Med Exam In Manila Today

[filipinaasian 5]

My fiancee' arrived at SLEC in Manila at 3:30AM today to find about 10 others already there, she is currently waiting in line at 4:30AM and the crowd has grown considerably, the area is well lighted and guards have just arrived. She is texting me with updates and I will submit a full report upon completion of today's events.

Not sure this will be helpful to others but thought I'd give it a try. If any readers have questions related to this process, I welcome your input as the day progresses. Wish us luck.

Good luck! COngratulations!

[We Are The Art 46]

For those still awaiting the full report, my fiancee' will receive her immunizations about 2 - 3 hours from the time of this posting. Once she has returned to the hotel and I have heard all of the details of her exam from start to finish (assuming the WiFi in the hotel works properly) I will finish and publish the full report some time later today.

Thanks for your patience, support and interest.

[We Are The Art 46]

SLEC Online RegistrationCasa Bocobo HotelCasa Bocobo Hotel Review As Promised:

The following report describes the events and experiences during my fiancee's medical exam at St. Lukes in Manila on Monday, October 22 and 23 2012. As other extremely well presented and detailed reports related to the procedural aspects of the SLEC exam have previously been posted on this forum, we will try to focus on other aspects in this report. We hope this will be helpful to others.

Day One:

Accompanied by her mother, my precious fiancee' flew on a Zest Airways Airbus320 from Davao to Manila. We chose Zest because it was cheaper (than PAL) and also offered a much newer and cleaner aircraft.

Total cost of roundtrip for 2: $285.00 USD or about 11,787.00 PHP.

PAL (Philippine Airlines) wanted well nearly $600.00 USD for the same flight.

After a turbulent (weather related) flight, she arrived Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport on Sunday October, 21 2012 at 8:10AM one day ahead of her exam day. She was promptly met by a friendly female driver arranged by the Casa Bocobo Hotel then proceeded to the hotel which is very near the SLEC. I had pre-booked her room at Casa Bocobo and the staff of the hotel was very helpful and courteous throughout, they even called me at my home in the U.S. to confirm that her transportation was all arranged ahead of her arrival. It was about a 30-40 minute drive from the airport to the hotel.

Check-in went smoothly, but due to her early arrival time she did have to wait until the 2:00PM check-in time to get in her room. She had breakfast in the hotel's restaurant and then waited patiently in the lobby for her room to be readied. After paying a small fee for early check-in, she was in her room by 1:00PM. The room is a bit small (by American standards) but is clean and acceptable for her 3 night stay. Free breakfast and WiFi are included in the daily rate, the WiFi connection is not so good but that's the Philippines for ya.

Total cost for 3 night stay: $146.00 USD or about 6,038.00 PHP. The staff have all been friendly and accommodating. Overall, this was a good choice of hotels for our purposes but the spotty WiFi has been a major pain. It seems numerous other couples have also chosen this hotel for their stay during their own medical exam process.

Trip Advisor.com ranks Casa Bocobo #10 out of 100 in Manila. Casa Bocobo Hotel Review

(Be Advised: There are 2 Casa Bocobo Hotels. Casa Bocobo Hotel (Our choice) and

Casa Bocobo Hotel at Zen Towers at another location.

Day 2:

2:30AM Awoke to take a shower, dress and eat a good breakfast, (which she purchased the night before as the free breakfast provided by the hotel is not available at that early hour) Departed the hotel at 3:20AM and took the short walk to the clinic. After a quick stop at a convenience store on the way, she arrived SLEC at 3:30AM where she was #9 in the "pre-registered" line. (she pre-registered online prior to her arrival in Manila) SLEC Online Registration (I highly recommend using the online pre-registration form) Another line (the walk-in line) was already formed and had about 20 examinee's in line. She inform's me that the area is well lighted and seems reasonably secure. Brought bottled water with her and is allowed to take it in the clinic. Has all of her paperwork neatly organized in a folder and also brought a black ink pen to sign and fill out forms.

4:30 AM Inform's me that she is nervous but well, the crowd has now increased to approximately 60 people in all and continues to grow rapidly. The SLEC guards have now arrived and are watchful of the applicants as they patiently wait in line. We are both relieved to know the guards are there.

5:15AM Although she was #9 in the waiting line, she is issued entry #6 (thanks to the pre-registration form) then enters the reception area and proceeds to fill out her PDS.

5:30 AM Now waiting for the clerks in the reception area to open their service windows. We are both a bit surprised they let people in before 6:00AM. She say's it's pretty crowded in there. Chats with another K-1 applicant who is also engaged to an American in Florida and also has the same Embassy interview date. Also say's people who didn't even arrive until after 8:00AM are actually in front of her in the admission line due to slow processing, holdups, and line jumpers at the intake windows. Maybe arriving very early doesn't really help much after all, but it's surely better than being stuck in the long line outside.

