Lots of missing Medical Exams, RFE

[chess 1]

Since we got our RFE (request for further evidence), asking to submit the Medical Exam and Vaccination Records that they should already have since my husband entered on a K1 visa, I've been searching this site for answers. I've noticed a lot of others getting the same form. A generic form claiming that the U.S. State Department hasn't forwarded them the files and that we must provide new ones. I may have found some answers.

First off, I did call the U.S. State Department, and they told me they don't have those files and that they never even go to them, and that USCIS just says that because they don't know where they are and want to pin it on someone. Then I called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the JFK airport where my husband entered on his K1 visa and they took his sealed envelope with all the medical documentation. They told me that they forwarded the case to the USCIS office related to the address we stated he would be living at on his fiance visa form. Of course, that address is in New York and we have since moved to Arkansas when we applied to adjust status. So I thought maybe it's a simple question of getting the New York office to forward files to California. But certainly most of you all know nothing is simple with USCIS, and no phone numbers to any offices are made public. The awful 800 number let me talk to a "know nothing" who said I could file to return original documents on the I 129 to get the medical exam but that the processing time would be longer that the amount of time we are given to send the evidence, which is about a month. I did what many on this site have recommended and contacted my congressman's office, who said they would only help me after we exhaust USCIS avenues and do an infopass appointment. Complete waste of time and loss of work day. The woman was like a frigid robot that just repeated what the little sheet said that the U.S. State Department had it. She refused to give a number or even call for herself the Buffalo NY office and only gave us a written address that we could write to. Plus the office is an hour and half from where we live, but fortunately the congressman's office was right nearby.

Finally, I met the first competent person on this journey. The poor woman who is assigned to work on immigration issues at the congressman's office was overloaded but very helpful. She told us that a few months ago Immigration changed the standards that are required for the medical exams. She also said that it wouldn't matter what office the medical files went to because everything should be in his file that is associated with his A number, which has never changed. She said sometimes a second file is made with copies of everything and sometimes a file gets left out. In that case, it's just a matter of having someone look into his A file to find his medical exam. The second possibility, especially seeing how many people are getting this RFE, is that the system is jammed up because of these new medical exam regulations, and that they in fact are wanting everyone to have new exams made. The problem-right now, at least in our area, exams have been put on hold because of the new regulations and we probably wouldn't be able to get one in time if we wanted to.

So the plan is, she will contact someone in USCIS to look in my husbands A file to find his medical info. This would be the best resolution. She also said just her making this inquiry should nil our Nov. 25 due date and that in a couple of weeks California USCIS office should mail me something regarding if they have or have not found the files. If I get no response by the 20th I'm to contact the congressman's office again. In the meantime I'm planning on contacting other Civil Surgeons in my area to find out if they are doing the exams, how long before hand I have to schedule, how long for getting results, and of course how much. Just in case we have to do it all last minute. Also just to note the RFE note said we needed to submit the supplemental vaccination form, which we actually had with our AOS, but the congressman's office told me it's just a generic form that they've sent out. So if we have to resend it I'll just give them the same one they already have.

Just curious, if anyone else has found similar explanations, or if they were able to resolve the problem in another way.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

What I've been wondering is similar to your post. I'm pretty new to the AOS stuff and because people adjust from so many different visas, I haven't taken time to read it all.

I'm wondering if POE sends a file to the local office, but that particular petition gets transferred to CSC, then is that where the bulk of lost medical file RFEs pop up.

Is there anybody on K1, whose AOS was transferred to CSC in fairly recent history that actually had their medical make it to California?

Did everybody who didn't get transferred have any problems with missing medicals?

[lostpup 0]

Hey Guys,

I received a RFE on Friday for the I-693. I arrived in the US on a K1 visa on February 28th & handed them my brown envelope with the medical enclosed at POE - JFK.

I had my medical in London at the end of January & I sent the DS-3025 vaccination form (show's I have all required vaccinations), in with my AOS stuff on March 4th 2008.

