₦airaland Forum

firsttymum:
Permit me!
EDD according to kpekus
1st January kpekus: ur EDD is 23rd September +/- 2 weeks
25th December kpekus: 17th september +/- 2 weeks
14th February kpekus: 9th November +/- 2weeks

If the kpekus come be like 25th, 26th, 27th Dec plus 1st, 3rd & 4th January nko...??

How we go take kakulate dat one...??

Khemzyshow:
Hello house,am new on dis trend bin married since 2012 ,God just recently heard my prayers am 3 months pregnant and I wish to give birth in usa gone tru part one and part two:1)when can I apply for the B2 visa and at wat month of pregnancy. 2)am I to apply first b4 my grandma applies or we shld apply together. 3) hope all my previous refusal won't affect me 4)I bear my maiden name on my passport but I have my marriage certificate and change of name with marriage pics and pls lastly I had like 3 Uk visas in d past but I messed up my Uk profile because I overstayed in uk but b4 I usually add my passport dat contains d visas but I don't want to add it again because its bin 8 yrs I had a visa.thanks everyone sorry for the epistle just had to pour out my mind and come clean

1) You should start the application process immediately
2) i think you should apply together with ur granma
3) I really cant say since I'm not a VO but I hope your circumstances have changed & you haven't presented false info to the embassy b4
4) Has been solved already by you
5) Overstayed a UK visa...?? Wow - This one pass my power.. I really don't know about that

NB; If you & hubby's finances is enough to sponsor you, there is no need for ur Dad to co-sponsor. I think VO's tend to be put off by too many bank statements

Tokecous:
Hello everyone,
Pls I need information on having a baby in US I learnt that one can get an affordable hospital in Houston Texas for non immigrant. Im planning to travel by Oct. Again I have two years visa do I need to tell them at entrance how long I want to stay I intend to stay for 3-4months.

Na wa ooo.....
This thing is very rampant nowadays....
Is there an epidemic going round or what...??

Anyways, @firsttymum - You have anoda customer

For your 2nd question, I don't think it really matters if she fills that her husband is travelling with her or not (IMO, its not necessarily going to affect d application) but she has to be consistent i.e it has to be same info on both forms. Are they going for the interview together..?? If she hasn't submitted, she could edit them but if she has I guess she'"ll just have to explain verbally to the consulate officer cos I'm not sure if there's anyway to edit the form once it has been submitted. (If there is - its probably going 2b complex )

For your 3rd..... i don't know oh but I think its a positive point sha


Best of luck to her, Hope her burden of proof is as comprehensive as phema's own....

sheguru:
Hi adventurous mothers, ave followed and loved reading all your adventures abroad with your lovely bumps. My babysis is about to do this as she's finally preggy after few years of wait. She has filled her form and scheduled an appointment guided by me. Here is a bit of her profile, married, just passed out this last batch but her hubby can foot the bills well.
Q1) does her not working have a bad vibe on her interview.
Q2) she filled she's travelling with hubby but when filling her Hubby's form, she filled that'll he will come later to witness the birth as he's crazily busy. Is she supposed to say no when asked in her own form if she's travelling with someone? If she's supposed to say no, can she correct the form and how?
3)Our eldest sister is a citizen in the U.S with her family and a registered nurse, our parents are currently there on green card. Is this a positive point for her or not? We got hospital bills from the hospital where she works in california.

Don't mind my many questions, anticipating your answers.

jacklenst:
Hello! House.
I am new in this forum.
I congratulates all recent mothers and fathers in the house.
Has anyone news about New Jersey? Affordable hospital, Dr., and accommodation?
Thanks.

cc @firsttymum....

firsttymum:
@shawlar according to United in short international airlines

(Except you are flying internationally through naija )

There's no weight limitation to your carry on luggage

Okay oh, If they say so on their website - so be it..., but the attendants @ United in Naija weighed (i think 15kg limit) & measured (made sure it fitted into some contraption like this ) my peeps hand luggage before they left. 100% sure of this

I no too blame them jare, wen b say na apoti some 9ja peeps go dey use as handluggage nko..??

chenonye:
Was d 357$ United Airlines.what abt kg 4coming back..tnk its 50kg of 2bags..not sure again

@chenonye Its still the same 2bags of 23kg i.e for economy. Business class & premier get 32kg.

read this http://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/BaggageChecked.aspx

dyout:
please i am abit confused here. what is the allowable baggage limit with united airline?
Becos from their website i am seeing 23kg. but was not stated if it is one (1) bag or two (2) like other airline

shimk:
asked bout d luggage thing

its 2 luggage each per person of 23kg and 1 23kg for d baby.

