Wife admitted to marijuana use in medical check up - consequences?

[dnwee 0]

9 minutes ago, MexicoExpat said:

Thanks for your reply. I'm guessing this happened in DR and not in Mexico based on the info below your name?

 

Do you mind me asking a couple more questions?

 

1. When did he say in the medical checkup the last time he smoked was? My wife's was 3 week's prior but does not remember the time before that it was so long ago - doctor seemed to believe that

2. Did you not receive a sealed packet after the medical check up like other patients? My wife did not and we thought that was a bad sign

3. Are you sure everything is OK and the green card will be granted? Or are you still worried there is is something within the medical report relating to weed which may become an issue?

4. Did they ask anything during the visa interview about marijuana use? Or is it possible they are unaware until they see the medical report?

 

We did our medical check up about 5 weeks before the visa interview, so hopefully in our case the results (whatever they are) will be available at the consulate by the time of our interview. 

 

Thanks in advance for your help. 

 

 

Yes it was in DR 

1. That i don't recall what was the last time he smoked but the doctor asked him how often do you, everyday, once a month. 

2. Well we don't know anything about the Medical results because we did it 2 weeks before our interview but the person who did interview us says that sometimes it's because something came out wrong on the exam she asked us and we were truthful with her and she explained things that can happen such as... Drug program or they will re test him. We were not denied. After our interview everything went well the only thing is that the medical result weren't ready when he receives it. He will have to mail it to the embassy with his passport after that its in God's hands . They are unaware but because he has tattoo she  thought that she should ask him that. 

 

I hope everything goes well trust me it kinda sucks when you don't get the right answers and you want to be with your love one traveling a lot is not easy 

[MexicoExpat 18]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

My understanding is that Mexico is usually the 1 year, but she will not know until she has attended the Consulate Interview.

 

Yes, we have accepted this now at this point - 5 weeks until we find out how much this will affect us. We can only hope the doctor phrased in such a way in his report that it will not become an issue for us. 

 

With the 1 year ban plus additional processing time, plus immigration getting increasingly difficult, we aren't sure we can hang on another year and a half. 

 

We are also neither of living or applying form our home country, and not sure we will able to make this home for the next 1.5 years or not in the process. 

[Boiler 45,467]

Keep you fingers crossed and have a back up plan.

[TBoneTX 45,266]

The threads were merged on the basis of a member report.  The second thread was judged to be a continuation of the first.  It's typical for members to post in the same thread on similar-themed topics.

 

Thread is moved from the CR-1 Process forum to the Mexico/Latin/South America regional forum.

[MexicoExpat 18]

Is there any way to unmerge them back to how it was before? 

 

The Mexico regional forum here is not nearly as active aa the CR1 forum, and my original post is not even really related to Mexico.

 

I'm asking two separate questions here about the same issue. Having the entire thread in the Mexico forum is really not ideal. 

[MexicoExpat 18]

Asking again if this thread can be unmerged. It has been basically sent to die since being moved to the Mexico forum, and my other questions from the original thread in the CR1 forum are now bundled together in a thread most people arne't seeing. 

[TBoneTX 45,266]

The thread can't be unmerged.  The merge was justified because the queries are on the same topic.

The move to the regional forum is justified beause the topic is country-specific.

 

You've received accurate answers from experienced members to the best of their ability to help you.  Certainly this is an anxious time for you, but you'll know the answers when you're told by the consulate.  Please return to the thread when you hear something.  Meanwhile, you can look through the "Waivers" forum for similar recent cases (don't post this query there) to see if you can gain a sense of what's happened to others in your situation.  Good luck.

[Just Paul 4,595]

4 minutes ago, MexicoExpat said:

What would be difficult is we are already going crazy living here in Mexico City and need out ASAP. We can't commit to living here for another year, while having to check in with drug tests every month. 

 

In all honesty, this entire situation has caused us to rethink our plans, and we don't even really want to immigrate to the US any longer. If for some reason, this doesn't become an issue for is at ou interview in 4 weeks, we will still immigrate there....but if it gets delayed for a year pending drug tests and counseling, we really have no interest in living in the US any longer at that point.

