Mental Health Denials/Waivers

[tigretigre 0]

We're still early in our process, but we are prepared for the possibility of having to file a waiver.

To make a long story short, my fiance is recovering from severe depression, which at one point involved some self-harming behavior and a suicide attempt. He is doing very well--about 20 months with no incident, will be about 2 years by the time he gets his medical. He is doing very well, in spite of receiving the most appallingly negligent psychiatric care from NHS. It is my firm belief that his illness would not have gotten nearly so severe had he been given appropriate care as soon as he sought treatment. This care will be available to him in the U.S.

I've read all the laws and regulations, so I don't need an update on what does/doesn't make someone admissible when it comes to mental disorders. I know that a remission period of 2 years means he should be good to go, but self-harm is a very poorly-understood problem and a lot of stigma attaches.

Our plan is as follows. When he goes for his medical exam, he will take with him:

A letter from his GP stating that he is not a danger to himself or others.

A letter from his psychiatrist stating that he is not a danger to himself or others (that doctor's kind of a dumb-dumb, but he's got the certificate that says he's a doctor).

A letter from me stating that I am aware of his mental health history, that I am very proud of the progress he has made, that I know him to be a rational, peaceable and non-threatening person, and that I am committed to supporting him while he continues his treatment in the U.S.

A copy of my health insurance policy indicating the availability of both spousal coverage and mental health treatment coverage.

If possible, a letter from my primary care physician or psychiatrist (yeah, I've had some tough times myself) stating willingness to provide a referral for my fiance to an appropriate specialist.

A statement from my fiance declaring his intent to participate in appropriate treatment will in the U.S.

Getting any medical records of his would be very unpleasant for him. He doesn't want to relive those dark times any more than he has to, so we won't submit those unless they are demanded.

With this information available to the examining doctor, we are hoping he can avoid a Class A (inadmissible) designation and make it into Class B (admissible but has issues). Then it will be up to the CO's discretion.

My question is two-fold: one, has anybody else here ever been in this sort of situation (especially with the London Embassy) and what was your experience? And two, did you have a 601 ready to go just in case, and what was in it? I do not want to prepare the waiver unless I'm fairly sure it will be necessary, to spare my fiance the pain of dredging up those records if possible. The exam will be intrusive enough.

If a waiver is needed, I have some fairly decent hardship arguments...but that is for another time.

Let me know your thoughts.

A very protective Tigre

[Lizzy 0]

I had post natel depresstion 5 years ago and depresstion at 15. Im 30 now.

I had NO suicide attempts. Also no admittance to a Unit. I was on anti depressents for 4 months.

I went to see the doc for the medical, he said i did not need a letter from a psychitrist, said i was in a good mental frame of mind, he wrote this on the paper they send to the embassy, but later called me and said JUST for his peace of mind could i go see a Psychitrist, i did, got a glowing report and i then sent it in, with the medical.

He said it comes down a lot to how the doc at the medical writes the report. Mine was good:)

I have my interview in 9 days, ill keep you posted. I dont think ill have an issue. But im not sure:)

Edited June 4, 2006 by Lizzy

[Kajikit 65]

As far as I know, if he is under treatment and he has a letter from his psychiatrist to say that he's no danger to self and others and you have a treatment plan for his continuing care you shouldn't need a waiver. But it doesn't hurt to be prepared just in case... it never remotely occurred to me that I'd need one (and I didn't) - I just had to get a letter from my head-shrinker to say that I was no more likely to have another nervous breakdown than the next person, and that I was depressed/anxious, not psychotic... if depression alone was a bar to getting a visa, the queues would be very short indeed.

[tigretigre 0]

if depression alone was a bar to getting a visa, the queues would be very short indeed.

That's for damn sure...

I guess the only trouble would be that he's under treatment that is really crappy, from doctors who don't know him that well because they see him four or five times a year for about ten minutes at a time. You'd think that would be an indication that they think he's not dangerous...let's hope that's how it looks.

I guess the big thing will just be how the examining doctor reacts to his scars. If he can see that they are really old, that he wants to put this part of his life behind him, and that he is complying with his current doctor and will get good treatment when he's in the U.S., hopefully all will be well. If the doctor is the knee-jerk reaction type, there could be trouble and I guess there's no way to predict.

I think for know we'll just see what kind of letters he can get from his doctors, before we decide to put me to work drafting a hardship letter.

Thanks for the input, Kajikit...there haven't been too many people able/willing to sound off on this issue.

Tigre

[Kajikit 65]

There aren't a lot of people who have to go through it compared to the number of people who apply for visas - you really need to be emotionally stable to put yourself through the peculiar hell that is a long-term long-distance relationship. If you're not, the relationship doesn't usually last long enough to even think about immigration, let alone get to the interview...

My other advice is don't be TOO open... if they ask you if you know what time it is, say 'yes', don't babble. Know what I mean? I bought myself a LOT more hassle than I needed because I was so terrified of doing anything 'wrong'. And nobody ever told me before the medical that I'd need a letter of explanation from my doctor - if I'd realised I could have taken it along with me and said 'see, here's a letter from my doctor' and I would have passed the medical on the spot and not had three weeks of panic over whether I was admissable or not.

[Lizzy 0]

Nope i had no issue at interview regarding my past depresstion.

I did have a letter from the doctor through.

[tigretigre 0]

Anyone think it will be a problem that he's entered the U.S. on VWP before? There is a question on the I-94W about mental illness, but he checked "no" because we assumed they were asking if he was psychotic, mentally incapacitated, or a danger to himself or others. Suppose the CO has a different interpretation?

I've read some legal journal articles on this issue, and basically the upshot is that neither the COs nor the courts interpret the mental illness provision consistently...especially now that millions of people suffer from mental health problems at some point in their lives.

It just sickens me that any of this is an issue...he's never hurt anyone and has suffered so much, through no fault of his own.

[Lizzy 0]

I went into the US and ticked NO on the form because i dont have a mental illness. I had depresstion there is a difference. (when i visited on the Visa waiver scheme)

I still got my visa.

You have a long way to go in this process before you even get to the interview and medical. It will be fine, just get all your evidence togther and stop worrying:)

Edited June 16, 2006 by Lizzy