I-693 TB test

[p cube 1]

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result. Now, I am wondering what is gonna happen if I had active TB. Do I have to take medication till everything clears out? Do I have to wait that long till I can apply for AOS? Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

[chris4336 3]

Hi, First thing you should do is check the Lot # of the TB test and get another test. My test came out positive a few years ago and it turns out that it was due to a bad batch of the serum they injected into. Please get another test before starting any medication!

I really don't know how this will affect you with the government, but I think after taking the perscribed medication you should be okay

Christina

[JenT 0]

Having active tb is grounds for inadmissibility, but you're already here:

http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?...3ccf062f2ffa29f

This link may also provide some direction re: your AOS status for you.

Jen

[athena_ny 1]

Nothing that helpful, but a lot of people from countries outside the US get false positives for some reason. Worked in HR at a place hiring a lot of foreigners and false positives were commonly seen. If it's any comfort.

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result. Now, I am wondering what is gonna happen if I had active TB. Do I have to take medication till everything clears out? Do I have to wait that long till I can apply for AOS? Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

[Chuckles 0]

Our daughter had a false positive, it was no big deal. They admitted her, and accepted her at school too before we knew for sure. However if you have ACTIVE TB (can only find out with chest x-ray) then I do not know.

[Debss77 0]

Nothing that helpful, but a lot of people from countries outside the US get false positives for some reason. Worked in HR at a place hiring a lot of foreigners and false positives were commonly seen. If it's any comfort.

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result. Now, I am wondering what is gonna happen if I had active TB. Do I have to take medication till everything clears out? Do I have to wait that long till I can apply for AOS? Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

I wouldn't sweat it and I have the answer for you....The TB Vaccination that is given in the US is an "inactive virus" so it normally won't show up if you are tested for TB. If you were born outside of the US and given a vaccination, it is considered an "active virus" and will always show up when you are tested. My girlfriend told me this prior to my husband's medical exam. The doctor confirmed it and said lets just see what happens instead of spending another $150 off the bat with xrays. Of course hes test came out flaming positive (his whole arm swelled up) and the xray came back negative.

So don't worry everything will be fine....

[lisanne 0]

Nothing that helpful, but a lot of people from countries outside the US get false positives for some reason. Worked in HR at a place hiring a lot of foreigners and false positives were commonly seen. If it's any comfort.

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result. Now, I am wondering what is gonna happen if I had active TB. Do I have to take medication till everything clears out? Do I have to wait that long till I can apply for AOS? Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

I wouldn't sweat it and I have the answer for you....The TB Vaccination that is given in the US is an "inactive virus" so it normally won't show up if you are tested for TB. If you were born outside of the US and given a vaccination, it is considered an "active virus" and will always show up when you are tested. My girlfriend told me this prior to my husband's medical exam. The doctor confirmed it and said lets just see what happens instead of spending another $150 off the bat with xrays. Of course hes test came out flaming positive (his whole arm swelled up) and the xray came back negative.

So don't worry everything will be fine....

I asked the civil surgeon why everyone needs to get a xray for immigration and she explained the same thing. Basically everyone except US citizens gets the vaccine and the vaccine will always make you have a false positive on the test. But if you're already here your xray was clean. After you have one false positive (unless of course it was a problem with the test itself) you will only be able to have xrays to test you for TB.

[Nancy2015 2]

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result. Now, I am wondering what is gonna happen if I had active TB. Do I have to take medication till everything clears out? Do I have to wait that long till I can apply for AOS? Does anyone know about this? Thanks.

I've had a positive skin test all my life, outside the US I had to do an X-ray all the time to confirm that I didn't have TB. A positive skin test doesn't mean anything. When I had my medical here, I told the doctor about my positive reaction, and she waived the skin test right away. I had an X-ray and, of course, was fine.

You will be fine too. And please - don't agree to any TB medications unless the doctors are 100% sure you have TB! TB antibiotics are not a joke.

Good luck!

[born2farm 0]

I came to the U.S. to study in 2002 and I was required to have a TB test for my school. Most of international students had positive reaction to TB test. ( I DONT KNOW WHY!!!) We all had to get chest x-ray at the hospital and they didnt tell us anything about the result. They just told us that we need to take medication for 6 months. ( we need to get meds from the hospital every month and show them that we REALLY take them, weird isnt it?) My roomate was smart and told them that she doesnt want to take medication and she taught me to tell them so. We signed a paper to state that we are responsible for any "results that cause health issues...blah blah~~".

2 weeks ago, I was going to get my medical exam and the nurse asked me if I had TB test before and I said yes. She asked me its positive or negative and I said positive. She said she couldnt give me another TB test less than some years so I had to go to the hospital to get mine chest x-ray. I did it that day and it turned out that my lung is ok! (of course~~~) It cost me $191 for x-ray but my husbands insurance covers it. Thanks god!

I am sure that you will be fine as long as you dont have health issues.

[am1996 0]

Most of international students had positive reaction to TB test. ( I DONT KNOW WHY!!!)

As others have already posted above, the BCG (Bacille Calmette Guerin) vaccine, which used to be quite popular in a number of countries, is quite likely to cause a false positive result on the TB skin test (BCG is made of a live but weakened strain of TB bacteria). If you know that you've been previously vaccinated with BCG, there is simply no need to even do a skin test, since it is quite likely to return a false positive result. Instead, ask the doctor to do chest x-rays to confirm that you do not have TB.

Please note that although BCG causes your skin tests to be positive for life, the vaccine loses its effectiveness in adults (there is some debate about the length of its effectiveness, with most research suggesting that the protection only lasted 1-5 years).

[am1996 0]

I wouldn't sweat it and I have the answer for you....The TB Vaccination that is given in the US is an "inactive virus" so it normally won't show up if you are tested for TB.

Actually, that's incorrect. There is NO tuberculosis vaccine on the market other than BCG (see my post above). Since the risk of tuberculosis infection in the US is quite low, the US has not been requiring TB vaccinations for at least 30 years.

[am1996 0]

Hi,

I had a medical exam, and my TB skin test came out positive. So, I got a chest x-ray the other day and am waiting for the result.

Did the chest x-ray confirm the absence of TB? Please give us an update.

[joan/roger 0]

Hi there.

My TB skin test was positive when i had my medical exam last Dec. 2006 which i needed for my AOS/EAD application. I already mailed my AOS/EAD application. Anyway, my physician did everything for the exam (blood test,x-ray and physical exam) but he referred me to a bi-county clinic for the immunizations and tb test coz its a lot cheaper there. So when i had my tb skin test it turned out positive coz i have been to the Philippines where TB is common but controlled and i had been exposed to the virus although my grandmother died from it 20 years ago. So i have latent TB which is not infectious but will always give me a positive skin test. My chest x-ray was negitive though. I know it would be negative coz i used to work for a bank back home and we had x-rays every year. Right now, I am under medications for 9 months. The medicine is free c/o the bi-county clinic and i have to get a refill every month and have my blood tested for reaction. So far i have been taking it for 2 months. The only effect it had on me is that i always feel hungry hehehehe. My physician just waited for my medication to start and then he sent out the papers i need for my medical. So dont worry if its positive. But share us your experience when you are done with it. Good luck.

[p cube 1]

Thank you, everybody!

They made me wait and wait and wait for the X-ray result, but it came out NEGATIVE. My lungs, the doctor said, are normal and healthy. I am relieved now. I didn't have to pay for the X-ray either because everything that they did was in the "medical exam for uscis" package. I'm gonna start filling out other documents now!