Sorry I'm still traveling internationally and meant to chime in a few days ago.

 

Marijuana is still a federal narcotic regardless of any state law.

 

The consulate will have the final say on the drug issue.  I have been working with a few Mexican cases that had admitted drug use.  The only one that got a visa right away was one that said it was well over a year ago.   Others have gotten delayed with one or two tests or even monthly tests. The consulate will most likely want follow up testing.  They will also most likely cancel the B Visa with the admission of use.  This happens at POEs often when the question is asked.   Try to stay positive but have a backup plan.  You can keep the file open and move to another country and do the follow up plan.   Sometimes it is just another test in a year but could also depend on the consulate involved.  If you have an idea about what the backup is have your wife ask the CO to see if there would be any issues.

 

Do your research.  Having a denied and a revoked US visa can also limit the countries she can obtain residency in.

 

15 minutes ago, MexicoExpat said:

The only thing we would be concerned about at that point, would be the possibility of her being able to keep her current tourist visa or obtain another one. 

I'm kind of surprised Mexico City USCIS allowed the DCF with a tourist visa beneficiary.   I thought only Juarez played fast and loose with residency for the beneficiary.  Wherever you go make sure what the consulate requirements are for a third country national.

 

Best of luck - I'm traveling all day tuesday - a 27 hour day.

[MexicoExpat 18]

18 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Sorry I'm still traveling internationally and meant to chime in a few days ago.

 

Marijuana is still a federal narcotic regardless of any state law.

 

The consulate will have the final say on the drug issue.  I have been working with a few Mexican cases that had admitted drug use.  The only one that got a visa right away was one that said it was well over a year ago.   Others have gotten delayed with one or two tests or even monthly tests. The consulate will most likely want follow up testing.  They will also most likely cancel the B Visa with the admission of use.  This happens at POEs often when the question is asked.   Try to stay positive but have a backup plan.  You can keep the file open and move to another country and do the follow up plan.   Sometimes it is just another test in a year but could also depend on the consulate involved.  If you have an idea about what the backup is have your wife ask the CO to see if there would be any issues.

 

Do your research.  Having a denied and a revoked US visa can also limit the countries she can obtain residency in.

 

I'm kind of surprised Mexico City USCIS allowed the DCF with a tourist visa beneficiary.   I thought only Juarez played fast and loose with residency for the beneficiary.  Wherever you go make sure what the consulate requirements are for a third country national.

 

Best of luck - I'm traveling all day tuesday - a 27 hour day.

Thanks for your response, it's been an incredibly stressful week for us, and no way to know how it will go until our interview in Juarez 4 weeks from now. 

 

Are you saying it could be a possibility for us to complete any required drug screenings or counseling elsewhere than CDMX? Everything I've read indicates that we need to visit the same medical exam office, which we did in CDMX. 

 

We are going absolutely crazy living in the city and really feel like we need to get out. We were thinking of heading over to Quintana Roo for a year or so if she received a ban. We could easily fly back to CDMX to do the medical exam after 1 year, but if it were monthly tests or regular counseling, it would be a lot more complicated. Unless we could do all of it in Quintana Roo or even another country. 

 

Also as clarification, my wife currently holds a B tourist visa for the US, and temporary residency in Mexico. We did not do this process with her having a tourist visa in Mexico. 

 

What we are really concerned about here is the possibility of her ever receiving a tourist visa again, if they revoke her current one and we decide that continuing on with the green card process is just too difficult. 

[Boiler 45,467]

I have never seen anybody move during the year, now logic suggests this must have happened and there is a procedure.

[Russel1995 163]

5 hours ago, MexicoExpat said:

Thanks for this info. Are you saying that of the 3 you kept in contact with, only 1 of them had this issue and this was the result? Or that all of them had this issue and only 1 had this as a result?

 

Yes, of the group, this is the only person who hac this result.

 

The other 2 were approved, but i do not know if they used marijuana in the past or not.

 

My wife nor I have never used it, so it had no effect on our case. 

 

There are beautiful places in Mexico,  My wife and I plan to move back there after she becomes a dual-citizen.  Then i will obtain dual-citizenship in Mexico.

