Canada, the USA and Mexico all feature on the list of countries which do not have arrangements.
posted by biffa at 4:14 AM on December 19, 2005

It would help, StickyCarpet, if you could provide a few real details, rather than the vague stuff you're adding. What class of visa was she on? How long has she overstayed her I-94 date? Just how long can she expect to be looked after?

The immigration authorities in the US don't do nuance: they want people to follow the rules; and they want couples to get married within those rules before they have kids. Having the baby in the US does not confer any right for the mother to stay (a child can't sponsor a parent until its 21st birthday). In fact, there's an ongoing campaign to strip so-called 'anchor babies' of their citizenship, although in this case, the father's citizenship counts in the baby's favour.

[deep breath]

Your question's basically been answered: the UK isn't going to help out while she's in the US, and may be limited in the assistance it can directly offer the child. In the UK, there's healthcare, subsidised housing, and various other benefits, depending a little on where she'd be living. There are no real time limits on eligibility.

If she remains in the US, depending on the visa she entered with and the length of time she has overstayed, the steps required to get back into status are likely complex, expensive and take a lot of time; in the meantime, the fact that she's going to be interacting with the healthcare system and local authorities makes it increasingly likely that, however inadvertently, she'll either alert the immigration authorities or have to lie (or withhold the truth) about her status.

So if she's not talking to an immigration lawyer right now, she should be. If her support doesn't extend to paying legal fees, CIS fees, and the cost of healthcare in full (to avoid tough questions), she should probably go home. If she wants long-term security, it won't come from raising a kid while looking over her shoulder for La Migra.
posted by holgate at 5:54 AM on December 19, 2005