This is my second RFE & my application has indeed been forwarded to California. I read all the information I can find on VJ & I am assuming the information was left behind in my main file & never made it to California in the temporary file.

I called the 800 number on the RFE & got nowhere because the person informed me that they were a customer service rep & not an Immigration Officer, so they couldn't check or supply me with any information on my case! How exactly they provide us with CS is beyond me!

My next call was to Senator Schumer's office. I spoke to a very helpful lady who took my details & seemed to know exactly what to do & said she'd get back to me later that day.

Unfortunately, I still haven't heard back from her & I chased this morning... I'm getting worried...

I called some Doctors in NYC but ultimately the one posted on VJ in Austin, TX was the most helpful & seemed to know exactly what I need. If I mail them my details & copies of the signed I-693 pages with the date & signature filled in only, they will transcribe the vaccination information & send back to me in 2 days using priority mail. This sounds great, as I can have it within the week but I have a concern....

What about the rest of the I-693? The medical part of it will be blank! When I asked the helpful lady in Austin, Texas she said she wasn't sure but they had done lots of them & no one had called back to say that it didn't work. I'm concerned... Can anyone reading shed any light on this. Maybe you did this, please let me know your experience...

My request for additional information states that a report of Medical Examination & Vaccination Record is required. It says "Please submit a properly completed and signed Form I-693."

I would also like to get the number for JFK - Chess, you said you called, can you message me the number there please? Is it worthwhile me calling the Doctor in London where I went for my medical? This is really stressing me out.

Please help guys!

-B

[payxibka 10,045]

I'm wondering if POE sends a file to the local office, but that particular petition gets transferred to CSC, then is that where the bulk of lost medical file RFEs pop up.

The POE sends the entire "A" file to the National Records Center in Lee's Summit MO. From there when a "A" file is needed for further benefits adjudication, the file is "pulled" and sent to the requesting location. They are moving to a digitized environement but with over 100 million "A" files it will take some time. Knowing the US governement, they will digitize the old files first and then towards the new files over time rather than vice versa.

Edited October 28, 2008 by payxibka

[chess 1]

News articles on new vaccines required. I know this is opening a whole other can of worms, but possibly this is what is holding all of us up. Here is an article on how they have made Gardasil a new required vaccine for young female immigrants. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...story?track=rss

Apparently any vaccine that the Center for Disease Control recommends to the general public must become a requirement for immigrants. There's a lot of controversy on the safety of this vaccine not to mention that it costs $360. The USCIS made changes to the medical exam and added other new vaccines on June 5, 2008 and became effective August 1.

Here is the new list of the required vaccines:

- rotavirus

- hepatitis A

- meningococcal

- human papillomavirus

- zoster (for applicants age 60 and older)

Supposedly we shouldn't have to do these since we did our exams before Aug. but that's all if they actually find our exams.

Also to mention the Zoster vaccine is currently unavailable due to a manufacturing delay. US CIS has announced that, until the vaccine becomes available again, applicants may submit their medical exam forms without Zoster. As soon as Zoster is available again, though, applicants will again be required to present proof of their vaccination. .

Since we got our RFE (request for further evidence), asking to submit the Medical Exam and Vaccination Records that they should already have since my husband entered on a K1 visa, I've been searching this site for answers. I've noticed a lot of others getting the same form. A generic form claiming that the U.S. State Department hasn't forwarded them the files and that we must provide new ones. I may have found some answers.