@dyout: @shimk is right, its two bags of 23kg each. They also weigh your hand luggage in MMA II; I think thats like 15kg max

Hey peoples....

Congratz to all those with successful POE stories. Here is another successful Houston POE

My wife traveled last week, flew united airline direct to IAH (had already bought the ticket before I found this forum and heard all the Houston wahala).. didn't want to change it tho cos she traveled with my Mum and Dad. I guess this was what made her POE easy cos it was smooth sailing all the way for them. Her fit to fly was requested for @ MMA II and she submitted a photocopy (traveled at 31weeks and she wasn't showing soo much)...
In Houston, the
CBP officer just glanced at the them and asked if they were all together
My Dad :Yes, *pointing* thats his wife and daughter (since the surnames were d same on all passports) .
CBP: flipped thru my d passports and I guess he saw they had been to houston severally (i.e my parents, my wifes was a 1st timer) and asked how long they'd be staying this time.
My Dad said 8 weeks and then the guy just took their fingerprints and stamped them all in. (I guess he didn't notice d baby bump)
No sec. inspection and in agriculture they were about opening their luggage for checks when the official there told them to just go.. (with all the foodstuff my mum packed)...


seems like we have been having a lot of good stories from the houston poe nowadays, is it that they have relaxed or people just don't want to share their not-so-good stories..??


To all expectant mothers:you are in our prayers, you'll definitely experience the joy of carrying your LO's IJN

.......with no additional/surprise bills oh....

sucre26:
So this is my experience in the USA, Maryland to be precise. It's a long post, bear with me. Prior to coming, I didn't find out the distance Of the house to the Doctor's office/hospital.
I got to Maryland in May and I stayed with my husband's friend and was paying $450 monthly for rent. The house is an hour drive to the hospital. So I spent about $60 weekly transporting myself via taxi/train to see the doctor.
I used Dr Chaudry and he quoted $2300 for his bill and $4000 for the hospital, Prince George County. On the 24th of June I was told to go to the hospital by My doc that I was going to have my baby but he told me to go back home that my baby wasn't ready. The following week I got a bill of $1650 from the hospital for false labour.

$2,300 doc's fee
$385 for pediatrician
$1,650 for false labour
$816 for Anastasia
$2,095 for baby
$58 for assistant physician
$7,691 for me
$200 professional services for my baby
$468 attendance at delivery for baby

In conclusion if you can avoid Maryland, please do. Their hospitals and doctors are not straight forward.

I don't understand this billing system oh. I think you should have taken it up with the doctor as it seems he quoted you a wrong price ie $4000 for the hospital bill. Did he say if the 4k was a deposit and that you'll balance when its all over or what..?? cos I just can't wrap my head around how $4k suddenly increased into over $12k considering that it all went smoothly like you said. Wasn't it a VD...? I'm confused

Anyways, at least its all over now and you & your LO r okay - dats d koko..!!

justwise:
Shawbabe is right...

@All

This exchange rates debate is derailing this thread, you can have such discussion in business section, please enough.

Na wa oohh...

The whip has been cracked...
see as shawbabe just report us to class captain.

@shawbabe: I sure say u b 1 of those gals wey dey write names of noise-makers for teacher wen u dey pri school... abi??
.... we go jam for playground...

@justwise: Oga sir, I hope the PTA Ultimate Search discussion can be continued here sha

modath:
GTB oh GTB, the bank GUARANTEED to always daylight molest their customers in EVERY WAY they can, is it by refusing to sell currency & subsequently doing a very high FX rate, or by charging 225 for transactions & in the event that the transaction fails creditting the account back 198, ? same thing when it comes to tax refund!!!

We can go on and on and on.....

As for First Bank, its very cool... ...........

231 .. After the E banking folks assured a friend that their rate is better that STANBIC's , she didnt find it funny at all....

231 Na wa oh... This old generation bank sef don join the scam
I had better go and apply for this STANBIC debit card. From what I gather ,u don't need to open an account. Its jst a debit card loaded with the amount you want.

firsttymum:
I agree with you strictly in banks Favour ... Mscheeew

What's an exclusive account?

Its just one of those their acct packages jare. U know, like savings xtra, current etc
Their exclusive acct has additional benefits and stuff attached to it but it also has very stringent conditions, like min bal of 1m etc...