6:00AM -- 11:20AM Continues through the normal successive steps of the medical exam smoothly. She was unable to text me as she progressed through the schedule due to a dead cell phone battery.

11:25AM Back in the hotel room. She Passed the Exam! Total time in the clinic from start to finish: Just under 6 hours. (not including the waiting time outside)

Instructed to return at 1:30PM for the immunization forms. Goes back to the hotel to eat lunch and rest a bit.

1:30PM Returns to SLEC and is issued the immunization forms and receipt needed to complete her exam schedule the following day. By 2:00PM she is back in her room and ready for a well deserved nap. Sleeps for awhile and later has dinner with her mother in the hotel restaurant. She is very relieved that her chest x-ray was clear and now won't be required to undergo the much dreaded sputum test. She's still a bit concerned that there may be some last minute snag with the blood work taken earlier but is optimistic all will go well tomorrow. She's in bed and asleep in her room by 9:30PM after a very long day.

Day 3:

Awakes at 7:00AM Showers, dresses and goes for breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Turns out the "free" breakfast isn't very good. Leave's the restaurant at 8:30AM and arrives at SLEC by 8:40AM. Hands in her receipt and is told to proceed to the immunization section to get her injections. She is only required to have 2 immunizations, MMR and Diphtheria. She text's me to update me before she enters the clinic, I've never seen anyone SO happy to be getting injections!

11:00AM Impatiently waiting for her release orders. Waiting.....waiting....waiting.... FINALLY released at exactly 11:58AM ! She is finished and off to Robinson's Mall for lunch and shopping with mom!

At long last, this critical stage of our long Visa Journey is finally complete!

She fly's home tomorrow and will spend the next 2 weeks cherishing the company of her family...this is a very exciting, and very sad time for her. In just 2 short weeks she will return to Manila one last time where I will greet her with open arms, she will finally be where she belongs. With Me.

Our Embassy interview is November 9th at 7:30AM. Were are almost there.

Soon she will leave everyone and everything she's ever known behind....her family, her friends, and her native country. Now begins an entirely New Journey.

[We Are The Art 46]

Our deepest appreciation to everyone who has patiently followed and supported our Visa Journey. The comments and congratulations have meant so much to us both. We sincerely wish the very best to each and every one of you!

We will of course submit a followup report on our interview ASAP.

[ca_babe 129]

It's flu season. How come they didn't do flu shot? Also, don't they vaccinate for Tetanus anymore? Or she already had them?

[We Are The Art 46]

It's flu season. How come they didn't do flu shot? Also, don't they vaccinate for Tetanus anymore? Or she already had them?

I'll have to ask her about the specifics on the immunizations later and will report back, I do know she had already received some vaccines previously and will also be required to have one more once she is stateside. I doubt the flu shot is a requirement, same goes for tetanus. Vaccines are meant to prevent infectious diseases being transported to the U.S. The flu is already here

[We Are The Art 46]

Awesome, actually cheered when I read the result of the xray on here!!! Great news for you two!!

Bob

Many thanks Bob

[ca_babe 129]

I'll have to ask her about the specifics on the immunizations later and will report back, I do know she had already received some vaccines previously and will also be required to have one more once she is stateside. I doubt the flu shot is a requirement, same goes for tetanus. Vaccines are meant to prevent infectious diseases being transported to the U.S. The flu is already here

I was hoping the flu shot and the Tdap are already included so that my mom wouldn't have to get it when she comes over here. hehe

The tetanus shot was required back in 2005 but St. Luke's didn't have it so I had to get it over here when I arrived from a USCIS-accredited civil surgeon and I submitted a Supplemental form to I-693 together with my Adjustment of Status papers.

Looks like it's still required.

http://www.uscis.gov...0004718190aRCRD

Background

Under the immigration laws of the United States, a foreign national who applies for an immigrant visa abroad, or who seeks to adjust status to a permanent resident while in the United States, is required to receive vaccinations to prevent the following diseases:

• Mumps
• Measles
• Rubella
• Polio
• Tetanus and Diphtheria Toxoids
• Pertussis
• Haemophilus influenzae type B
• Hepatitis B
• Any other vaccine-preventable diseases recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices

By the way, congratulations and thank you for the detailed post.

Edited October 23, 2012 by ca_babe

[We Are The Art 46]

By the way, congratulations and thank you for the detailed post.

Thanks for the info and the congrats.

[southcalhog 43]

Thanks for sharing your Fiancees experience with us. I know that feeling all to well as my now Wife completed hers this past March. Good Luck and Congratulations to You both.