Medical exam only good for 3-6 months?

[JULIAFERNO 0]

The embassy in Ankara, Turkey just posted this notice on their administrative processing clearance site:

IMPORTANT REMINDER REGARDING MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Medical examinations classified as "Class B (TB)" are valid for 3 months from the date the doctor signed the report. All other medical examinations classified as "No apparent decease or defect" are valid for 6 months after the doctor’s signature date. If your case is subject to further administrative processing, your medical report may expire during the process. In that case, you are required to renew your examination and submit an updated medical report to our office when you come here to receive your immigrant visa.

[WonTanNara 0]

The embassy in Ankara, Turkey just posted this notice on their administrative processing clearance site:

IMPORTANT REMINDER REGARDING MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS

Medical examinations classified as "Class B (TB)" are valid for 3 months from the date the doctor signed the report. All other medical examinations classified as "No apparent decease or defect" are valid for 6 months after the doctor’s signature date. If your case is subject to further administrative processing, your medical report may expire during the process. In that case, you are required to renew your examination and submit an updated medical report to our office when you come here to receive your immigrant visa.

Ugh, that stinks.

I asked the Dakar embassy the same question and they told me that my fiance's medical exam was valid for one year. I hope he doesn't have to do it again, it's not cheap!

[khengool 0]

the doctors in that office are corrupt

• they definitely give kickbacks to the consulate (why else would they be the only doctors in ALLLLLL of Ankara that get to work with the US Embassy?)
• they harass people who have never used recreational/illicit drugs in the hopes of getting them to admit drug use (falsely) and bribe the doctors to sign off on their medical
• they often "accidentally walk in" on young female patients while they are getting dressed (example: more than a few women who had been told to change back into their regular clothes have reported that the medical "professional" came right back without knocking after telling them they were leaving and leaving the door ajar on purpose

[tammy2688 1]

You guys I know this sucks and paying again and going through it again but you know we have to do what is necessary to get the visas. I know the TB is valid in the US for one year too, I did not know about it only being valid for 3 months. It may depend on the country because it is valid for 1 year on Bangladesh - or it could depend on the consulate.

Whatever the fact is, this process is a long and hard one for many but no matter what we say or do, we have to adhere to the individual consulates' rules and that is the only way to successfully get the visas.

I hope all of you don't have to wait so long have to redo the medical but for those of you who do, I hope it goes well, and that your SOs are healthy and sound. On the upside, take it as a much cheaper check up, one that may have taken a lot more money to do here. It is always a good idea to get your SOs fully checked before coming here too, just to know they are healthy and to save money compared to here.

Hang in there guys, the process will end soon in sucess and like all of the other genuine cases, your visas will be issued.

God bless,

Tam

[WonTanNara 0]

You guys I know this sucks and paying again and going through it again but you know we have to do what is necessary to get the visas. I know the TB is valid in the US for one year too, I did not know about it only being valid for 3 months. It may depend on the country because it is valid for 1 year on Bangladesh - or it could depend on the consulate.

Whatever the fact is, this process is a long and hard one for many but no matter what we say or do, we have to adhere to the individual consulates' rules and that is the only way to successfully get the visas.

I hope all of you don't have to wait so long have to redo the medical but for those of you who do, I hope it goes well, and that your SOs are healthy and sound. On the upside, take it as a much cheaper check up, one that may have taken a lot more money to do here. It is always a good idea to get your SOs fully checked before coming here too, just to know they are healthy and to save money compared to here.

Hang in there guys, the process will end soon in sucess and like all of the other genuine cases, your visas will be issued.

God bless,

Tam

You always see the silver lining.

[JULIAFERNO 0]

I wrote the embassy this morning asking about our visa status as well as about this medical exam validity period. Of course they only answered my first question with a generic response. As if we should expect them to actually read our questions!

Anyway, they said "Currently administrative processing is taking more than 4-6 months." GREAT!

[tammy2688 1]

Please don't let these things get you angry and ruin your day. I have found, through my AP experience that not asking for update until 1 month has passed is a smart idea. This way you can look forward to something actually happenning (I mentioned before, 1 USC day = 1 Embassy/DOS month, kinda like Earth vs. Jupiter days) and this way you will get some new information. You cannot call every sing week and e-mail every day and expect to get new information. AP, though it takes long, ends without notice as well. Remember that. So, it is better to focus on your life and treat yourself well. How many times have I cried after opening an e-mail that told me we were in AP and DOS saying it was in AP? If I had just focused on my life more and encouraged my husband to do that more, we would be in a better mental tate right now.

