Medical Exam - Further Testing Needed

[Lokita2012 0]

Hello,

My fiance recently attended his medical appointment in Ciudad Juarez. Unfortunately his chest x-ray contained one small spot that was questionable. The doctors didn't think it was Tuberculosis, but they are required by law to do futher testing that will take approximately 10 weeks. Although this delay is unfortunate we understand that learning more about patience is always a good character quality. Fortunately, the deadline to reschedule our ASC and Consulate interview had not passed when we learned of this complication. We will be able to keep rescheduling the appointment until we hear back from the clinic on the outcome of the saliva and blood tests.

I am just writing for general information regarding either outcome of the additional testing..

If all tests are negative for Tuberculosis, HIV, diabetes will things be able to procede as normal? I.e. another medical, ASC and Consulate interview

If his tests are positive for Tuberculosis, is it clear that he will need to undergo approximately 6 months of medication and medical clearance before we can attend his visa interview? Or, is active treatment means to attend a visa interview? I was having trouble finding a clear answer on this. Some pages suggested that there was a mysterious yellow slip that some people got at the point of entry if the were positive for Tuberculosis.

What will happen if he does test positive for HIV or diabetes? This is extremely unlikely, but what would be our options then. Is this reason for automatic denial of a visa?

I am just wondering if anyone has had experience with slightly abnormal chest x-rays and if they are almost always proof of Tuberculosis. Also, do you have any pointers regarding this procedure specific to Mexico?

In addition, I will be getting a TB test done myself, just to be a responsible person and take medication if needed. Neither my fiance nor I have symptoms (TB disease) but there is always a possibility of a TB infection without symptoms. We both just want to procede wisely and don't want to potentially give the illness to others.

Thanks for your comments!

[TBoneTX 44,658]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the Mexico/Latin & South America regional subforum for country-specific input. ***

[brigitteandroy 0]

i have a question for the person who posted this

Medical Exam - Further Testing Needed

Is the medical exam done in mexico? i thought it was done in the usa and if it is done in mexico how much did it cost?

[Lokita2012 0]

i have a question for the person who posted this

Medical Exam - Further Testing Needed

Is the medical exam done in mexico? i thought it was done in the usa and if it is done in mexico how much did it cost

Yes, the initial medical exam is in Ciudad Juarez. There are only a couple clinics that are legitimate for the Juarez Consulate. If you go to the website for the Juarez consulate you will find the list of clinics. The cost was roughly $211 with tax included, but the price could change so call one of the clinics before you go. I do believe that there is another medical exam in the USA when you apply for adjustment of status. Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help! Waiting stinks, but don't get discouraged!

[mandy8486 2]

I know this is an old thread, but I am hoping the user who posted this still uses this site and has some insight now that time has passed. This exact situation is going on for me and my husband right now. He is in Mexico and I am in the US. He had his medical exam today and saw a small dot on his chest x-ray and are doing additional testing. We are so scared and worried. Does anyone know what to expect?

[TBoneTX 44,658]

The OP last visited the site in July 2015. Her timeline says that the interview was almost exactly 2 years ago, but no outcome is indicated. If she doesn't return to answer, perhaps someone else can answer, or you can e-mail the consulate.

[NickD 202]

Since both my wife and her daughter had those so-called life time tuberculous vacinations, both flunked there skin tests. So was an extra expense for chest x-rays. Shoudn't I get one too, because I also had personal contact with my wife. No you are not required, tuberculous is highly contagious. Both showed cleared chest x-rays, but were still required to take that daily pill of a year, forgot the name of it, this was just in case, really had some bad side effects.

Later our AMA adopted that far more effective British blood test, both were negative, so that finally ended all this hassle.

[mandy8486 2]

Thought that I would come by and give an update on this matter since my family has now gotten through it just in case someone else going through this situation has more questions. My husband's medical exam was in December scheduled a few days prior to his interview. They found a spot on his chest x-ray and suspected TB (tuberculosis) and immediately cancelled his interview. He had to return to the medical office for the next 3 days and provide a sputum sample for a culture test. He had to wake up very early in the morning and go cough into a cup - no eating, smoking, drinking or brushing your teeth before the test. He said you have to watch a video to learn how to cough correctly - basically you need to cough so hard that you almost vomit and feel light headed so that you can get fluid from your lungs. He said the place you go is not the same as the medical office but a different "house" that has the word TB over the door. There are many people there - old and young with face masks presumably undergoing the same test - some maybe even contagious? After the three days they sent him away to wait for the test results for 9 weeks. They told him that they would only call him if there was bad news. My husband was very fortunate that he has a lot of family in Mexico and was able to stay with them while we waited for the results. This was a very scary and upsetting time. At first we were not sure what the results would mean. Would he not be able to come to the USA at all? Was he very sick? We learned that if the results were negative, then he could have a new consulate interview and would be able to come if that went well. If the results were positive, that would mean that he has active tuberculosis and would need to check into a hospital for 6 months and undergo treatment where they would monitor that he was taking the required medication. After 6 months of treatment, he would need to take another sputum culture and wait and see. The first few weeks of waiting were so hard, but as time went on we became stronger. Eventually the 9 weeks passed and we never heard from the medical office. Exactly after the last day of the 9 weeks, our attorney's office was finally able to schedule a new consulate interview, but it was 1 month away. They had tried to reschedule the interview before the 9 weeks were completely over to avoid the extra time of him being stuck in Mexico but it is not allowed. Finally he had his consular interview and everything went well. The woman who interviewed him was very nice. She said she liked our wedding photos. She asked my husband where I worked and how we met. The whole interview went very quickly and she told him he was approved. He then went back home to his parent's house to wait for the passport in the mail. It took about 2 weeks to come in the mail and then he flew home. All in all my husband was gone from December 9, 2015 to April 4, 2016.

[TBoneTX 44,658]

A recent post has been split from this thread into its own topic (in this forum), title "How Long for Juarez to Get TB/Medical Results?  [split topic]."

 

Old thread is now closed to further comment.