Cured Tuberculosis

[Tatiana_shamrock 1]

4 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

You need to tell him.

He is going to wonder why your medical is not finished. They won't grant it until you get treatment by them as they cannot trust that you actually finished the treatment. 

Then once you get the all clear and arrive in the US the Health Unit where you will be living will be contacting you for follow up. You will not be able to hide this.  

What do you mean by saying i'm going to get some treatment? What kind of treatment will they provide if I don't have the disease anymore and all my tests and check-ups are ok?

[Ontarkie 14,279]

29 minutes ago, Tatiana_shamrock said:

What do you mean by saying i'm going to get some treatment? What kind of treatment will they provide if I don't have the disease anymore and all my tests and check-ups are ok?

It will depend on your old treatment and documentation and what your test results say after you are retested. I've seen it on here where the person had to redo treatment as it was not done in accordance to the CDC. 

[geowrian 22,337]

They will almost certainly require sputum again, which will delay the process by a few weeks. The petitioner is likely going to be asking why.

Depending on the documentation and treatment you have undergone, they may require additional actions. The CDC has very strict requirements for TB treatment that must be met, and the panel physician conducting the medical examination must follow those requirements.

[yuna628 9,680]

OP:

 

Firstly, you need to be honest with your future spouse. Do you think they will cease to love you because you unfortunately contracted a disease through no fault of your own long ago and went through hell to cure it? The longer you hide this, the more your spouse may be annoyed, annoyed at why they were not trusted enough to be told this in the first place. It is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about.

 

Secondly, you're going to have to also be honest about your condition, past condition and all medical treatment received when you have your medical. You're going to need documentation they will want to see, and you will have to abide by their rules. This may mean a delay in obtaining the visa until you are medically cleared.

[evapaula 230]

imagine if the situation was reversed and you found out after you married someone that they've been hiding something like this from you. How would you feel? Would you not wonder what else they're keeping from you? 

Don't start a marriage with secrets, you're setting yourself up for failure. 

And obviously, never ever lie to immigration. 

[Dutchster 1,107]

My parents, little sister and I were all diagnosed with TB in 1994. My dad and mom had the disease, my sister and I had the infection. With the infection, there is nothing visible on the x-ray but the mantoux test they did came back positive.

Anyway, of course I had to bring it up at the medical examen. I was totally not prepared for this to back it up with any documentation. We ended up calling both of my parents confirming the dates and the type of TB. It was a whirlwind of weeks of finding all the paperwork from diagnosis to treatment to paperwork where the doc confirms I was TB free. Don't worry as long as you have all the documentation to prove treatment and a doctor confirming you were cured after treatment. 

The only thing that had to be done is I had to get another TB test done after arriving in the US. They informed Tennessee Dept. of Health and a week later I had another physical and x-rays done. I had to decline the skin test as that will always show up positive after taking all those medicines. I urge you to be truthful at the medical. At first I wanted to say nothing either but I had to, and looking back I'm glad I did. (Plus, they ask you if you have ever been treated for TB) Your visa will not be in danger, I promise. Just be honest and collect all the documents needed. 

Edited July 16, 2018 by Dutchster

[David & Diana R 1,005]

5 hours ago, Tatiana_shamrock said:

Hi guys!

 

My bf and I have finally decided to apply for K-1 Visa. That's good news. The bad news is that i have some health issues I want to share neither with my fiance nor with doctors during the medical check-up. The problem is that in 2011 i was diagnosed with inactive tuberculosis. i was sent to the hospital and went through thorough treatment including special chemo and a surgery on my destructed lung - a lobe of it was resected. After this nightmare, i went on taking meds for a couple of months. And for about three years i had to go through regular medical check-ups at a TB-hospital. The checkups included blood and sputum tests + X-ray twice a year. My tests were always good. After these three years, the check-ups were over and I, finally, became just a 'normal' person. According to the medical rules of my country, all the citizens have to do chest X-rays once a year. And I do them. Everything's absolutely fine with my lungs. The only thing that shows that something was wrong is the scar (and the obvious absence of one lobe) i have after the surgery. Even if i say i've never had TB, the doctor will see my X-ray. I have no doubts, s/he will ask me about the origins of the scar. Will the situation i face be the reason for my visa denial? 

You're not planning on sharing this with your fiance?  Or doctors?  This is the strangest thing I have ever heard.  If I were your fiance and you never told me you had gone through such a horrific experience I would be so pissed.  I would forever lose my trust for you.  And you cannot lie to the doctors either.  And I am willing to bet you had active and not inactive TB.  My wife also tested positive for non-active TB (exposure) but never had to undergo chemo or surgery.  She had to take a pill once daily for 6 months and was supervised/monitored closely by the Health Department. It appears you are having trouble with honesty.  You CAN'T LIE TO THE DOCTORS.

[mymarley 14]

nope... but for sure you goin to undergo to sputum testing and wait the culture result for 2 months.