Listen guys, the bottom line is: If your case is valid, honest, and if your husband/fiance is not a criminal, you WILL get the visa. So since you have this gaurantee, you should be sound and calm and not get so upset. I only ruined my brain cells and nearly killed myself doing it, just wait it out. You will get the visa as soon as AP and review is done.

It is the best to E-mail every 2 weeks if you cannot wait a month, and not to expect visa issuance in the e-mail or DOS call because the applicant will already know that first, or you will get that e-mail after AP is completed, not any time before.

It is a painful, painful, process. But we will all get through this.

God bless,

Tam

[Enlighten one :) 5]

Tammy, I love reading from you. You are such a breath of fresh air! Stay blessed.

Please don't let these things get you angry and ruin your day. I have found, through my AP experience that not asking for update until 1 month has passed is a smart idea. This way you can look forward to something actually happenning (I mentioned before, 1 USC day = 1 Embassy/DOS month, kinda like Earth vs. Jupiter days) and this way you will get some new information. You cannot call every sing week and e-mail every day and expect to get new information. AP, though it takes long, ends without notice as well. Remember that. So, it is better to focus on your life and treat yourself well. How many times have I cried after opening an e-mail that told me we were in AP and DOS saying it was in AP? If I had just focused on my life more and encouraged my husband to do that more, we would be in a better mental tate right now.

Listen guys, the bottom line is: If your case is valid, honest, and if your husband/fiance is not a criminal, you WILL get the visa. So since you have this gaurantee, you should be sound and calm and not get so upset. I only ruined my brain cells and nearly killed myself doing it, just wait it out. You will get the visa as soon as AP and review is done.

It is the best to E-mail every 2 weeks if you cannot wait a month, and not to expect visa issuance in the e-mail or DOS call because the applicant will already know that first, or you will get that e-mail after AP is completed, not any time before.

It is a painful, painful, process. But we will all get through this.

God bless,

Tam

[tammy2688 1]

Hm..sister, I don't think it's me who made you happy today, that case complete notification made your day!

[JULIAFERNO 0]

Please don't let these things get you angry and ruin your day. I have found, through my AP experience that not asking for update until 1 month has passed is a smart idea. This way you can look forward to something actually happenning (I mentioned before, 1 USC day = 1 Embassy/DOS month, kinda like Earth vs. Jupiter days) and this way you will get some new information. You cannot call every sing week and e-mail every day and expect to get new information. AP, though it takes long, ends without notice as well. Remember that. So, it is better to focus on your life and treat yourself well. How many times have I cried after opening an e-mail that told me we were in AP and DOS saying it was in AP? If I had just focused on my life more and encouraged my husband to do that more, we would be in a better mental tate right now.

Listen guys, the bottom line is: If your case is valid, honest, and if your husband/fiance is not a criminal, you WILL get the visa. So since you have this gaurantee, you should be sound and calm and not get so upset. I only ruined my brain cells and nearly killed myself doing it, just wait it out. You will get the visa as soon as AP and review is done.

It is the best to E-mail every 2 weeks if you cannot wait a month, and not to expect visa issuance in the e-mail or DOS call because the applicant will already know that first, or you will get that e-mail after AP is completed, not any time before.

It is a painful, painful, process. But we will all get through this.

God bless,

Tam

You are right, Tammy, although I hadn't personally emailed the embassy in over a month (but my senator's office did do an inquiry). I actually wrote them about the medical notice they posted on their site (only being valid for 3 and 6 months, respectively) and I thought I might as well just ask about our case while I'm sending this email...turns out they only responded about our case status with a generic response and didn't address the medical issue. I was surprised to hear them say that administrative processing is taking more than 4-6 months as they had never said that before and on their website it says "Administrative Processing takes 4-6 months and cannot be expedited..." It gave me the impression that AP is taking longer now than before.