First off, I did call the U.S. State Department, and they told me they don't have those files and that they never even go to them, and that USCIS just says that because they don't know where they are and want to pin it on someone. Then I called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the JFK airport where my husband entered on his K1 visa and they took his sealed envelope with all the medical documentation. They told me that they forwarded the case to the USCIS office related to the address we stated he would be living at on his fiance visa form. Of course, that address is in New York and we have since moved to Arkansas when we applied to adjust status. So I thought maybe it's a simple question of getting the New York office to forward files to California. But certainly most of you all know nothing is simple with USCIS, and no phone numbers to any offices are made public. The awful 800 number let me talk to a "know nothing" who said I could file to return original documents on the I 129 to get the medical exam but that the processing time would be longer that the amount of time we are given to send the evidence, which is about a month. I did what many on this site have recommended and contacted my congressman's office, who said they would only help me after we exhaust USCIS avenues and do an infopass appointment. Complete waste of time and loss of work day. The woman was like a frigid robot that just repeated what the little sheet said that the U.S. State Department had it. She refused to give a number or even call for herself the Buffalo NY office and only gave us a written address that we could write to. Plus the office is an hour and half from where we live, but fortunately the congressman's office was right nearby.

Finally, I met the first competent person on this journey. The poor woman who is assigned to work on immigration issues at the congressman's office was overloaded but very helpful. She told us that a few months ago Immigration changed the standards that are required for the medical exams. She also said that it wouldn't matter what office the medical files went to because everything should be in his file that is associated with his A number, which has never changed. She said sometimes a second file is made with copies of everything and sometimes a file gets left out. In that case, it's just a matter of having someone look into his A file to find his medical exam. The second possibility, especially seeing how many people are getting this RFE, is that the system is jammed up because of these new medical exam regulations, and that they in fact are wanting everyone to have new exams made. The problem-right now, at least in our area, exams have been put on hold because of the new regulations and we probably wouldn't be able to get one in time if we wanted to.

So the plan is, she will contact someone in USCIS to look in my husbands A file to find his medical info. This would be the best resolution. She also said just her making this inquiry should nil our Nov. 25 due date and that in a couple of weeks California USCIS office should mail me something regarding if they have or have not found the files. If I get no response by the 20th I'm to contact the congressman's office again. In the meantime I'm planning on contacting other Civil Surgeons in my area to find out if they are doing the exams, how long before hand I have to schedule, how long for getting results, and of course how much. Just in case we have to do it all last minute. Also just to note the RFE note said we needed to submit the supplemental vaccination form, which we actually had with our AOS, but the congressman's office told me it's just a generic form that they've sent out. So if we have to resend it I'll just give them the same one they already have.

Just curious, if anyone else has found similar explanations, or if they were able to resolve the problem in another way.

[chess 1]

I've been told cases that have been forwarded to California are usually those that won't have to have an AOS interview and supposedly speeds up the process. What payxibka commented matches up with what the congressman's office told me, "The POE sends the entire "A" file to the National Records Center in Lee's Summit MO. From there when a "A" file is needed for further benefits adjudication, the file is "pulled" and sent to the requesting location. " This is why I had the congressman's office make an inquiry to have someone in USCIS look for my husband's A file. You may also try getting a copy from London I have read of others that succeeded in doing that. That's not an easy or timely option for us, since we used the doctor provided at the U.S. consulate in Naples Italy and they are very hard to reach.

Another thing, I recommend going to your congressman's office in person. I tried phone, fax, a local office without success before I got the right info on when and where the help was, and even then they only really helped when I showed up in person. Keep in mind they are overloaded with many urgent cases. If you aren't able to get a copy of your medical exam and vaccines that they took when you entered you will have to do a whole new one and it will have to abide by the new standards and new vaccines they added in August. It has to be done by a Civil Surgeon who is approved of by USCIS and they have the list of them available to search with your zip code on the USCIS website.

I don't mind posting up all the phone numbers but I doubt you will have luck with them. U.S. Department of State visa (where USCIS claims the medical is) info number is 202-663-1225, they told me they don't get this paperwork ever. General number for U.S. Customs and Border Protection is 877-227-5511, I have three numbers for JFK CBP who cannot look up your particular file but will tell you they forwarded it to USCIS is 718-553-1688(also ending in 89 or 90)

Hey Guys,

I received a RFE on Friday for the I-693. I arrived in the US on a K1 visa on February 28th & handed them my brown envelope with the medical enclosed at POE - JFK.

