Travel to America - healthcare

theguzman wrote: »

Our purpose of travel is citizenship tourism, We both want for our children to be born as US Citizens to give the best possible headstart in life, it is something that my wife agrees with also.

Is this a wind up ?

theguzman wrote: »

I live in Ireland and have lived here most of my life with time spent abroad also, Economic opportunity in Rural Ireland is incredibly limited and with the brutal taxation burden and the continuos attack on our religion we don't see Ireland as somewhere particularly nice to live, it in an insular and backwards in alot of ways and incredibly begrudging. My reason is entirely for to give my children the freedoms that are not available here.

Idaho and Nebraska are looking likely spots for the low cost base, my wife is familiar with florida and spent time there before also so we will check there too. It will be a 2022 project definitely.

So to get away from an insular and backward society your plan is to go to Idaho or Nebraska? Of the many flaws in your plan this may take the biscuit!

theguzman wrote: »

Idaho and Nebraska are looking likely spots for the low cost base, my wife is familiar with florida and spent time there before also so we will check there too. It will be a 2022 project definitely.

Ok, you totally lost me here. As many similar stories I read before - I never read about anyone going to Idaho or Nebraska. I guess the main reason Miami is the main point of entry for this type of thing is - when asked by immigration officer what’s the purpose of your visit - people just answer “tourism” and hide the bump. What on earth do you say is your purpose in visiting Nebraska with a heavily pregnant wife? You can not predict how your wife’s pregnancy is going to be. It’s fine reading stories online how someone with no complications traveled, gave birth and was out by next day. But reality can be completely opposite and super costly in US without health insurance. If you do go ahead with your plan, allow time for birth cert/passport time for your child after birth, it does take few weeks and you definitely don’t want to overstay your visas/ESTA.

theguzman wrote: »

I live in Ireland and have lived here most of my life with time spent abroad also, Economic opportunity in Rural Ireland is incredibly limited and with the brutal taxation burden and the continuos attack on our religion we don't see Ireland as somewhere particularly nice to live, it in an insular and backwards in alot of ways and incredibly begrudging. My reason is entirely for to give my children the freedoms that are not available here.

But won't your children be Irish citizens and, therefore, EU citizens? Your objective that the should not be confined indefinitely to rural Ireland will be fully met by that; they can move, settle, work and live anywhere in the EEA, or in the UK. The improvement over that, if any, from having a US passport as well is marginal; I question whether that marginal improvement is the best investment for your $35k (per child).

(I note that you and your wife seem yourselves to have the opportunity to settle in the US if you wish, as she has a B1/B2 visa and you are confident you could get one, and yet you apparently prefer the limited economic opportunities, brutal taxation, hostile religious climate, insularity, backwardness and begrudgery of rural Ireland. So it can't be that bad.)

Peregrinus wrote: »

But won't your children be Irish citizens and, therefore, EU citizens? Your objective that the should not be confined indefinitely to rural Ireland will be fully met by that; they can move, settle, work and live anywhere in the EEA, or in the UK. The improvement over that, if any, from having a US passport as well is marginal; I question whether that marginal improvement is the best investment for your $35k (per child).

Absolutely! OP is either trolling or his other half has those amazing ideas?

Squeeonline wrote: »

Correct me if I'm wrong but one has to earn over 100k (maybe 200k, can't remember) before that kicks in. I think you may still have to declare a tax return though regardless of income.

It's a bit more complicated than that. US citizens, whether or not resident in the US (or indeed whether or not they have ever been to the US) are liable to tax on their worldwide income. However if you are tax-resident outside the US and tax-resident in one or more foreign countries for the whole of the tax year and meet certain other technical conditions you can claim an exclusion for up to (currently) $106,700 of "foreign earned income".

If you have any income at all from the US — e.g. from an American customer of services you provide; from investments in the US, etc — that's not foreign earned income and it remains taxable.

Also, if you have unearned income from anywhere in the world, that remains taxable. The US tax system distinguishes between earned and unearned income. Earned income would be wages, professional fees, employment bonuses, tips earned by waitstaff, that kind of thing — basically, payments for your labour. Unearned income is everything else - rental income, dividends, interest, capital gains, gifts, inheritances, gambling winnings, alimony, social security payments etc. None of this is covered by the foreign earned income exclusion though, depending on your circumstances, you may have other exclusions or deductions that reduce or eliminate your tax liablity.

theguzman wrote: »

brutal taxation burden

You do realise that of your children are US citizens, they will have to pay US tax on all their income, no matter where they live in the world, even if the income is earned on another country?