People should jst BOYCOTT this GTB when abroad. They are jst theives and na dem go the advertise pass like say na good thing dem dey do..
From what I gather stanbic is the best, but like firstmum ask, Hows about the old generation banks...?? Shey nobody dey use dem ni..?
I plan to give my wife my firstbank card when she travels, Does anybody knw their rates..??

firsttymum:
STANBIC expensive for PTA , perfect for ATM and pos withdrawals

Diamond bank reportedly stopped PTA

FIDELITY perfect for POS expensive for withdrawals

Eco bank started PTA awaiting confirmation on rates

GTB don't go there lol Expensive for withdrawal , doesn't give PTA

Fcmb expensive withdrawals, no confirmation on PTA

What of old generation banks, they might come to our rescue .. First bank? Union bank

What of zenith, UBA, Access bank, sterling bank etc

The CBN can't say its unaware about this crazy charges from banks when we use our cards abroad. Don't they have staff that travel and use their cards abroad. I think the CBN gov is pro-bank, Most of the directives he has issued are in the banks favour.. He should try and favour the masses once in a while.

Anyways, I got PTA last week thurs from diamond bank @ Ajose VI with my wifes ticket (using my acct), went back this week with my Mums ticket and Gbam!! they are no longer selling . I had to go to like round till I saw 1 branch (adetokunbo ademola)that said they now sell to only customers with exclusive accts so I had to call my bro to come around so we could use his acct. So if you have exclusive acct with diamond bank, I think you can still get PTA 4rm select branches

back2dmatter:
Yippee.... I got PTA at N199.50 yesterday

from which bank..??

bestnews:
Nairaland has been very informative.

bestnews:
Thank God for this thread VISA approved.
waiting collection.

I suggest that you share ur experience @ the visa interview....
Just so that the thread would continue to be 'informative'; you know
.. its called giving back

Ralphlauren:
I wish your Mrs safe delivery.

I'll be expecting IV for the ikomo

Thanks a lot jare....
when the stork drops off the baby, I'll send it to u with the IV


plus a word of advice...

You don't need to reply them all.
Whether or not they admit it, you jst gave most of them info they weren't privy too...
Although it may not be sufficient for most of them to have a change of heart on the matter, the ones that find it helpful will work with it
cheers

olokings:
nowadays, hmm.. we dudes help our babes carry the pregnancy as well ooh...
*rub my tommy..
*get the remote...
*nightly massage....
*daily leg rubs...
*cravings...
do you want me to go on?....
i just tut u were one of us few dudes in the house....

dudes in the hux, i lie? we are very pregnant oooh lol

firsttymum:
U didn't add

rub my back
I want this and that
I feel like eating this or that
I can't bend, pls help me buckle my shoes,
On ur way back pls buy this and that
I want iceblock ( in d middle of the night)

Hhahahahha ok our husbands are trying... Lol

lol, my own na
I can't sleep...
midnight massages...
Why is d AC off..?? (even though im sneezing and my nose is wetter than a dogs own)
and she no dey crave for things wey u fit buy near the house, U gotz drive 4 hours in Lagos traffic b4 u c am buy

I swear these are some of the additional reasons why I subscribed to the US birth thingy.
Make I first relax for the next 4/5 weeks b4 going to join her over there

*sighs* The 'joys' of pregnancy...

olokings:
boss,

you are forgetting an angle to this, the choice whether or not to reside in the states and/or enjoy the benefits is entirely yours.
simply put, the states prepared a buffet for you (for which it is mandatory you pay as long as you are a guest*citizen) however if/not you eat from the table is totally your call.

there is a very easy way out of it... drop the blue if you dont like d conditions.. lets not be claiming the US citizen name n not wanna pay the piper when its required of us.

Very well said olokings... U should read my reply to ralphlauren about going the canadian way. I said as much..

My son would probably move to the US when old enough, become a Tax consultant with a branch office in Nigeria here and make millions by helping your children file their tax returns yearly

Ralphlauren:
1) 'you heard'. have you done your research/contacted doctors directly yourself to confirm if this is true? i personally doubt if this is the case.

2)that shouldnt be an issue. a lot of first time mothers/travellers have coped fine in the US. besides, there is always the local/neighbourhood church thats willing to extend a helping hand

Yeah, unfortunately I have run out of time for any further research. She is due in sept and has a ticket to travel next week

She is also a lead vocalist in the choir that modath mentioned.

I have decided that once my child is old enough he'll go and live in the US so as not to burden him unnecessarily with the double taxation. Let him pay them the tax and enjoy the benefits over there...

shelly23:
I'm not being defensive at all, sorry if it came across that way. I'm really just curious as to why people are so opposed to taxes, whether double or single or whatever, especially when the effect/benefits are so obvious.