Edited November 1, 2008 by JULIAFERNO

[tammy2688 1]

I am seeing that trend too. You will see VJ veterans moaning and groaning and about 4 whole months of AP. Now it is a given that if you are from MENA or S. Asia, you have about a 90% chance of getting 6-12 months. It seems that 4-6 months is a fantasy too, and lucky people get out by then. I am telling you Julia, don't let statistics rule your life, you case is unique and so is your situation. You have around 3 months of AP so far, and our first time AP was over was at 4 months, so you could be outta there fast. I hope your checks do not expire or you will be in it for the long haul. So I am happy you keep contact through the senator's office, just don't drive yourself nuts trying to get updates every day. I don't need to tell you to trust me on this, you already know I did this AP for the time you did times 4. The best strategy is to keep an eye on the case through the senator because when AP is done, the embassy will not wait around, they will contact you and your husband and ask him to either come for an appointment or they will ask for the passport if they do not already have it, and if they do have it, they will call him back to collect the passport with visa.

I hope you will get through this. My husband just redid his medical and submitted it to the embassy, we knew nothing would happen without a renewed medical.

So what I want you to get out of this is that 1. You AP can be completed any day now, 2. You can write your Senator office you concern of the checks expiring so ask them to keep an eye out for when DOS says AP is done, and 3. You WILL get this visa if your relationship is genuine and honest, and get your happily ever after.

Edited November 1, 2008 by tammy2688

[JULIAFERNO 0]

I am seeing that trend too. You will see VJ veterans moaning and groaning and about 4 whole months of AP. Now it is a given that if you are from MENA or S. Asia, you have about a 90% chance of getting 6-12 months. It seems that 4-6 months is a fantasy too, and lucky people get out by then. I am telling you Julia, don't let statistics rule your life, you case is unique and so is your situation. You have around 3 months of AP so far, and our first time AP was over was at 4 months, so you could be outta there fast. I hope your checks do not expire or you will be in it for the long haul. So I am happy you keep contact through the senator's office, just don't drive yourself nuts trying to get updates every day. I don't need to tell you to trust me on this, you already know I did this AP for the time you did times 4. The best strategy is to keep an eye on the case through the senator because when AP is done, the embassy will not wait around, they will contact you and your husband and ask him to either come for an appointment or they will ask for the passport if they do not already have it, and if they do have it, they will call him back to collect the passport with visa.

I hope you will get through this. My husband just redid his medical and submitted it to the embassy, we knew nothing would happen without a renewed medical.

So what I want you to get out of this is that 1. You AP can be completed any day now, 2. You can write your Senator office you concern of the checks expiring so ask them to keep an eye out for when DOS says AP is done, and 3. You WILL get this visa if your relationship is genuine and honest, and get your happily ever after.

My goal this week: Don't obsess about AP/case status. I'll let you know how it goes!

[JULIAFERNO 0]

The embassy responded to my email about the change in policy...here is what they had to say:

As a part of a pilot program, US Embassy Ankara along with 3 other posts are subject to new technical instructions issued by CDC in February 2008 which states that the medical examinations are valid for a maximum of 6 months only. We are a part of a pilot program.

[miamiwife 0]

What the hell? How can you have a pilot program for limiting validity of medical clearance from 12 months to 6 months? To see if that increases the amount of money created by the two doctors allowed to perform medical examinations for all the applicants in that country? Give me a break--I agree with khengool--corrupt. I mean the population of Turkey is 70 million, then they also have a huge amount of applicants from Iran and Iraq who have to come through their embassy--and they have a total of 2 places where you can get a medical examination? I mean, they are telling Julia it is normal now for AP to last beyond 6 months, so that is a given that you will have to redo the medical. I know we had to pay $700 for the medical alone, plus the cost to travel to Ankara. To make us wait months for AP and then to make people redo a medical exam is a strange pilot program.

[JULIAFERNO 0]

What the hell? How can you have a pilot program for limiting validity of medical clearance from 12 months to 6 months? To see if that increases the amount of money created by the two doctors allowed to perform medical examinations for all the applicants in that country? Give me a break--I agree with khengool--corrupt. I mean the population of Turkey is 70 million, then they also have a huge amount of applicants from Iran and Iraq who have to come through their embassy--and they have a total of 2 places where you can get a medical examination? I mean, they are telling Julia it is normal now for AP to last beyond 6 months, so that is a given that you will have to redo the medical. I know we had to pay $700 for the medical alone, plus the cost to travel to Ankara. To make us wait months for AP and then to make people redo a medical exam is a strange pilot program.

Sibel...it is robbery. It makes me sick!

Was the $700 a typo? I asked Onur about that and he said that's impossible. His exam cost about $180 and then an additional $200 for a psychiatric evaluation which they mandated. Oye. What was so expensive for Muhammet's exam?