McGaggs wrote: »

You do realise that of your children are US citizens, they will have to pay US tax on all their income, no matter where they live in the world, even if the income is earned on another country?

SteelyDanJalapeno wrote: »

Won't they have an Irish passport as well?

Presumably they would also have Irish passports, but that wouldn't make any difference to McGaggs' point. If you're liable to US tax as a US citizen, you don't get an exemption on account of being an Irish citizen as well. They like us, but they don't like us that much. If your income is such that your liability to US tax becomes a problem, the only way to solve the problem is to renounce your US citizenship.

Caranica wrote: »

Unlike the US there is no citizenship by birth here...

Indeed there is; it's not a universal right to citizenship by birth, but it's very wide. Anyone born in Ireland, either of whose parents has the right to live in Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence, is an Irish citizen. Thus if vurst or their spouse is a UK citizen, or an EU citizen, or an EEA citizen, then any child of their born in Ireland will be an Irish citizen.

I would not be going to America if pregnant. The leading cause of bankruptcy there is medical bills. You may have a figure of $35k researched but the way the system works over there it could easily be multiples of that by the time you're finished.

You say you want to “legally” travel to the U.S. for birth tourism ... to have a child there so it can have U.S. citizenship. "Legally" is impossible. Do you realize you are proposing to commit immigration fraud? Birth Tourism is illegal in the U.S., and the only way you will be admitted to the country is if you lie to immigration officials when you enter, which is also illegal. B visas are not to be used for this purpose. The US has been cracking down on this lately. Check out the following links for more information:

natlawreview.com/article/us-department-state-announces-prohibition-birth-tourism

federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/24/2020-01218/visas-temporary-visitors-for-business-or-pleasure

Having a child in the U.S. does not mean that you, your wife, and the child will be able to stay there and live there after the birth. It will not give citizenship to you or your wife. A B1/B2 visa does not allow you to seek residency. So possibly someday, when your child is an adult, he or she might benefit from U.S. citizenship, but it will not give your child the “headstart in life” you are seeking if the child is not living there to take advantage of what the U.S. has to offer.

Another thing to consider is that most U.S. medical doctors and facilities will not take your wife as a patient without U.S. medical insurance. Most already have more patients than they can handle (especially since COVID), and if you arrive asking for irregular financial arrangements you will draw attention to yourself and what you are trying to do. Medical insurance is the norm in the U.S., so if you don’t have it and are paying for such expensive care yourself, you might as well shout “I’m doing something illegal!” And you can’t just go to the U.S. and buy U.S. medical insurance, because most U.S. medical insurance will not cover treatment for pre-existing conditions such as pregnancy.

If you arrived at the hospital emergency room with a wife in labor, she would be assisted. However, you may have difficulty finding practitioners who will provide the pre-natal care your wife and child will need. And, God forbid, what if she has pregnancy complications, or the child needs special care after birth? You could end up with expenses far beyond your expectations.

Americans in general are not tolerant of non-Americans who seek to cheat the country’s immigration laws, so don't expect US medical personnel to go along with your scheme. They'll be more likely to report you to immigration officials. While some might have sympathy for refugees and those fleeing persecution, what you are proposing is not tolerated. The fact that you are Irish and your wife is Brazilian, without US social security numbers or US identification, will call attention to you and make medical personnel suspicious. Particularly if you are planning to go someplace like Idaho or Nebraska, which are populated mostly by white Americans, you’re going to stand out. Having lived in Idaho myself, I can confirm that Idaho, like many parts of the US, has the reputation of being extremely conservative and not supportive of immigrants.

The reason expenses might be lower in places like Idaho is because the state offers few social benefits or economic opportunities. Educational quality is ranked near the bottom of the country. Wages are extremely low and housing costs have been rising as retirees and out-of-staters move to Idaho to enjoy its natural beauty. It’s hard for locals to find affordable housing and make a decent living.

As others have said, your child would have to file yearly U.S. tax returns and possibly pay US income taxes, even if he or she never lives in the US or earns money there. He or she will also be required to annually complete FBAR forms reporting the value of non-US assets like checking accounts, savings accounts, etc.

To sum this up … 1) What you want to do is illegal. 2) It won’t be as easy as you think and you may get caught. 3) It won’t provide your child with the “headstart” you are hoping. 4) It could be burdensome for your child in the future. So why risk it? Your child will be an Irish/EU citizen, which provides many more benefits than US citizenship.