I-485 and Disability insurance

G

gc_hopefully

Registered Users (C)
Is there any problem if someone is on medical leave from her company and company wants her to claim disability insurance from state to pay for her sick leave. Basically the person is pregnant. Please let me know if you think this might look negative in the I-485 interview/process.
Thanks in advance for your valuable advice.
 
I don't think pregnancy can be claimed as a disability.
Moreover the company is requiring you to do something that is illegal when it asked you to claim Disability to pay for your sick time.
 
nkm-oct23
Thanks for your reply. Let me clarify the situation. Company only permits 10 sick days per year but the preganancy leave is much more than that , so the company is willing to pay part of it and they want state to pay the rest. I actually downloaded some docs from the state website and you can claim disability insurance for pregnancy related sickness. It is totally legit. I was just wondering if that will have any impact on the I-485 process because INS morons might interpret it differently.
It is not unemployment benefit.
Anyone has any experince with this type of situation.
 
If the disability insurance is from insurance company then you can claim, if it is part of state welfare benefit then don't claim since only permanent residents and citizens are eligible for such welfare benefits.
 
been there done that

ofcourse you can claim. You pay state tax and you probably pay the mandatory SDI which is a state disability tax which is what covers maternity leave claims anyway. I had a baby in December and I claimed the amount owing to me which the company I work for deducted from what they paid me ( I had 6 weeks of paid maternity leave but the company makes you claim your state disabilty part and pays the remainder ) . While I am not the primary applicant in my 485 process ( my husband is ) I see no reason why you are not entitled to this since you have been paying the relevant taxes.
 
gc_hopefully,

No problems on claiming disability (maternal leave), while on 485! It is not state funding, instead it is an insurance that you and your employer pay premiums on! Collecting disability has NOTHING to do with being a state liability!

Usually as lindaMac mentioned, the company only pays 10 days disability or so, the rest of the 3-4 weeks is paid for by the government.

FYI, I know a couple of women (on 485) who work with me, that collected disability (Maternal Leave).
 
Sorry, I made an error. You CAN claim disability due to pregnancy. Your immigration status has nothing to do with it and will have absolutely no impact on any immigration petitions.
Here is an extract from California state's FAQ for disability.

I'm pregnant and wonder if I can file a claim for State Disability Insurance (SDI) benefits? If so, for how long?
Yes. The usual disability period for a NORMAL pregnancy is up to four weeks before the expected delivery date and up to six weeks after the actual delivery. However, your doctor may certify to a longer period if the delivery is accomplished by Cesarean section, if there are medical complications, or if you are unable to perform your regular or customary job duties.
 
nkm-oct23
No worries. Thank you so much for all your replies. I have no idea where we would go without this excellent website. It's a scary thought as my attorney told me he has no clue regarding this matter.
Everyone is owesome and extremely helpful on this site.
Thanks again lindaMac , 140_takes_4ever and Edison
 
Originally posted by gc_hopefully
It's a scary thought as my attorney told me he has no clue regarding this matter.
Click to expand...
gc_hopefully,

I would change my lawyer if I were you. This is after all the type of question you are paying him good money, to answer. If he can't answer it then he is incompetent.

Good luck with the baby though :)
 
hey and you know the benefit of the baby don't you - he/she will be an american citizen so if by the time he/she is 21 you still con't have your green card - he/she can apply for you !!!!!!!!!!!

( and they would probably have a hard time throwing you out of the country since you are the legal guardians of an american citizen ..
 
Re: Using public assistance may impact I485

Neither Disability nor unemployment insurance payments come from the government. You and your employer pay into a state mandated insurance fund which in turn pays those who seek claim. You are legally entitled to receive all benefits if you are eligible. UI and DI can no way be considered public assistance and have no impact on any pending immigration petition. This is a myth propagated by fellow posters and others.
 
Originally posted by lindaMac
hey and you know the benefit of the baby don't you - he/she will be an american citizen so if by the time he/she is 21 you still con't have your green card - he/she can apply for you !!!!!!!!!!!
( and they would probably have a hard time throwing you out of the country since you are the legal guardians of an american citizen ..
Click to expand...

While the first part is true. The second is not completely correct. The government can throw the parents out even if they are guardians of American citizens, unless the parents prove that throwing them out will constitute hardship for American citizen child.
 
Re: Re: Using public assistance may impact I485

Originally posted by nkm-oct23
Neither Disability nor unemployment insurance payments come from the government. You and your employer pay into a state mandated insurance fund which in turn pays those who seek claim. You are legally entitled to receive all benefits if you are eligible. UI and DI can no way be considered public assistance and have no impact on any pending immigration petition. This is a myth propagated by fellow posters and others.
Click to expand...

nkm-oct23,

Don't want to go offtopic on this thread, But....

It is true that neither disability nor unemployment payments come from the government, but collecting unemployment payments does have repercussions for employment based green card applicants. The key word is "employment based", and it is difficult to proved employment if you are collecting unemployment benefits. Usually, since you are not a PR, the agency will ping INS for their approval for you to receive the benefits, in doing so, triggers a flag and an immediate RFE. Hence the advise to not apply for unemployment benefits while unemployed unless you have no other alternative!
 
Re: Re: Re: Using public assistance may impact I485

Well, if you are unemployed then you definitely will have problems getting AOS approved, whether you claim UI or not. The agency which provides UI benefits only checks BCIS database to verify your work authorization, it does not trigger any actions on part of BCIS. These agencies access the same database that Social Security or DMV has access to.
Nowhere it is written or documented that BCIS considers claiming UI to be a disqualification. It is only a perception, that too an incorrect one. If you do not have a job and are not likely to have a job at the time of AOS approval then you are in touble, regardless of whether UI was claimed or not.
 
Originally posted by gc_hopefully
nkm-oct23
Thanks for your reply. Let me clarify the situation. Company only permits 10 sick days per year but the preganancy leave is much more than that , so the company is willing to pay part of it and they want state to pay the rest. I actually downloaded some docs from the state website and you can claim disability insurance for pregnancy related sickness. It is totally legit. I was just wondering if that will have any impact on the I-485 process because INS morons might interpret it differently.
It is not unemployment benefit.
Anyone has any experince with this type of situation.
Click to expand...

No Problem with that. Thats how most companies pay for maternal leave.
And I donot think that would have any effect whatsoever on the 485 of the person. While filing taxes you fill the amount state provided to you separately. I was on state disability for my pregnancy last year.
 
timeframe - that we missed

something related to this. We did not notice the time limit wihtin which u need to apply to get the benefit and hence were denied when we had our first child. so please make sure that you apply it withing the stipulated 30 or 40 days from the time you go on maternity leave.
 
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