Having trouble with the medical...

[nica 5]

So the medical didn't go well. The doctor found something that concerned her, and so my husband's having to go through a bunch more tests through his GP. If they come up clean, the doctor said he'll be approved. If not, he'll have to be sent to some specialists. It all seems fairly ridiculous to me given that it's some kind of cardiovascular issue, and not at all communicable, so I'm guessing the concern is whether he'll be able to afford to treat a possible health condition after he gets here.

So this all sounds okay (I'm fairly convinced the tests will be clean), but one of the tests will take six weeks through NHS, so we won't know the diagnosis until well after the interview. So I assume we're looking at an immediate rejection at the interview, but am I right in thinking that once they receive good news from the doctors, the consulate will go ahead and approve the visa? Or will he have to go to another interview?

Also, should he bring anything health-related to the interview itself? For example, I'm planning to buy health insurance for him here... would it sway anything if he were to bring proof of the US health insurance to the interview?

I guess I'm trying to understand the chain of command... would we be better off to try to convince the doctor that he'll have US health insurance, or the interviewer? Or do neither of them actually care?

Any advice is much appreciated! It's been an awful week.

Edited May 5, 2012 by nica

[cathy2904 97]

I had a similar situation. They found something on the chest x-ray and I had to have a CT scan through my GP. The results took ages but showed that there was nothing there. At that point the clinic released the medical results and they arrived at the Embassy the day before my interview. Stressful times. But like you, I guess that if the results had not been there they would have denied the visa pending their receipt and as soon as a clear medical was received they would issue the visa. Hopefully they would hang onto the passport in the hope that it wouldn't take long. I am pretty certain he wouldn't need another interview. The problem I see is that the clinic would probably not send a partial report to the Embassy. I get the impression that they wouldn't send anything at all until the results are complete so there wouldn't really be chance to convince the CO. I guess his hands would be tied without any medical info. And I am pretty sure the clinic would have no power to act outside what the Embassy wants and so I am not sure who you could present the health insurance issues to.

Others may know better of course, just my impression.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I agree with everything Cathy said. Eventually they will send a medical report after they have gathered all the extra information. Then the embassy will decide admissability based on the report. Any convincing would be done to the embassy.

Why don't you reschedule your interview for after the tests? You won't get an approval without a medical report so the interview wouldn't really get you any further along. After you know the results and they are at the embassy, then you are face to face to discuss with the decision maker. You surely won't get any contact with him later by calling or emailing. Pick a date to ask for. If you don't have medical results by then, schedule a third time. I know somebody who put his interview off at least 4 times.

[nica 5]

I agree with everything Cathy said. Eventually they will send a medical report after they have gathered all the extra information. Then the embassy will decide admissability based on the report. Any convincing would be done to the embassy.

Why don't you reschedule your interview for after the tests? You won't get an approval without a medical report so the interview wouldn't really get you any further along. After you know the results and they are at the embassy, then you are face to face to discuss with the decision maker. You surely won't get any contact with him later by calling or emailing. Pick a date to ask for. If you don't have medical results by then, schedule a third time. I know somebody who put his interview off at least 4 times.

Do you really think there will be a process of trying to convince the consular officer, even after they've received the medical results, okayed by the consulate physicians?

If so, then I can see the point of delaying the interview. But if it turns out that once the physicians are convinced, then the consular officer checks off a box saying the medical is approved with no further questions, in which case I guess it seems like it won't matter whether we do the interview now or later. Does that make sense?

[Amanda and Josh 12]

They are looking to see if he will be a burnden on the american health care system. My daughter has cystic fibrosis and I was super worried about that. I printed out out health insurance and a letter stating her pre exsisting condition was covered for the embassy here in Australia but they weren't interested at all, in fact they didn't even ask about it!

[nica 5]

They are looking to see if he will be a burnden on the american health care system. My daughter has cystic fibrosis and I was super worried about that. I printed out out health insurance and a letter stating her pre exsisting condition was covered for the embassy here in Australia but they weren't interested at all, in fact they didn't even ask about it!

Yeah, that's the ironic thing about all of this! I get the impression that if we had known ahead of time that there was some health issue, we would just have provided documentation to the clinic and nobody would have cared. But since it's a potential problem that hasn't been properly diagnosed, it's mucking up the immigration process. The frustrating thing is that he had a recent physical, but nothing worrying came up at all. So either the consular clinic is much more in-depth than the GP at NHS, or we got a crazy doctor at the clinic.

We're trying to see if we can get the tests done faster through private healthcare so we don't have to worry so much about the interview... but not sure how ridiculously expensive that might be!

Edited May 6, 2012 by nica

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Do you really think there will be a process of trying to convince the consular officer, even after they've received the medical results, okayed by the consulate physicians?

If so, then I can see the point of delaying the interview. But if it turns out that once the physicians are convinced, then the consular officer checks off a box saying the medical is approved with no further questions, in which case I guess it seems like it won't matter whether we do the interview now or later. Does that make sense?

