sponsor responsible for medical bills?

[eric t]

What is the name of your state Virginia

Last year my friend (Bob) signed a sponsor agreement for a mutual friend. Three months later, the immigrant (Joe) went to the emergency room with unusual flu symptoms, and was admitted with aggressive cancer. The green card was issued a few weeks after the hospital admission

Joe spent eight weeks in the hospital and now a month as an outpatient pending a transplant. There is no health insurance, the hospital was required to admit for a life-threatening condition, now they are invoicing the patient for large sums of money that he will never be able to pay.

What will happen next? Will the hospital bring the unpaid bills to Bob? What are the limits of his responsibility to them? As I read the rules, Medicaid isn't available to Joe until he's here for 5 years. Will the hospital file this with Medicaid and does that invoice back to Bob as the sponsor?

Pretty scary situation, it sounded much easier when Joe was just saying "I need a favor, sign this sponsor agreement..."What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[ImmigAttyLana]

No, the sponsor, by signing the affidavit of support, makes a contract with the government to reimburse for any public assistance that is considered means-tested, that the government pays out to the beneficiary. The hospital is not a party to that contract and cannot make the sponsor pay.