The state of Hidalgo, and Veracruz are both beautiful states. me and my wife cant decide which one we will live in after her citizenship here in the US lol.  This is always another option to get out of the City.  When i first met my wiffe, she lived in Mexico City as well then moved to Pachuca Hidalgo.

 

And sorry, with using marijuana  4 weeks before the medical, I wouldnt expect a good outcome of the visa that doesnt include testing. 

[Villanelle 4,122]

On 2/24/2020 at 7:17 PM, MexicoExpat said:

 

 

He told her "I don't think you're an abuser, but take this recommendation in case they want you to do something further after the interview. They might or might not."

 

 

This ^^^ is the important part of what you posted. The way it works is the Dr evaluates for drug abuse/addict issues. Now every Dr does things a bit differently but generally if the Dr determines one has an issue they refer them to a psych Dr for an additional evaluation. The psych Dr will then make a determination and give it back to the medical Dr who then advises the consulate of the resulting determination. Generally its a 1 yr period of random and scheduled testing before the Dr will sign off as all clear. The Dr does have flexibility though with this. There have been cases where the Dr only required 1-3 months or 6 months of testing before signing off. Sometimes the Dr will not send you to a psych Dr either but still impose a period of testing. 

 

But based on what you posted above the Dr stated they do not think she is an abuser- so if thats what they put in their report- basically they gave her an all clear in regards to drug use/addict issues then it shouldnt be an issue with the Embassy. Typically the Embassy will not override the Drs evaluation as the Dr is the trained professional qualified to make such a determination about someone being an addict or not. However if the Drs evaluation says she is not a user but recommends counseling the Embassy may require her to do said counseling before considering her to be 'all clear'. It would depend on whats in the medical report which you have no idea of knowing. I would suggest not offering  them a paper saying counseling was recommended because if that is not in the report you dont want to open a can of worms by presenting it.  

 

[MexicoExpat 18]

^^^Thank you for posting this. It is extremely reassuring to us, and hopefully we will be OK. 

 

There is one other thing I am now concerned about - I just did a paid consultation with an attorney specializing in waivers. 

 

He asked me what we wrote on our DS-260 for the question "Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled substances?"

 

We answered NO to this question. We now realize there is also a risk of her receiving a ban for misrepresenting information. We weren't intentionally trying to misrepresent information - she believed she was answering this question honestly as she didn't perceive trying marijuana a handful of times in her life to be a YES answer to such a severe sounding question. 

 

The attorney was suggesting we update the answer in our DS-260 to be YES so we can't be banned for misrepresentation. 

 

We are a bit suspicious he's suggesting this so we purchase his services beyond the consultation we paid for. He did admit that the more likely consequence would be the ban for past use and not for misrepresentation. 

 

Just wondering how likely of a risk the misrepresentation is - I'm not even sure how we would change the info on the DS-260. 

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

1 minute ago, MexicoExpat said:

^^^Thank you for posting this. It is extremely reassuring to us, and hopefully we will be OK. 

 

There is one other thing I am now concerned about - I just did a paid consultation with an attorney specializing in waivers. 

 

He asked me what we wrote on our DS-260 for the question "Have you ever violated, or engaged in a conspiracy to violate, any law relating to controlled substances?"

 

We answered NO to this question. We now realize there is also a risk of her receiving a ban for misrepresenting information. We weren't intentionally trying to misrepresent information - she believed she was answering this question honestly as she didn't perceive trying marijuana a handful of times in her life to be a YES answer to such a severe sounding question. 

 

The attorney was suggesting we update the answer in our DS-260 to be YES so we can't be banned for misrepresentation. 

 

We are a bit suspicious he's suggesting this so we purchase his services beyond the consultation we paid for. He did admit that the more likely consequence would be the ban for past use and not for misrepresentation. 

 

Just wondering how likely of a risk the misrepresentation is - I'm not even sure how we would change the info on the DS-260. 

Please be sure to update this thread after her interview.....your experience will be very valuable to others.......good luck.

[Boiler 45,467]

A Misrep finding requires an I 601 and I would expect a similar time line assuming the one year delay  significant increased cost. Actually you could be hit with both, I assume the Lawyer recommended you update and that seems logical.