To each his own I guess.

@shelly,

Let me give you a scenario - Imagine you earn like 2million naira a year and you where born in the US but has never gone back since birth. You are therefore a US/Nigerian Dual National. Out of your annual income, lets say u pay like 100k (an assumption) a year as tax to the Nigerian govt for the socail amenities you enjoy here. (Which amenities I know, I know - please indulge me )

Due to the fact that you are also a US citizen, you have to pay another (lets say) 60k to the US govt [b]every year [/b]even though you have not benefitted 4rm any of their social amenities since you have never gone there.

A dual EU/Nigerian national resident in Nigeria would not have that additional tax to pay. If you think its a small amount, multiply it by the no of years one intends to live..

There is nothing wrong in paying tax. I am certainly not against it as long as I get to enjoy the benefits. This is the reason why most of us complain/grumble when we pay tax in Nigeria, cos we are enjoying next to nothing from the govt..

Ralphlauren:
Haha @ EU passport. That's another thread/topic for another day.

If your wife is yet to travel, you should consider the Canadian option/route. It's still the same automatic citizenship and a better/sane country (in so many ways) compared to the US (that's my own opinion sha).

I seriously considered the Canadian option too (actually preferred it) but it just couldn't work out for me cos;

1) I heard that Canadian doctors don't accept patients with less than 2months to the EDD and won't even accept patients until they have examined them physically.

2) I don't have any family/people who my wife could stay with for that period and she is a first timer (both pregnancy & travel)

US TAX AND FATCA

Here is a report of my findings on FATCA & US Tax Laws

First of all, the US is one of the very few (might even be the only) countries who taxes its citizens regardless of where they reside. As long as u have that blue pali, even though u might not have set foot in the US since u were born, you must file tax returns/pay ur tax annually. Even astronauts based in the space still pay their taxes yearly. Its yet another means through which the US govt gets the money that ensures its systems work. (I can imagine if all Nigerians & companies based in 9ja paid their taxes & the money was actually used judiciously, we won't need 2 run off and give birth elsewhere )

The FATCA is the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act which just recently came into effect a couple of years ago. What it does is that it compels non US banks to report accounts of US nationals (that are above a certain min balance) to the US govt. The original intention was to help the US govt to fish out tax cheats (ie US citizens who stash their money in non US banks so as not to pay taxes on them) but it seems to have also caught out a lot of dual-nationals. The penalties for the banks not reporting the accounts/indivduals include huge fines and withdrawal of their US banking license. Even swiss banks are hustling to comply, talkless of 9ja banks. I remember one Nigerian bank (I think diamond/First Bank) sending me a mail about it a while back. Some banks are even closing the accounts of US/dual citizens in other to rid themselves of the burden of filing cumbersome paperwork with the US govt regularly.

So therefore papas and mamas, when your child is 18 yrs old, he/she will begin file his tax returns yearly with the IRS (along with income & banking details)and will start to pay tax to the US govt for the rest of his/her life.

In the US system, the more money you make the higher your tax. That is why some high networth individuals renounce their US citizenship. Does anybody remember the story of that facebook/google (can't remember which) exec that renounced his US citizenship just b4 their IPO a couple of years ago..?? It was because he didn't want to get taxed on the windfall coming his way. Infact, since the FATCA came into effect, the no. of US citizens that have renounced their citizenship has soared to record numberrs forcing the govt to increase the cost of renouncing by over 400% (from $400 - $3250). Its probably the huge nos that are renouncing that has led to the surge in granting visas for childbirth, the US needs to replace those people leaving their tax system.

Don't get me wrong, nobody is condemning the payment of tax. What people are angry about is dual taxation ie paying tax to the govt. of ur resident country & also paying tax to the US even though u don't reside there or may not have been there since birth and therefore not enjoying any benefits from there. There are lawsuits & focus groups challenging this right now but they all seem to be leading no where cos the no. of people it affects are jst a small %age of US taxpayers.

Ralphlauren:
I dey kampe.

I'm baffled on why mothers with EU passport still fly over to the US to have kids.

Cc: 0yin and Riz2015

Una never hear of FATCA?

Its amazing that most peeps on this forum don't know about US tax laws or the FATCA and how it affects their lil ones
For me, it was one of the major aspects of this US birth thingy that I considered extensively b4 making up my mind

0yin:
Please educate us on this'facta'

I'll post some additions to what @Ralphlauren posted later. Just know this, your lil americana will pay taxes to the US govt for life....

