My SLEC Medical Experience and US Embassy Manila Interview

[Fangmarie 3]

Hello everyone. I'm pretty new to this forum but just thought I'd share my experience to help others out there that might be confused with the process. I applied for an EB3 Immigrant Visa (Employment-Based) and me, my husband, and my 6-year old daughter all went to Manila to complete the process. This is a long post by the way as I try to be as detailed as possible  

 

Day One:

We arrived at SLEC on Wednesday last week at 7am (I didn't want to line up too early in the morning since we arrived at our hotel around 2AM that day and needed to make sure our daughter gets at least a few hours of sleep) and finished at around 12pm. Before we went inside SLEC, we were asked for our passports (the lady will be writing like the medical case number at the back of the passport), a copy of our interview letter (one copy for each applicant so we gave three copies), 4 pcs 2x2 pics (with complete names written at the back of the photos), these were given back to us after they stapled the papers together. We went in and were directly ushered to one of the counters at the ground floor to get our photo and fingerprint taken (just the right index finger - which I have problems with as I have atopic dermatitis on my index, middle, and ring finger on my right hand  , I'll talk about that later  ).

 

After that, we went to the 5th floor and waited for around 20 minutes to pay for the medical fees as there were a lot of people also lining up to pay. After that, we were informed to go for immunization interview (I can't remember what floor that was), we gave our papers (and my baby's immunization record) to the reception area and we were asked to sign a consent since they will be giving the required vaccines (if applicable). My husband and I don't have our immunization records since it's been a long time ago that we've been immunized (let's just keep that a secret  ). And then we waited. My name was called and I was asked to go back to the reception area. Now, this is the part where I felt a bit upset, the nurse I talked to said that she would not accept my daughter's immunization record as it did not have complete doctor's signatures per vaccine given. I had my daughter vaccinated at a local hospital (it's like a health center where we only pay a very small amount for the materials needed for the vaccine) so I showed her the baby book and she just flipped through the pages and looked impatient. Take note guys, make sure your immunization record contains the doctor's signature, license number, etc. She then said that they really won't accept it and I would have to get a certificate from my daughter's pedia telling them that she didn't give all those vaccines (the way she told me this is like I don't have any other option but just to get the certificate so we can proceed with the medical). So I asked, "Would we still be able to proceed with the other exams even if we can't provide the certificate?" She just said yes. The pedia actually just summarized the vaccines given to my baby in an immunization record summary and just signed on the vaccines she gave which were the booster shots. We're from Cebu and we would have a hard time getting the certificate the nurse needed as our interview date is fast approaching and we have to complete the medical ASAP.

 

After a few minutes of talking to my husband about what our game plan is, it occurred to me that the medical fee already included the vaccines that we needed to get so I went back again to the nurse and asked if would it be possible to just have the vaccine given to my daughter again if we can't provide the baby book because our pedia is in Cebu and getting a certificate from her would be difficult as the document would need to be sent to us in Manila and all that and there might be some delays in shipping. The nurse just answered me without looking at me and said, "Dalhin nyo na lang sa America ang vaccine records" (Just bring the vaccine records when you're in America). She actually came off as a bit rude when she answers. She could have informed us right away to not worry as they will provide the vaccines and not right off tell us that they won't accept it and I need to get the certificate. Anyway, this is just a heads up for those who have little children with them when they're doing their medical exams.

 

Now, when we had our actual immunization interview with a physician (me and my daughter were interviewed together and the hubby was interviewed by another doctor in another cubicle), she asked me to do the fingerprint scan in my right index finger and I think we tried for about 10 times before my fingerprint read, ugghh! My fingerprint is not visible enough due to my dermatitis. Good thing she was very patient. She asked about my medical history, if I already had chickenpox before (which I did) and if I have chickenpox scars (which I don't), any surgeries or medical conditions. She also checked me and my baby's BCG vaccine scars. Pls make sure your conditions or medical history is documented and have with you your medical certificate from the hospital or from your doctor as they will check it. She then advised me that since my baby's immunization record was not accepted, I should not worry as the required vaccines will still be given to her as this is included with our medical fee (See, she was kind enough to tell me this  ).

 

After that interview, we were asked to go to the 5th floor and waited again for our names to be called and they took our vital signs, height, weight, did an acuity test. We then proceeded to the third floor for the Xray which was pretty fast. We then went to the 4th floor and they got a urine sample to test for syphilis and gonorrhea and then had our blood drawn. We then went to the 5th floor again for the physical exam and waited for our turn, this was almost around 11 am and I think our doctor was already tired. Me and my daughter went in together for our physical. I was asked of the same information about my medical history, etc. We were then asked to undress and just leave our underwear on, she'd just a take a peek at your, you know what I mean, and then have you lie on your side with legs straight and she would check something at your back, check your wrists for suicide marks, vaccine marks and that's it, would take around 15 to 20 minutes. We then gave our paper to the counter at the 5th floor and waited for our names to be called again. We were then called and asked to go back the next day at 2PM for the immunization if all goes well with the medical.