[mymarley 14]

upon arriving here they will give you a yellow paper and the immigration officer will give you instruction about the public health officer will visit your house if your test turned positive again they will give you medicine that you will take for 9 mos which happened to my daughter. you need to fix everything coz if you dont it might affect your aos like what happened to my friend. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

It’s not a good idea to hide. They will find out. You have to disclose all of your medical history at your medical exam. If you hide something and they find out that could get you in trouble because you lied. If you no longer have the disease why do you want to hide? If you’re clear of it it won’t be an issue but if you’re caught in a lie it could have a real impact on your journey and relationship. That doesn’t seem like something you need to lie about. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

People seem to think that just because you don’t tell USCIS something it means they won’t find out or don’t already know it. This will come back and bite you in the (removed). Then they always come back here to this very forum asking how to fix it when they did something stupid like hiding something from USCIS and they found out and now you need advice on how to fix it. After we all told you to disclose it. Why people don’t just choose to follow advice they were given after they requested is beyond me. Do a little search on this forum and you’ll see so many stories of so many people who thought it was a good idea to hide something from USCIS only to find out the hard way at your interview that USCIS already knew about it and they were denied and not approved because they hid the fact. But by all means go ahead and lie. 

Edited July 17, 2018 by Ontarkie
bypassing language filter

[Daisy.Chain 317]

8 hours ago, Tatiana_shamrock said:

I know it's a shame. But i'm very embarrassed. Even though i have no idea how i managed to catch the disease which is considered to be a disease of disadvantaged groups...at least, in my country. of course, nobody's saved from this, unfortunately. probably, one day i have the guts to tell all.

He really should know. It is possible that this could come up in the k1 interview when they ask to see how well you know each other and you don't want your fiance blindsided. 

 

Plus, it's best for both parties to go into marriage with your eyes wide open and complete trust. I know that if my husband had had gone through something similar I'd rather have known if just so I could put his fears at rest. It would have made no difference in our relationship. I think that whenever you do tell him you will be pleasantly surprised by how supportive he is.

 

If you'd like, write it out in an email and ask him to read it while you're on Skype. 

 

Wish you the best!

[jlc201 47]

There is nothing to be afraid of, you will not be denied a visa simply because of a history of TB infection. But you should tell your spouse, and your physician, because they will both find out during this process. To clarify, what you had was active TB which required a full course of treatment. You are now in remission, but still have inactive TB lingering in your system and there is the possibility that it could revert to active disease again in the future. (Lots and lots of people have been exposed to TB and have inactive disease that never causes a problem. Although there may be social stigma involved with TB infection, it is not a disease of the disadvantaged and there is no shame in acquiring an infection.) The reason this background is important is that USCIS' primary objective in requiring immigrants to undergo a medical exam is to prevent the spread of TB and other infectious diseases inside the US. Therefore, someone who has had TB in the past but is now cured or in remission, and is not a risk of infecting other people, is of little or no concern to USCIS. Their objective in the screening process is to make sure you are not one of those (infectious) people and, if you are, to make sure you are not infectious when you immigrate to the US. Since your examining physician will readily figure out that you have a history of TB (if you have a PPD test placed--which you should not--it will come back positive and they will order a chest x-ray, where your lobectomy will be apparent), what they will do is to require you to provide 3 sputum samples over 3 consecutive days. These samples will be cultured for 8 weeks to see if there is any Tb growth. If there is (which is unlikely, based on what you report), then you are still infectious and will require additional antibiotic treatment, and will then have to repeat the above process until the cultures are negative. If there is no growth after 8 weeks (i.e., cultures are negative), then you will not require any additional treatment and will be allowed to continue the immigration process. (You will also be required to notify the public health department where you live in the US, but that is just a formality.) Bottom line, your immigration process is likely to be extended by an additional 8 weeks while you wait for the results of the culture testing, but you will not be prevented from immigrating to the US. And you should tell your spouse because it's nothing to be ashamed of. 

[JSWH 262]

@jlc201, thank you for this reply. A rare ability to provide an information on a sensitive topic in a value-neutral manner and without going in lengthy moral lectures. Very professional and empowering for the OP. 

Edited July 17, 2018 by JSWH

[Tatiana_shamrock 1]

1 hour ago, jlc201 said:

There is nothing to be afraid of, you will not be denied a visa simply because of a history of TB infection. But you should tell your spouse, and your physician, because they will both find out during this process. To clarify, what you had was active TB which required a full course of treatment. You are now in remission, but still have inactive TB lingering in your system and there is the possibility that it could revert to active disease again in the future. (Lots and lots of people have been exposed to TB and have inactive disease that never causes a problem. Although there may be social stigma involved with TB infection, it is not a disease of the disadvantaged and there is no shame in acquiring an infection.) The reason this background is important is that USCIS' primary objective in requiring immigrants to undergo a medical exam is to prevent the spread of TB and other infectious diseases inside the US. Therefore, someone who has had TB in the past but is now cured or in remission, and is not a risk of infecting other people, is of little or no concern to USCIS. Their objective in the screening process is to make sure you are not one of those (infectious) people and, if you are, to make sure you are not infectious when you immigrate to the US. Since your examining physician will readily figure out that you have a history of TB (if you have a PPD test placed--which you should not--it will come back positive and they will order a chest x-ray, where your lobectomy will be apparent), what they will do is to require you to provide 3 sputum samples over 3 consecutive days. These samples will be cultured for 8 weeks to see if there is any Tb growth. If there is (which is unlikely, based on what you report), then you are still infectious and will require additional antibiotic treatment, and will then have to repeat the above process until the cultures are negative. If there is no growth after 8 weeks (i.e., cultures are negative), then you will not require any additional treatment and will be allowed to continue the immigration process. (You will also be required to notify the public health department where you live in the US, but that is just a formality.) Bottom line, your immigration process is likely to be extended by an additional 8 weeks while you wait for the results of the culture testing, but you will not be prevented from immigrating to the US. And you should tell your spouse because it's nothing to be ashamed of. 

Thank you so much for such an informative and relevant reply!!!! It is absolutely helpful!