..unless he renounces sha,

more later

abeg @Ralphlauren how person go take get EU/UK passport..?
My wife never travel #itsnottoolate

anonymousmum:
Hey there

I opted for a payment plan - I was told I had up to a year to pay up however I settled the bill fully a month later.

Oh and my aunt who lives in Sugarland raved about the hospital - and less of Oakbend...she is into hospital administration in the Houston area...

You may want to get in first, visit the two hospitals and then make your decision.

Cheers

Thanks alot anonymousmum.. I guess thats what I'll do - get wifey to visit them first & maybe take a tour before committing to any. I'll be staying with family in sugarland and I know that both hospitals aren't far of. I'm actually leaning towards methodist sugarland, its just the extra bills issue that is scary and it seems that it happens to every1 that used them.

Anyways, many thanks once again. Regards to the lil one.

anonymousmum:
You can check my posts.

@anonymousmum - I just saw this, and I have gone thru all your posts. They were truly insightful. However you never said how u resolved the extra billing issue with them @ methodist sugarland. Where you able to negotiate it away/reduce it or did you finally settle for a payment plan?

Also, is there any particular reason why u chose there over Oakbend? I'd just like to know cos they are the last two places on my shortlist & u may have some extra criteria that could be key. (I'm sorry- I might b pickin ur brains 2much or on personal level here..., would have tried using PM but I dnt knw how dat works)

cheers everyone

nefertitiram:
@shawlar sorry, you were misunderstood. Sometimes people don't search extensively.hope you get a response soon

aight, its no p... I realise it was dr. 'watshisname' matter that infuriated you.

myelle:
The only I got is the baby bill for using the hospital for circumcision and blood test around 261 but they gave me discount so paying 1 something ask for discount and epidural that u must paid 1500 if u did not use it,it will be refund bk, but I did pay for it,talk to ur dr dat u don't need it.

hmm.....
im confused oh...

myelle:
The hospital is houston methodist sugar land. the price for VD 2538 CS 3780 dr 2200 ask for discount I got 1800 she accept test from nigeria but u still have to do one or two test, hearing test 40 ask for discount baby blood test ask for discount. pediatrician both the circumcision 300.

Hi myelle,
Congrats on your LO.
I hope you didn't get any other 'hidden/extra' charges from Houston Methodist sugarland..? Kindly confirm the total amount u paid and if you have received your zero balance from the hosp. Details of your doc would also be appreciated

dyout:
Lolz... you are pouring ur anger on her?

i expected her to might have searched for it, since she posted it here.

nefertitiram:
Am vexing abi? No mind me jor

Actually if she searched, she will see BSharon's extensive breakdown on Methodist Sugarland including epidural, Doc (Dr. Amajoh or so). Very insightful one at that

@ dyout. thanks alot for inferring correctly that I had searched the forum already but I think both you and nefertitiram either misread my post or misunderstood it or sum1 was jst vexing). Anyways, nowhere in that post did I ask for the initial cost breakdown of Methodist sugarland - I had seen Bsharons post already. What I asked about was if any other person got treated to the hidden bills issue like below and how they resolved it.. and also how the final bill compared to the overall experience of birthing there

anonymousmum:
Hello all,
Congratulations to all the new mamas and papas in the house. I see most of the egbons of the thread have had their LOs...


My family that I used as their house as mailing address just informed me (just 2 weeks ago) that I have an invoice for hospital lab test - this is after I have gotten zero balance from the hospital o!

I called the hospital, they said that lab charges separately. Called the lab, and got 50% discount so I quickly paid that one (before one kain Medicaid will come and do oversabi and pay for me) and obtained zero balance for the expense.

and this....

https://www.nairaland.com/617280/give-birth-usa-cost-procedure/355#30489959

and this.....

https://www.nairaland.com/617280/give-birth-usa-cost-procedure/355#30499539


Bsharon seems to be the last person on this forum that used Methodist but her last post was b4 her EDD, so we can't say If she got some 'extra' bills or not

shawlar:
Does anybody have a good overall experience story to share concerning Methodist Sugarland Hospital..??
I'm considering using them but there have been cases of extra bills for some peeps. I want to find out if it is a normal occurrence there or just some errors. Also, I would like to know how they resolved them.

Haba.., Nobody wan answer me..?? Who I offend...??

Methodist Sugarland Alumni, Pls still waiting for ur replies oh.

Does anybody have a good overall experience story to share concerning Methodist Sugarland Hospital..??
I'm considering using them but there have been cases of extra bills for some peeps. I want to find out if it is a normal occurrence there or just some errors. Also, I would like to know how they resolved them.