Urgent-need weddings, part two: health insurance and immigration

October 5, 9:34 PMWedding and Marriage ExaminerElizabeth Oakes

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   You don't want to dot your i's with a Federal pen.
  photo by Andrew Bardwell/Creative Commons license

Urgent-need Weddings, Part One: illness and hospitalization

In Part One on urgent-need weddings, I wrote about Ellen and Thierry (not their real names) and how serious illness can make it difficult or impossible for couples to marry just when they need the legal protections of marriage most.

One fortunate note in their story: they have health coverage, and access to treatment at an excellent local hospital.  Unfortunately, this is not the case for an increasing number of Americans.

Our national economic disaster has forced many couples to marry urgently due to job loss--and thus, loss of health insurance--and decreases in health benefits.  It's pathetic that in one of the wealthiest nations in the world couples are being compelled to marry for medical coverage, but that's today's reality. 

Usually marrying for health insurance is not a life-or-death situation, but if you have ongoing health concerns that might affect whether you qualify, a lapse in coverage could be financially devastating.  It's important to find out how quickly you can be added to a spouse's insurance policy, whether your new plan will be as comprehensive as your previous one, and whether there are waiting periods before you are covered for pre-existing conditions.  Yes, this is a lot of homework; however, you can take a moment while you're on hold with the insurance provider to contact your congressperson online just to let him or her know that it rather blows that you have to get married to afford decent healthcare.

Another cause for urgent weddings is looming immigration deadlines for non-citizen sweethearts. Seems to be a common human trait to wait until just before the due date to complete a designated task, and couples with  K-1 fiance visas don't seem to be any different--they frequently run right up to the last day of the 90-day limit.  This can be a problem when your nearby marriage authority can't provide a marriage certificate right away--here in Los Angeles County, it can take up to ten weeks to obtain legal proof of your marriage, a sizable wait.  Though it's tempting to plan a big blow-out wedding to celebrate your love's arrival in your homeland, it might be prudent to run off to your local County Clerk and get hitched right away to get the paperwork rolling, then do your pretty-pretty ceremony later (no one needs to know, or if they find out they will certainly understand.) 

The Feds don't care that you always wanted an elaborate wedding that will take time to plan, or that you want to wait until school's out or vacation arrives so all your friends and family can be there.  Immigration officials want to see that piece of certified paper NOW, and if you don't produce it in a timely way you may end up crying in your wedding gown.  When you're dealing with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) they're essentially in charge of your wedding plans--and it's best to comply, if you want to live in the same country as your spouse anytime soon.

If you're under the green-card gun, make sure that wherever it is you choose to get married you can get your documents quickly (if not same day.)  Bear in mind that you must obtain a CERTIFIED marriage document, not a soft copy or a souvenir certificate--ICE will only accepted a duly certified and recorded marriage certificate, nothing else.  Do this research BEFORE you arrange your wedding site, since once you're married in a particular jurisdiction you may get stuck waiting for your documents longer than planned, gulp.

I wish I didn't have to constantly stress the importance of paying attention to the legalities of getting married....stuff like jurisdictions and deadlines and making sure your divorce is final before you try to get another marriage license....except I constantly get desperate emails from people who are hung up on these seemingly minor issues and who now regret their negligence.  Unfortunately, letting these details slide until it's too late seems to be a chronic problem, and there are no quick fixes for the unpleasant consequences. 

So take a lesson from those who didn't plan ahead: if you're not careful and prompt, you may end up without health coverage for your most painful conditions, or living life without your deported fiance.  Sure, we'd all rather think about dresses and partying and cake, but unless you cross those legal t's and dot the insurance and immigration i's, you won't have much reason to celebrate.

Until next time, a sweet and long life to you all

National Wedding and Marriage Examiner Elizabeth Oakes welcomes your feedback at weddingexaminer@gmail.com; you can easily share this story or subscribe by clicking on the buttons at the top of this column, or read more of Elizabeth's stories by clicking here.

She's also happy to answer your questions about getting married in Los Angeles--check out her work and inquire about availability at MarriageToGo.Com and RosePedalsBikeWeddings.Com.

All National Wedding Examiner articles ©2009 by Elizabeth Oakes; reposts permitted with copyright notice and link back to original article. All other rights reserved.

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