 

Day 2:

 

We went at around 1:40PM and went to the guard in front. The guard would then have us scan our fingerprint (you see where I'm coming from? I would certainly want a new set of fingerprint on my right index finger  ) and the guard gave up after two attempts and just manually encoded my case number (Yay!). This part made me nervous since as I've read from previous posts, if you're stamped with "For Immunization", you passed the medical but if you get "For Sputum Test" that means you'd have to go the long route. Me and my daughter were given a special stamp with "Medical Records On Process" and I haven't really found any info about this here. My husband got "For immunization" and proceeded to the second floor right away. If you ever get a "Medical records on Process" don't worry as they still need time to process your medical records and it doesn't mean bad news. Me and my daughter waited for around 3 to almost 4 hours but it was all worth it since our names were then called to proceed to the 2nd floor for the immunization. Me and hubby got three shots: MMR, tDap, and Varicella while the baby got four shots: all of those mentioned plus Polio. After that, we were asked to go back to the ground floor for the releasing of the results and waited again for a while. The releasing guy was very friendly and asked me and my birth date and she asked my daughter of her name and birth date. He then asked me to verify the information on the paper he showed if all were correct including our address, the petitioner's address. She had my daughter write her own name on her file and I affixed my signature on mine. He then gave us our records sealed in a brown envelope with a Do Not Open note and happily walked out of SLEC at around 6:30 PM.

 

 

Interview Day:

 

Our interview was scheduled at 7:40 AM. We went to church prior and lit candles and prayed (this is what we've been waiting for for a long time now). We arrived at the US Embassy at around 7 am. Do not go there too early as you would still not be allowed entry. We were asked to line up in Line 3 for Immigrant at around 7:20 AM and was asked for our DS-260 and passport. The lady placed each of our passports in different ziplock type plastic containers. She also stapled all 3 of our DS260 forms and placed a sticker with a barcode on the form with our name and like a case ID (Mine starts with the letter C and a bunch of numbers. We'll talk about this later). They will already have preprinted stickers with names on them for all the interviews scheduled for that day. By the way, we were also given a big yellow colored laminated paper without anything written on it (Maybe so the ushers will be able to determine which color goes to which visa type). We were then asked to go inside the metal door and had a bag inspection (no food, water, gadgets, sharp objects allowed). After that, we proceeded to an open area with a sign that says for Immigrant and K Visas and asked to sit there. While waiting, the person in charge informed all of us there to prepare our (all original) birth certificates, passports, marriage contracts, CENOMAR, NBI clearances. We were then told to go inside Door 2 for another bag inspection. Once you are inside, it has a big space, well-ventilated, and with lots of chairs and there were labels for A, B, and C (this was the case number I was talking about earlier on the sticker so you would need to sit down on the area that has the first letter written on it). We sat for a short while and then asked to line up for the prescreening interview. You would be able to hear some of the questions given by the interviewer as you're just very near the interview area.

 

Now, our turn. We were asked for the forms that we prepared earlier and also my VisaScreen original and photocopy as well as my job offer letter. She was typing a lot of things on the computer and asked my name and my parents' names and she also asked my husband what his name is and his parents' names. Our daughter was asked when her birthday is. What's the name of my petitioner, how did I hear about the job opening, have I worked or traveled abroad, and how long have I been working as a nurse (I got really nervous on this part as I only have more than a year of experience and usually for EB3 visas for nurses, they'd require at least two years). She then said everything is okay and we may proceed to the next window for the fingerprint scanning (Let's not talk about it), but for those curious, you will all have your fingerprints taken, first four fingers on the left, then the four fingers on the right, then both your thumbs. I was very lucky as the one taking the fingerprint was very patient (I read from previous forums that the guy was strict, maybe it was another guy they were talking about   ) He had me rub my four fingers on both hands and tried again, still not good enough. He said, "All right, third time's the charm! Let's try again." So I tried again and he said, "Very good. Thank you. There's a problem with your index finger but we can't really do anything about it." He then proceeded to take my husband's fingerprints without any problems (Good for him!)

 

Then the moment we've all been waiting for, the consular interview. When our turn came, we were interviewed by a very polite and friendly American gentleman and was asked to swear an oath, raise our right hand and to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. I was then asked to scan my right four fingers (oh goody, another one!) and miraculously, he said, "That's good." He also asked the hubby to scan his four right fingers. I was asked these questions:

-who is your petitioner?

-how did you hear about the opening?

-what is your offered rate?

-how long have you been a nurse? - this gave me the chills!

-do you have any relatives in the US?

-have you passed the NCLEX?

He then gave me back my original visascreen certificate and said, "Your visa has been approved. It will be delivered to you in 2 weeks." Me and the hubby said in chorus, "Thank you so much, sir!"  

 

So there you go, I promised myself I will share my experience to help out those who will also be on the same visa journey as me. I was actually very worried with my experience as I haven't reached my two-year mark yet as a nurse but luckily and with God's grace, our visas have been approved. If you have any questions related to my post, you may send me a message and I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. Thank you VJ peeps!!