Wife admitted to marijuana use in medical check up that's now expired - when will 1 year ban begin?

[MexicoExpat 18]

HI,

 

I've posted in here about our situation but my question is a little different now. 

 

For reference, in February, in Mexico City, my wife admitted to past marijuana use in here medical interview. Here last use was quite recent (only a few weeks before), but previous to that she could not even remember the last time she used, as it is so infrequent. 

 

The doctor said he did not think she was an abuser, but she did not receive her packet in hand that day to take to her interview in Ciudad Juarez. So we left confused about what was to happen, but knowing a 1-year ban was a definite possibility. 

 

Her visa interview that was scheduled for March 30th ended up being cancelled - so we did not find out the results of the medical, or if she will receive a 1-year ban or not. In our minds we thought "the 1 year ban starts from the point of the medical interview, not the visa interview, so maybe with all the delays of COVID, the 1 year ban might not even matter, if it takes a year for all the COVID stuff to process". 

 

That seemed like a sound thought process at the time, which we are now starting to second-guess. 

 

Since nothing may have made it to the consulate's attention in regards to our medical interview, and since our medical is now expired (even with the 1 month extensions), it will need to get re-done before our visa interview gets rescheduled (if it ever does!).

 

Is there a chance that all info in the previous medical gets discarded and only the new medical will count? If so, would that mean that the 1 year ban, if applied to her case, would begin from the date of the second medical interview?

 

Also, would there be any benefit of (if at all possible) re-doing the medical at the same place we originally did it, in hopes of getting the same doctor? 

 

I've heard some medicals are taking place in Ciudad Juarez for emergency appointments, even if normally the medical appointment would be done in Mexico City. Also starting to worry that even if her 1 year ban would apply from the old medical date back in February by re-doing the appointment in Mexico City, that they wouldn't have this info in Ciudad Juarez and it would apply form the date of the new medical. 

 

Hope I am making sense here - basically we are in a situation of, if we re-take the medical end of this year and we receive the 1-year ban from that point, we may just abandon the process entirely if it will be dragged out for another year minimum, and who knows what else will happen during that time. 

 

[Crazy Cat 41,985]

Even with a new medical, she will have to admit using in the past.  Normally a 1 year ban also involves periodic testing throughout that one year of the ban.   You really won't get a definite answer to your question until after the new medical and the interview by the Consulate Officer.

[MexicoExpat 18]

5 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Even with a new medical, she will have to admit using in the past.  Normally a 1 year ban also involves periodic testing throughout that one year of the ban.   You really won't get a definite answer to your question until after the new medical and the interview by the Consulate Officer.

Yes, sorry to not be more clear, we were never intending to misrepresent anything on this second medical exam. We know we will need to answer the questions in the exact same way as they were answered before. 

 

If the recommendation in the packet that we did not receive was to undergo testing/counseling for 1 year as a part of the ban, would that likely mean that since we never received that info or direction, that her 1 year ban would not really have taken effect, as she didn't follow the instructions that were never provided? 

 

I understand we won't get a defintie answer until the interviews themselves. It's just so frustrating not having any info on when the consulate is re-opening to resume interviews, and on top of that not knowing if we are facing a 1 year ban that hasn't even begun yet. 

 

We have gone through DCF in Mexico as residents, meaning that we can't really leave Mexico very freely right now or we risk abandoning our residency and the entire process as DCF is no longer available anywhere. 

[Boiler 45,735]

CO determines a ban if one applies and you have not got to that point.

[MexicoExpat 18]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

CO determines a ban if one applies and you have not got to that point.

It was my understanding that the doctor from the medical exam makes the recommendation, which is usually 1 year ban, and sometimes additional testing/counseling. 

 

Am I wrong in this assumption?

 

And does that also mean that there is a zero % chance that if a 1 year ban was recommended by the doctor, that it will be applied from the date of the old medical exam?

 

Because if so, and we wont' even start the 1 year ban until we are able to reschedule the medical and visa interview, there is just no way we will be able to wait here in Mexico for that long. It might be the end of the road for us. 

 

 

[Boiler 45,735]

The Doctor provides the medical evidence the CO is the one who determines how the information provided impacts Immigration law. I have never heard of the medical being the effective date.

[MexicoExpat 18]

Ugh, maybe I've just been operating on bad info this whole time. We honestly would not have attempted to stay in Mexico and maintain our residency this entire time if that was the case. 

 

Is there any chance at all that the previous medical exam works in support of the new one? For instance, the doctor the second time (whether the same doctor or different) sees the recommendations of the doctor previously, sees that my wife has not used any marijuana since that time, and she passes her drug test. 

 

Or will it only be viewed as a standalone result, so we are headed right back into the same situation we were in back in February? 

 

At this point, we are almost thinking to just withdraw the green card application entirely. Between how long we will have to wait and all the craziness going in in the US as of late, we are hesitant if we even still want to move there - she still has a tourist visa which we would like to keep so we have the ability to visit from time to time. I understand we could put that tourist visa in jeopardy by continuing too much farther down this green card route with the other issues attached to our case. 

[Boiler 45,735]

You do not know if she will be subject to a ban.

[MexicoExpat 18]

Just now, Boiler said:

You do not know if she will be subject to a ban.

We don't which is part of the problem - if she is this could affect her tourist visa which we wouldn't want to lose if we abandon the green card process. A year ban from an as of yet undetermined period of time we would not be able to proceed with - but might affect her ability to keep her tourist visa. 

 

Whereas if we withdraw before doing another medical (it seems fairly likely she gets a ban since the usage was recent, even if infrequent), there will never be an opportunity for anything to happen with her tourist visa. Sure it could get taken upon entry as a tourist into the US if they feel she is misrepresenting her purpose of entry, but we would make sure to always travel with enough documents to show our next destination and that our purpose of visit is clearly tourism. 

 

What I'm trying to find out at this point though, is if the previous medical exam results have any bearing whatsoever on the second one, whenever it is rescheduled for. 

[Boiler 45,735]

I do not know how CDJ looks at this, other Consulates seem to give it a pass.

[MexicoExpat 18]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I do not know how CDJ looks at this, other Consulates seem to give it a pass.

Sorry, to be clear, since my post wasn't quoted - what do most consulates give a pass to?

[Boiler 45,735]

The subject of this thread.

[MexicoExpat 18]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

The subject of this thread.

I'm sorry, I don't understand. The title of the thread is "Wife admitted to marijuana use in medical check up that's now expired - when will 1 year ban begin?"

 

What is it that most consulates give a pass to?

 

[Boiler 45,735]

Occasional MJ use.

[MexicoExpat 18]

27 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Occasional MJ use.

Well, that gives us some hope, but I have heard the exact opposite, that it rarely results in anything but a 1 year ban.