Medical Questions

[Stephen1 0]

I just got my interview date and now have a few questions about the medical.

1. They told me it should be in Manila not Cebu but I didnt understand if they advise against Cebu or its just not allowed at all.

2. I was also told to make the medical be one week before the interview and no longer than 2 weeks, but ive heard of people doing early medicals. If possible I would like to do an early medical because if they do a culture test for TB it takes up to 6 weeks to get the results which would mean I would miss my interview. Which leads to my third question

3. Under what circumstances would they do a sputum test of that kind. I ask cause my fiance had pnumonia before and may show scars on her xray do that. Also im concerned that when she was about 11 her brother got TB. Although she never got sick, TB usually comes in its latent form and I was concerned if it is possible she could have it.

[Mia Sav 1]

I just got my interview date and now have a few questions about the medical.

1. They told me it should be in Manila not Cebu but I didnt understand if they advise against Cebu or its just not allowed at all.

2. I was also told to make the medical be one week before the interview and no longer than 2 weeks, but ive heard of people doing early medicals. If possible I would like to do an early medical because if they do a culture test for TB it takes up to 6 weeks to get the results which would mean I would miss my interview. Which leads to my third question

3. Under what circumstances would they do a sputum test of that kind. I ask cause my fiance had pnumonia before and may show scars on her xray do that. Also im concerned that when she was about 11 her brother got TB. Although she never got sick, TB usually comes in its latent form and I was concerned if it is possible she could have it.

Congratulations on getting your schedule!

Yes, the medical exam is done at St. Luke's Extension Clinic in Manila & not in Cebu. SLEC is the only clinic in the Philippines duly authorized by the US Embassy to conduct the exam. Yes, the medical schedule they set is one week before the interview but based on what you shared I suggest you let you fiancee have an early medical in case there are more tests to be conducted few weeks ahead of the interview schedule. This will prevent more delays if the tests results won't be available before the interview. I am not an expert to answer your third question but to my understanding they will conduct a sputum test if they found some irregularities on her x-ray results which they need to clarify. Anyway, let's hear out more answers from other members of this forum. Good luck!

Edited March 19, 2008 by nikmia

[Mari_S 1]

I just got my interview date and now have a few questions about the medical.

1. They told me it should be in Manila not Cebu but I didnt understand if they advise against Cebu or its just not allowed at all.

2. I was also told to make the medical be one week before the interview and no longer than 2 weeks, but ive heard of people doing early medicals. If possible I would like to do an early medical because if they do a culture test for TB it takes up to 6 weeks to get the results which would mean I would miss my interview. Which leads to my third question

3. Under what circumstances would they do a sputum test of that kind. I ask cause my fiance had pnumonia before and may show scars on her xray do that. Also im concerned that when she was about 11 her brother got TB. Although she never got sick, TB usually comes in its latent form and I was concerned if it is possible she could have it.

Hi There!

On question one: SLEC is the medical facility accredited by the USEM so you have to take your medical there. During the medical, they will ask for your passport and they will be the one to forward this to USEM along with the results of your medical.

Question 2: Yes you can do an early medical. The medical results are valid for 6 months.

Question 3: It all depends on what they find out during your X-ray. I myself had the scare of my life when i repeated my x-ray 3 times. however, everything turned out well.

Anyways, congratulations on your recent approval and good luck on your upcoming medical and interview!

[James and Rachel 0]

I just got my interview date and now have a few questions about the medical.

1. They told me it should be in Manila not Cebu but I didnt understand if they advise against Cebu or its just not allowed at all.

2. I was also told to make the medical be one week before the interview and no longer than 2 weeks, but ive heard of people doing early medicals. If possible I would like to do an early medical because if they do a culture test for TB it takes up to 6 weeks to get the results which would mean I would miss my interview. Which leads to my third question

3. Under what circumstances would they do a sputum test of that kind. I ask cause my fiance had pnumonia before and may show scars on her xray do that. Also im concerned that when she was about 11 her brother got TB. Although she never got sick, TB usually comes in its latent form and I was concerned if it is possible she could have it.

If you have to do sputum test, SLEC will reschedule your interview at USEM. You should bring all your previous medical records and x-ray for comparison. anything they see suspicious in your x-ray will cause them to do a sputum test. good luck, Jim

[RIDION 0]

Congratulations! ...What they said And your fiancee can have an x-ray done in Cebu early on to check & correct any abnormalities , if any. If there's none, then she can just bring & show the x-ray film to SLEC. Just be sure that her name & the date the x-ray is taken is on the film.

[Stephen1 0]

thanks for the replies, Im gonna try to get her interview as soon as I can. Nobody answers SLEC when I call, does anyone know if they really always have time for a walk in appointment. Thats what I was told by the lady at the embassy but it seems strange not to make an appointment.

