Interview Conflict

[carolineden11 2]

Hi everyone,

I'm facing a bit of a health scare right now. After passing the medical exam in Toronto, my family doctor found some suspicious lumps in my neck that have been there for over a month now. Although it could be nothing, lymphoma is a concern. My interview is scheduled for August 10th. It is unlikely that I will know any results about these lumps by then. I would really appreciate if anyone could address the following questions I have:

1. How much notice do I need to give the Montreal Consulate if I want to reschedule an interview?

2. If I am approved at the interview, is there a way to postpone the issuance of my visa until my medical situation is resolved?

3. Would it be advisable to contact the Montreal Consulate to explain my situation now or would that just invite trouble since chances are there is nothing wrong with me?

4. Should I contact the doctor I saw in Toronto to get advice? I thought he had told me that you can have an interview even if you're medical isn't completed. You just have to resolve the issue and send the medical stuff before they issue the visa. Maybe they can do something like that in this situation.

5. How long is the medical valid for? Would I need to reapply for anything if I reschedule my interview for a few months from now?

I called the DOS twice. One person told me that the visa could be extended if I need to stay in Canada to get treatment and the other woman told me that the visa can only be valid for 6 months and it's best to delay the interview. I would hate to delay my interview only to find out that everything is fine.

In addition to being very stressed about my health, I am anxious about this whole visa situation. We've wait almost a year for my visa and just when it looked like it was within grasp, we got another set back.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

[Inky 1,110]

You can schedule your interview online at any time. The same way you booked it you can change it.

Edit - it should say you schedule your own interviews for K-1s online, the same way you booked it you can change it anytime you want too. Sorry for any confusion!

Edited July 13, 2011 by Inky

[carolineden11 2]

Thank you for your response. So I don't need to give a certain amount of notice? Do I just go back into the pool of people waiting for an interview?

Also, is there a time limit for my package 4 and my medical results or is there no expiration?

[pocheros 101]

I'm not sure what the best procedure is for you regarding everything else, but as to #5 - the medical exam is valid for one year.

[carolineden11 2]

What about the NOA2? Does that expire?

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

i CAN ANSWER THE ONE. YOU WILL NOT BE APPROVED FOR VISA UNTIL YOU ARE CLEARED WITH THE MEDICAL EXAM. THE LUMPS WILL HAVE TO BE PROVEN BENIGN. PERHAPS YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVE THEM SURGICAL REMOVED OR TREATED AND DISAPPATED

[carolineden11 2]

I already passed the medical exam. My family doctor found the lumps after I had the visa medical.

[carolineden11 2]

I already passed the medical exam. My family doctor found the lumps after I had the visa medical.

I'm sorry to ramble on here but I guess I should give more details about my situation. I initially failed my visa medical due to a lump the doctor found in my breast. The doctor said to go to my family doctor to have it checked out and forward the results to him so he could approve my medical. I went for an ultrasound back home and it turned out to be nothing. So my doctor forwarded the results and I received the visa medical results a week later. Around the same time I started to notice lumps in my neck which my family doctor assumed was lymph node swelling due to infection. One month later after being on antibiotics, the lumps are still there. Now my doctor is a little concerned which means I have to go for more tests. Personally, I think the stress of failing the visa medical initially might have caused my lymph nodes to swell and it will turn out to be nothing. I'm just trying to figure out my options for the worst case scenario.

[shirley2011 0]

I think as long as you keep an interview date - no matter when it is - your case remains active.

[pocheros 101]

Thank you for your response. So I don't need to give a certain amount of notice? Do I just go back into the pool of people waiting for an interview?

Also, is there a time limit for my package 4 and my medical results or is there no expiration?

You scheduled your interview online right? You simply log in to the CSC website, go to "My account," and click reschedule appointment. The deadline for rescheduling an appointment is one day before your interview, so you have until August 9th to reschedule. However, the next available date is currently October 25th. The next available date changes frequently but I'm pretty sure most of September has been filled up by now.

As shirley noted, as long as you have an interview date your case remains active. Technically, NOA2 gives you an expiration date but most people don't receive their visas before the expiration date and it's automatically extended when you set an interview date. If you cancel your interview and don't reschedule and it goes past the date on your NOA2 then you have to somehow stay in touch with Montreal (or DoS?) to let them know you haven't abandoned your case. I am unfamiliar with the procedure regarding this situation, however (that is I don't know if you should contact DoS or MTL.)

4. Should I contact the doctor I saw in Toronto to get advice? I thought he had told me that you can have an interview even if you're medical isn't completed. You just have to resolve the issue and send the medical stuff before they issue the visa. Maybe they can do something like that in this situation.

Yes, you can have your interview and have the visa issuance postponed until your medical issue is resolved. Sometimes people don't have everything at the interview (because they had their medical only the day before the interview, etc.) in which case Montreal will wait for you to get them the necessary documentation.

[carolineden11 2]

Thank you. I feel much more reassured.

Pocheros, will they postpone the issuance of the visa even though I passed the visa medical? Like if I tell them that I'm still concerned about my health and might want to delay getting a visa until the problem is resolved?

[pocheros 101]

Unfortunately I have no idea if you can request to have your visa issuance to be postponed. I don't know how a consular officer would respond if you were to tell him that you needed to check some lumps on your neck. Perhaps they would proceed as mentioned earlier (not issue a visa until you give them the necessary documentation showing you are in good health.) However, I *think* you have 6 months to enter the states once your visa has been issued (for a fiance/K1) as well.

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than me will chime in. Probably the best thing for you to do is to NOT change your interview date, but continue to investigate the lumps on your neck and if the results are inconclusive by the time you have your interview and you do not wish to have your visa issued right away, then be prepared to bring it up at the interview? Not sure exactly how one should go about that. I wish I could be of more help but take my advice with a grain of salt as I don't know what the best course of action is here. :/

Edited July 14, 2011 by pocheros

[shirley2011 0]

When do you think you will get the results about the lumps?

[carolineden11 2]

I'm not sure how long it will take to get results. I have to get the results of my ultrasound before I can get a referral for a biopsy. The ultrasound probably won't tell us anything but it needs to be done before I can get the referral to a specialist. My doctor is really great and I know she will try to get me some results as soon as possible. But it still might take a month or so. I'm so anxious and keep having panic attacks since this has been worrying me for over a month now. In addition I'm defending my MSc thesis in just over a month and my fiance deploys shortly.

Thank you all so much for your support and advice!

[pocheros 101]

I'm not sure how long it will take to get results. I have to get the results of my ultrasound before I can get a referral for a biopsy. The ultrasound probably won't tell us anything but it needs to be done before I can get the referral to a specialist. My doctor is really great and I know she will try to get me some results as soon as possible. But it still might take a month or so. I'm so anxious and keep having panic attacks since this has been worrying me for over a month now. In addition I'm defending my MSc thesis in just over a month and my fiance deploys shortly.

Thank you all so much for your support and advice!

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a stressful time Getting a visa itself is stressful enough, and having other things piled on top of it only makes it worse! However, if it's any consolation, consular officers are people and realize things like this happen. They will probably not issue you a visa until you provide proof that the lumps aren't anything to worry about. It just means that when you finally do get your visa issued it will add on a few more weeks of processing time to it.