You started a thread asking about convincing Knightsbridge vs Embassy. My answer is that Embassy decides the visa. Will they need convincing? I don't know. I don't know the condition or results. You don't know the results, so how are you sure it is nothing? If you would rather have that opportunity to discuss rather than let them decide on their own, you can delay the interview. It was only an option I threw out there because you brought up convincing. There is no face to face discussion after you leave the embassy. I guess it boils down to--do you want to hear "approved" at the interview or "we'll get back to you when we decide."

Knightsbridge always asks for more information from the family GP if it's something they can't sum up in one appointment whether it's cancer, ulcers, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression or anything one takes regular medication for. I personally don't think they do any "approving". They just report the medical facts, sometimes with further info from a GP who sees you more often. They don't sign their name to it until they've gotten the facts. Even if you had TB and syphillis, they would send the report and let the embassy decide.

[nica 5]

Will they need convincing? I don't know. I don't know the condition or results. You don't know the results, so how are you sure it is nothing?

Because I don't want to think my husband is seriously ill? Either way, I know it's not communicable.

[nica 5]

Knightsbridge always asks for more information from the family GP if it's something they can't sum up in one appointment whether it's cancer, ulcers, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression or anything one takes regular medication for. I personally don't think they do any "approving". They just report the medical facts, sometimes with further info from a GP who sees you more often. They don't sign their name to it until they've gotten the facts. Even if you had TB and syphillis, they would send the report and let the embassy decide.

I'm not trying to argue with your advice, just trying to understand more fully. If the doctor passes on a diagnosis, rather than a "you passed the medical" notice, then you're probably right about delaying the interview. The reason I was assuming they gave a "you passed the medical" notice to the consulate, though, was that it seems a bit odd to expect that all the consular officers will understand enough about medicine to be able to interpret whether the results mean a person will or won't be a burden on the US healthcare system.

For example, if someone showed me that Person A has a back problem, I don't think I would really be able to tell the difference, based on the diagnosis, between the kind of back problem that requires a person to do stretches every morning versus the kind of back problem that requires a person to have multiple back surgeries. It also seems like it's not in the interests of the consular officer to expect you (as the interviewee) to explain to them what the doctor's diagnosis means, since you have a vested interest in downplaying the problem so you can get the visa. So that's why I'm a little confused about what the exchange is between the consular clinic and the consular officer.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I'm not trying to argue with your advice, just trying to understand more fully.

And I'm not trying to convince you one way or another. You can either hear "approved" at the interview or "undecided". Either way is fine depending on your preference. Some people want to know where they stand. Some people don't mind waiting until they get back to your paperwork.

I have know people who sent things back in and three weeks or more went by with no word or answers. They are not going to issue the visa on the day the medical report arrives, which is what most people think. Then people worry and spend money to call and are told nothing much. I've read four years of London experiences and there is no exact timeframe when they will get back to your case if you don't present it all at the interview. Sometimes fast. Sometimes delayed.

Another thought is what if something else is missing--like the I-864 has a problem. Then you could be working on that to get back to them while waiting on the medical. Yes I-864s and birth certificates have been rejected at the Embassy, even though they went through NVC.

Just weigh it out and pick one that suits you.

About the doctors: There is a place to tick off "free of disease and abnormality." Of course the embassy would see that up front and move on. But if there is a disease, the doc can tick off follow up, report a disease in detail, etc. You can enter the US with disease or certain abnormalities. All I'm saying is Knightsbridge does not decide admissability. The embassy does based on facts presented. If the doc reports you have recent suicidal tendancies and are likely to continue to harm yourself or others, it will be the embassy that accepts or rejects that behavior. The immigration law dictates what is inadmissable. Back pain isn't on the list.

Compare it to the police report. "No trace" means go. Any crime and they want to know more at the embassy. ACPO does not decide yay or nay. They just report the existence of a criminal record. The embassy decides whether it is an okay crime (letting the air out of the neighbor's tires) or an inadmissable crime (dealing drugs).

Here's a medical form. I don't know if it's the latest version but it will give you an idea of what the doctor communicates to the Embassy. http://www.***removed***/immigrant-visa/ds-2053-medical-examination-immigrant-visa.pdf

Edited May 6, 2012 by Nich-Nick

[nica 5]

Well, it looks like he'll have all the tests done by Monday (since we're going the private route), so we're just waiting to see if the test results will be done in time to fax them to the consulate doctor in time to send the results to the consulate in time for the interview. It's going to be a stressful couple of weeks!

Cathy, do you remember offhand how long it took Knightsbridge to pass on the medical results to the consulate? For some reason I've been assuming we should figure that process takes at least two days, but I could be wrong!

[cathy2904 97]

I think they say four days to be on the safe side - to cover themselves. But I'm pretty sure I faxed them the report from my GP on Wednesday evening (so the clinic wouldn't have got it until Thursday morning) and they told me the results would be there in time for my interview early the following Tuesday morning - and they were. But I really remember the wait and how stressful it was so you have my sympathy. I had a scan on the NHS and it was done very quickly but the results took for ever! Once they told me the reason for the delay was that it was half-term week at school and 'lots of doctors take time off during the school holidays'. Aaargh! Good job I wasn't seriously ill -

Edited May 10, 2012 by cathy2904