I had my medical in London at the end of January & I sent the DS-3025 vaccination form (show's I have all required vaccinations), in with my AOS stuff on March 4th 2008.

This is my second RFE & my application has indeed been forwarded to California. I read all the information I can find on VJ & I am assuming the information was left behind in my main file & never made it to California in the temporary file.

I called the 800 number on the RFE & got nowhere because the person informed me that they were a customer service rep & not an Immigration Officer, so they couldn't check or supply me with any information on my case! How exactly they provide us with CS is beyond me!

My next call was to Senator Schumer's office. I spoke to a very helpful lady who took my details & seemed to know exactly what to do & said she'd get back to me later that day.

Unfortunately, I still haven't heard back from her & I chased this morning... I'm getting worried...

I called some Doctors in NYC but ultimately the one posted on VJ in Austin, TX was the most helpful & seemed to know exactly what I need. If I mail them my details & copies of the signed I-693 pages with the date & signature filled in only, they will transcribe the vaccination information & send back to me in 2 days using priority mail. This sounds great, as I can have it within the week but I have a concern....

What about the rest of the I-693? The medical part of it will be blank! When I asked the helpful lady in Austin, Texas she said she wasn't sure but they had done lots of them & no one had called back to say that it didn't work. I'm concerned... Can anyone reading shed any light on this. Maybe you did this, please let me know your experience...

My request for additional information states that a report of Medical Examination & Vaccination Record is required. It says "Please submit a properly completed and signed Form I-693."

I would also like to get the number for JFK - Chess, you said you called, can you message me the number there please? Is it worthwhile me calling the Doctor in London where I went for my medical? This is really stressing me out.

Please help guys!

-B

[chess 1]

Congressman's office just called. She said after a lot of back and forth with USCIS it seems that his medical exams really are lost. She recommends not fooling around with trying to get it from Italy, because the longer we take to get it the longer it will be to get his AOS approved. Well it was worth the try. I was told to take our Vaccination supplement that we do have a copy of so that he won't have to redo the vaccines but any new ones that were added on in August he'll have to get. Cost of exam without vaccines is $200. (Add that to the 235 euros we paid for the exam in Italy). Lovely business they have going. She was able to get the deadline extended for another month if I did want to fool with it. Just looking at the list of new vaccines I posted before it looks like he will have to get some of them but thank goodness he's not female and won't have to have the HP that costs $360. We'll see how the other ones add up. Also seems insurance won't cover any of it, of course.

News articles on new vaccines required. I know this is opening a whole other can of worms, but possibly this is what is holding all of us up. Here is an article on how they have made Gardasil a new required vaccine for young female immigrants. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/na...story?track=rss

Apparently any vaccine that the Center for Disease Control recommends to the general public must become a requirement for immigrants. There's a lot of controversy on the safety of this vaccine not to mention that it costs $360. The USCIS made changes to the medical exam and added other new vaccines on June 5, 2008 and became effective August 1.

Here is the new list of the required vaccines:

- rotavirus

- hepatitis A

- meningococcal

- human papillomavirus

- zoster (for applicants age 60 and older)

Supposedly we shouldn't have to do these since we did our exams before Aug. but that's all if they actually find our exams.

Also to mention the Zoster vaccine is currently unavailable due to a manufacturing delay. US CIS has announced that, until the vaccine becomes available again, applicants may submit their medical exam forms without Zoster. As soon as Zoster is available again, though, applicants will again be required to present proof of their vaccination. .

Since we got our RFE (request for further evidence), asking to submit the Medical Exam and Vaccination Records that they should already have since my husband entered on a K1 visa, I've been searching this site for answers. I've noticed a lot of others getting the same form. A generic form claiming that the U.S. State Department hasn't forwarded them the files and that we must provide new ones. I may have found some answers.