Also I was worried because her brother had TB when she was 11. If anything its latent and not contagious, AKA class B not A. If there is a chance of that does B class TB stop someone from entering the U.S since its not contagious or harmfull too her? Im probably just worying too much and asking to many questions but thanks for your responses.

Edited March 20, 2008 by Stephen1

[James and Rachel 0]

thanks for the replies, Im gonna try to get her interview as soon as I can. Nobody answers SLEC when I call, does anyone know if they really always have time for a walk in appointment. Thats what I was told by the lady at the embassy but it seems strange not to make an appointment.

Also I was worried because her brother had TB when she was 11. If anything its latent and not contagious, AKA class B not A. If there is a chance of that does B class TB stop someone from entering the U.S since its not contagious or harmfull too her? Im probably just worying too much and asking to many questions but thanks for your responses.

If a sputum culture is positive, Slec will have her do 6 months of treatment for TB before she can get an interview. My wife had the TB infection (inactive) not the contagious type, and still has to do the treatment. if you have concerns, I would suggest having a test right away and if she is positive, then she can be taking the medicines while your waiting the visa process. There are no additional charges for the treatment, (at least not at this time) thru slec. but that could change like everything else has.

Good Luck and I hope all will be fine.

James and Rachel

[TinTin and Samby 11]

Congrats Stephen1 to you and your fiance for getting the interview dates.

Your gal can go to SLEC in Manila any day that they are open. No advance appointment is necessary. There are no specific days or hours that are set aside for "walk-ins". In fact, EVERYONE IS A "Walk in". The SLEC medical exam schedule date given by the US Embassy is really just their attempt to even out the load at SLEC and keep the beneficiary within their timeline (max 1 month, min 1 week before embassy interview. All beneficiaries that show up on a given day at SLEC, whether they have a "appointment date for that day given them by US Embassy" or are a walk in are accepted and treated on a firs come first served basis.

One thing to think about would be:

If you believe that the TB Screen is the only "risk item" to passing the medical exam, you might have that test done in advance in your location (no travel to Manila) at your expense - not much for medical things here in the Philippines. In this way, you will know in advance if she will pass or fail the TB screen. If you know in advance that there wont be a problem, then you can do your SLEC medical 1 week before the interview so that you can only make 1 seven day trip to Manila.

If on the other hand, you find that from the test in your local area that there may be some problems, then you can go to SLEC the full 4 weeks before hand and not have to worry about staying in manila for a whole month which could be expensive unless she has family there.

Good luck to you both!

Best Regards,

Samby

[wizardfitz 13]

Congrats Stephen1 to you and your fiance for getting the interview dates.

Your gal can go to SLEC in Manila any day that they are open. No advance appointment is necessary. There are no specific days or hours that are set aside for "walk-ins". In fact, EVERYONE IS A "Walk in". The SLEC medical exam schedule date given by the US Embassy is really just their attempt to even out the load at SLEC and keep the beneficiary within their timeline (max 1 month, min 1 week before embassy interview. All beneficiaries that show up on a given day at SLEC, whether they have a "appointment date for that day given them by US Embassy" or are a walk in are accepted and treated on a firs come first served basis.

One thing to think about would be:

If you believe that the TB Screen is the only "risk item" to passing the medical exam, you might have that test done in advance in your location (no travel to Manila) at your expense - not much for medical things here in the Philippines. In this way, you will know in advance if she will pass or fail the TB screen. If you know in advance that there wont be a problem, then you can do your SLEC medical 1 week before the interview so that you can only make 1 seven day trip to Manila.

If on the other hand, you find that from the test in your local area that there may be some problems, then you can go to SLEC the full 4 weeks before hand and not have to worry about staying in manila for a whole month which could be expensive unless she has family there.

Good luck to you both!

Best Regards,

Samby

don't know if this is the right place to post this. from reading this thread I'll give it a shot. my fiancée had TB yrs ago. under went the 6 month treatment and now has yearly check ups with xrays. so we kind of know she will have to undergo a sputum test. my question is, in order to be proactive, can she get this done at our expense without any letter from the embassy? we are still early in the process, only about 90 days in

[James and Rachel 0]

I would follow Samby's advice, I am not sure if slec will do an exam without an appointment letter, but I would go there and ask. I do know, if they see anything suspicious in her xray, she will have to do a sputum test. Also make sure she brings all of her prior medical records. Good Luck,, James

[wizardfitz 13]

I would follow Samby's advice, I am not sure if slec will do an exam without an appointment letter, but I would go there and ask. I do know, if they see anything suspicious in her xray, she will have to do a sputum test. Also make sure she brings all of her prior medical records. Good Luck,, James

yes she has the scarring that Tb leaves. she also has several years of xryas and doctors notes saying there is no change. we were just trying to get it started so the 8 week wait is not in addition the the 6 months the CSC is taking. thank you