Emergency Dental Care for an International Student; Reporting a New Spouse's Income and Assets on the FAFSA

Emergency Dental Care for an International Student; Reporting a New Spouse's Income and Assets on the FAFSA

I am not a US citizen. I came to the United States a month ago to

begin graduate school. Unfortunately I got a severe toothache a week

ago. As a teaching assistant I have health insurance provided by my

school, but it doesn’t cover dental care. No matter how bad it gets,

the toothache will not be considered an emergency. The $1,400 cost to

take care of it is one and a half times my monthly salary. I don’t

have any other funds, I don’t have anyone in this country and I don’t

think I can get credit to cover the cost. I had no idea I could be

rattled in such a way on my first month in this country. I am

terrified that if I don’t address this soon, it will affect my results

on my first semester and I will lose my current funding which is based on

my academic performance.

— Mahmoud D.

The federal regulations at 22 CFR 62.14 require international students

(and their accompanying spouse and dependents) to have and maintain

health insurance in order to obtain a J-1 student visa. The

regulations do not, however, require dental insurance.

Ask your college whether they have an emergency loan fund you could

use to spread the cost out over several months. Individual offices,

such as the international students office, your academic department

and the office of the dean for student affairs, may have their own

loan funds.

Shop around for a lower cost dentist. $1,400 seems rather high for a

root canal or extraction, even if the tooth is impacted. Call a nearby

dental school to ask if they run a low-cost dental clinic. This can

save you about half the typical cost for most procedures. The work

will be performed by a student dentist and may take longer, but it

will be supervised by a licensed dentist.

I am widowed and remarried, but my current wife keeps her

assets separate from mine. We do file a joint tax return. When

completing the FAFSA do I have to include her assets since they are not

mine to use? It’s important because she has more assets than I do.

— Zach D.

If an independent student is married as of the FAFSA application date,

the spouse’s income and assets must be reported on the FAFSA alongside

the student’s income and assets. Likewise, if a dependent student’s

parent has remarried as of the FAFSA application date, the income and

asset of the stepparent must be reported on the FAFSA too. The

spouse’s income and assets must be included even if you were not

married last year. Prenuptial agreements have no impact on this

federal requirement.

Source: Fastweb

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