First off, I did call the U.S. State Department, and they told me they don't have those files and that they never even go to them, and that USCIS just says that because they don't know where they are and want to pin it on someone. Then I called the U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the JFK airport where my husband entered on his K1 visa and they took his sealed envelope with all the medical documentation. They told me that they forwarded the case to the USCIS office related to the address we stated he would be living at on his fiance visa form. Of course, that address is in New York and we have since moved to Arkansas when we applied to adjust status. So I thought maybe it's a simple question of getting the New York office to forward files to California. But certainly most of you all know nothing is simple with USCIS, and no phone numbers to any offices are made public. The awful 800 number let me talk to a "know nothing" who said I could file to return original documents on the I 129 to get the medical exam but that the processing time would be longer that the amount of time we are given to send the evidence, which is about a month. I did what many on this site have recommended and contacted my congressman's office, who said they would only help me after we exhaust USCIS avenues and do an infopass appointment. Complete waste of time and loss of work day. The woman was like a frigid robot that just repeated what the little sheet said that the U.S. State Department had it. She refused to give a number or even call for herself the Buffalo NY office and only gave us a written address that we could write to. Plus the office is an hour and half from where we live, but fortunately the congressman's office was right nearby.

Finally, I met the first competent person on this journey. The poor woman who is assigned to work on immigration issues at the congressman's office was overloaded but very helpful. She told us that a few months ago Immigration changed the standards that are required for the medical exams. She also said that it wouldn't matter what office the medical files went to because everything should be in his file that is associated with his A number, which has never changed. She said sometimes a second file is made with copies of everything and sometimes a file gets left out. In that case, it's just a matter of having someone look into his A file to find his medical exam. The second possibility, especially seeing how many people are getting this RFE, is that the system is jammed up because of these new medical exam regulations, and that they in fact are wanting everyone to have new exams made. The problem-right now, at least in our area, exams have been put on hold because of the new regulations and we probably wouldn't be able to get one in time if we wanted to.

So the plan is, she will contact someone in USCIS to look in my husbands A file to find his medical info. This would be the best resolution. She also said just her making this inquiry should nil our Nov. 25 due date and that in a couple of weeks California USCIS office should mail me something regarding if they have or have not found the files. If I get no response by the 20th I'm to contact the congressman's office again. In the meantime I'm planning on contacting other Civil Surgeons in my area to find out if they are doing the exams, how long before hand I have to schedule, how long for getting results, and of course how much. Just in case we have to do it all last minute. Also just to note the RFE note said we needed to submit the supplemental vaccination form, which we actually had with our AOS, but the congressman's office told me it's just a generic form that they've sent out. So if we have to resend it I'll just give them the same one they already have.

Just curious, if anyone else has found similar explanations, or if they were able to resolve the problem in another way.

[Eric-Pris 1,604]

Also seems insurance won't cover any of it, of course.

Check with your insurance company. They all cover preventative care and that's what a vaccine is. It's the greedy white-collar criminals we call doctors that say that insurance doesn't cover it because they make a WHOLE lot more money when you pay cash as opposed to the contractual rate they get from the insurance company. When doctors hear "immigration", the bells go off in their heads... CHA CHING!!!! As long as you don't mention immigration, you'll be fine. You can say that you are travelling to some country where the CDC recommends that vaccine. They can't say insurance doesn't cover that.

[payxibka 10,045]

Also seems insurance won't cover any of it, of course.

Check with your insurance company. They all cover preventative care and that's what a vaccine is. It's the greedy white-collar criminals we call doctors that say that insurance doesn't cover it because they make a WHOLE lot more money when you pay cash as opposed to the contractual rate they get from the insurance company. When doctors hear "immigration", the bells go off in their heads... CHA CHING!!!! As long as you don't mention immigration, you'll be fine. You can say that you are travelling to some country where the CDC recommends that vaccine. They can't say insurance doesn't cover that.

