Plain-language guides for Caribbean New Yorkers

Medicaid and home care for your parents, immigration, family law and everyday life in New York, explained simply.

Medicaid & home careImmigrationFamily & divorceCommunity

Medicaid & home care

• Medicaid home care in New York: who qualifies in 2026

  The 2026 income and asset limits, what counts and what doesn't, and why there is no look-back for home care yet.

• Over the Medicaid income limit? How a pooled income trust works

  Keep your income, pay your bills, and still get Medicaid home care in New York.

• Getting paid to care for a parent: CDPAP in New York (2026)

  How a son, daughter or other relative can be paid by Medicaid to provide home care, and what changed with PPL.

• Protecting your home and savings before you need home care

  The coming 30-month look-back, Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts, and what New York can take back after death.

• Applying for Medicaid home care in NYC: a step-by-step checklist

  The forms, the phone calls and the order they happen in, from the HRA application to your first aide visit.

• MLTC plans in New York, explained simply

  What Managed Long Term Care is, who has to join, the three plan types, and how to switch or appeal.

• Medicaid home care for Caribbean immigrants: what changed in 2026

  Who still qualifies under the new federal rules, what NY covers with its own money, and what to check before applying.

• Medicare vs. Medicaid: who pays for home care?

  Why Medicare stops paying after a few weeks, and why Medicaid is the program that pays for a long-term aide at home.

• The two papers every parent needs before home care: power of attorney and health care proxy

  Without them, a family may need a court guardianship just to apply for Medicaid. Here's what each one does.

• Paying a family member to care for you: personal care agreements and Medicaid

  How to pay a relative for care in a way that doesn't look like a gift to Medicaid.

Immigration

• Haiti TPS has ended: what Haitian New Yorkers should know now

  TPS for Haiti ended July 27, 2026. What that means for work permits, what is still pending, and where to get trustworthy help in New York.

• TPS pou Ayiti fini: sa Ayisyen nan New York dwe konnen kounye a

  TPS pou Ayiti fini 27 jiyè 2026. Sa sa vle di pou otorizasyon travay, sa ki toujou ap tann, ak kote pou jwenn bon èd nan New York.

• Marriage-based green card: the basics

  How a U.S. citizen or green card holder sponsors a spouse: the forms, the fees, and what USCIS looks for.

• Family petition documents checklist

  The documents people most often need for a spouse, parent, child or sibling petition, and how to organize them.

• Becoming a U.S. citizen: N-400 basics

  Who can apply, when to file, what it costs, and the red flags to check first.

• Renewing or replacing your green card

  When to file Form I-90, what it costs, and the one situation where I-90 is the wrong form.

• Got a Notice to Appear? What it means and what to do first

  A Notice to Appear starts deportation (removal) proceedings in immigration court. Here are the first steps that protect you.

Family & divorce

• Divorce in New York when your spouse won't sign

  Your spouse is ignoring you, refusing, or you can't find them. New York still has a path, called a default.

• What a New York divorce really costs, and how long it takes

  Court fees, the costs people forget, and a realistic timeline for an uncontested divorce.

• Uncontested divorce in New York, explained simply

  What "uncontested" means, who qualifies, and the papers involved.

Community

• Where to get black cake, sorrel and Caribbean Christmas food in New York

  Black cake, rum cake, sorrel, spiced bun and pepperpot: where to buy them in Brooklyn, Queens, Westchester and Long Island, and when to order.

• Barbados at 60: celebrating Bajan Independence in New York

  Events, Bajan food and how to join the "60 and 5" celebrations from New York, leading up to November 30, 2026.

• A Caribbean Thanksgiving in New York

  Rice and peas next to the turkey: where to order, what's on over the long weekend, and planning ahead for Christmas.

• Sending a barrel home for Christmas from New York

  Ship early, pack smart, and know what your family needs to clear it in Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad or Haiti.

• Renewing a Jamaican passport while living in New York

  Online renewal for adults, what minors and first-time applicants need, and where the consulate is.

• How to protect yourself from notario and immigration scams

  Who is allowed to give immigration legal advice, the warning signs of a scam, and where to report it.