Exactly... My insurance plan covered the vaccinations but not the exam....

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I was told to take our Vaccination supplement that we do have a copy of so that he won't have to redo the vaccines but any new ones that were added on in August he'll have to get. .

Chess---

You shouldn't need the new vaccines. You medical date I'm sure was before June 1. See the chart at the bottom of the page on this link. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0004718190aRCRD

Also there is a long discussion of the immunization that is a sticky at the top of this forum

Now back to the topic of lost medicals. There are just too many. Anybody else that was transferred also have theirs lost?

Anybody not transferred that had their medical lost?

[AlHayatZween 2]

Hi all,

i read this topic a couple of days ago, mostly because i'm worried we didn't submit the medical correctly... my husband had his medical in the beginning of April, before all these new regulations started and our case recently got transfered to CSC... i'm just hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst...

My question is for Chess and Lost Pup:

Did you have your EADs approved before you got the RFE for the medical??

Thanks and good luck to you(s)!

hz

[Eric-Pris 1,604]

I called some Doctors in NYC but ultimately the one posted on VJ in Austin, TX was the most helpful & seemed to know exactly what I need. If I mail them my details & copies of the signed I-693 pages with the date & signature filled in only, they will transcribe the vaccination information & send back to me in 2 days using priority mail. This sounds great, as I can have it within the week but I have a concern....

What about the rest of the I-693? The medical part of it will be blank! When I asked the helpful lady in Austin, Texas she said she wasn't sure but they had done lots of them & no one had called back to say that it didn't work. I'm concerned... Can anyone reading shed any light on this. Maybe you did this, please let me know your experience...

If they lost your medical, I don't think just filling out the vaccination section is going to cut it. In my opinion, you should send a fully completed I-693.

Here's a relatively cheap CS in NYC (as of July/Aug 2008): http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=142097

Edited October 31, 2008 by kid brooklyn

[kumarkitty 0]

I have have read your post with interest .Thatwas bold of you to take all those steps and go through all those contacts.I hope the congressman's office can do you some help .I am in the same boat , but rather worse because i got an RFE not only for the physical, with the same reasons of course but also i have to look for a joint sponsor again.

but considering the short time frame , me and my wife have just decided to schedule an appointment with a uscis degnated civil surgeon in brenham , Texas last Monday.We took the shots and medical tests for about $ 468 .We were told to come back 3 days later for another meeting with the doctor and we got our sealed envelope yesterday afternoon.

I don't know what to tell you .I hope your efforts work out , but if you notice you are running out of time , you 'd better go ahead and take another physical or else who knows how the california office will respond.

[chess 1]

Yes the EAD was approved of a long time ago. (I believe around 3 months after AOS filing) It looks like the AOS is pretty much ready for approval but that they lost his medical file. If they have a problem with your medical it will just mean you have to do another one. The biggest downer being the cost. Good luck

Hi all,

i read this topic a couple of days ago, mostly because i'm worried we didn't submit the medical correctly... my husband had his medical in the beginning of April, before all these new regulations started and our case recently got transfered to CSC... i'm just hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst...

My question is for Chess and Lost Pup:

Did you have your EADs approved before you got the RFE for the medical??

Thanks and good luck to you(s)!

hz

[Carpe-Diem 0]

chess, that was great of you to do all that work. At least I now know that we are not alone as far as this "lost medical" business is concerned.

I am in the exact same situation as you. My wife received a RFE on Oct 21 from the CSC for the medical form because they are unable to locate her medical records from Dept of State. She has already been approved for the EAS & AP. Since we only have until Dec 2, we have decided not to waste any time fighting this.

We are currently working with the Civil Surgeon to have the I-693 completed. I am planning on contacting the congressmans office if we are unable to make the Dec 2 date (since the new form has so many new requirements).