part IV, the big IR1/CR1 DQ'd message group...

[darth vader 133]

9 minutes ago, AshEve said:

@darth vaderas you said first option is to confirm with physician if they would accept your record. if not and  if you comfortable taking the vaccines afresh you can approach walk in clinics to get the vaccines afresh. I don't think they would insist on a titers test. I know someone from india who moved to canada who did that.

Hope that works. I would much rather pay and get ALL VACCINES anew if that makes them happy rather than wait for a titers test. I will call the panel physicians' office tomorrow and hopefully they can help. Hoping they wont deny my visa because of this.

[Hawk Riders 814]

11 minutes ago, darth vader said:

Hope that works. 

thank you for updating your timeline.

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

22 minutes ago, darth vader said:

Hope that works. I would much rather pay and get ALL VACCINES anew if that makes them happy rather than wait for a titers test. I will call the panel physicians' office tomorrow and hopefully they can help. Hoping they wont deny my visa because of this.

Hey @darth vader, I totally get why you are fearing the worst right now, but I don’t think there is any chance of your visa getting denied because of this. Worst case, it would be a delay until the medicals are sorted out.

 

From what I understand, all the doctor needs is just proof of your vaccinations. They can be in any form. They can be from you family physician (common for Canadians who have lived there entire lives here), proof of vaccination received as a child from another country or titre tests showing your immunity.

 

I think the proof of vaccine you have from India will suffice if it covers all the vaccines (from memory, that’s MMR and TDap only, varicella if you haven’t had chicken pox in your life).
 

You can get a TDap by going to a walk-in clinic as well for free (just one shot). Varicella is two shots a few months apart, but you only need to start the series to fulfil the requirement. MMR, I am not sure about…

 

That leaves flu shot and Covid shot. Flu shot, you can get at any pharmacy and Covid shot, you probably have sorted.

 

So the situation is not as bad as it seems. Call Dr Mascarenhas office tomorrow and/ or email them. The staff and the doctor is super helpful. You got this @darth vader

 

 

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

Not sure if this question belongs here.

 

I am having trouble acquiring a credit card here in the US. I applied for one back in Feb 15, when I opened a bank account with TD. The banker told me they would be basing it on my credit history in Canada (which is 819). This application got denied. 2 weeks ago she reapplied, but no response from the credit card department yet…

 

I didn’t anticipate this. Is there something I am doing wrong? Should I be trying elsewhere? Any recommendations?

Edited March 15, 2022 by From_CAN_2_US

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

13 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Hey @darth vader, I totally get why you are fearing the worst right now, but I don’t think there is any chance of your visa getting denied because of this. Worst case, it would be a delay until the medicals are sorted out.

 

From what I understand, all the doctor needs is just proof of your vaccinations. They can be in any form. They can be from you family physician (common for Canadians who have lived there entire lives here), proof of vaccination received as a child from another country or titre tests showing your immunity.

 

I think the proof of vaccine you have from India will suffice if it covers all the vaccines (from memory, that’s MMR and TDap only, varicella if you haven’t had chicken pox in your life).
 

You can get a TDap by going to a walk-in clinic as well for free (just one shot). Varicella is two shots a few months apart, but you only need to start the series to fulfil the requirement. MMR, I am not sure about…

 

That leaves flu shot and Covid shot. Flu shot, you can get at any pharmacy and Covid shot, you probably have sorted.

 

So the situation is not as bad as it seems. Call Dr Mascarenhas office tomorrow and/ or email them. The staff and the doctor is super helpful. You got this @darth vader

 

 

@darth vader note that with vaccines it is often recommended to either get them altogether at one time or wait 2 weeks between vaccines. So with your time constraint, make sure you get them all at the same time. Usually can be done at walk-in clinic.

[AshEve 15]

@From_CAN_2_USYou can try applying for discover credit card. The process is all online. I started out with that when I landed first in US as a student with no US/Canada credit background

[From_CAN_2_US 1,106]

1 hour ago, AshEve said:

@From_CAN_2_USYou can try applying for discover credit card. The process is all online. I started out with that when I landed first in US as a student with no US/Canada credit background

Thanks.

 

I just applied. They gave me a credit balance of $500. Lol. I guess it is a start…

[ME_RHEDZ77 269]

1 hour ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Not sure if this question belongs here.

 

I am having trouble acquiring a credit card here in the US. I applied for one back in Feb 15, when I opened a bank account with TD. The banker told me they would be basing it on my credit history in Canada (which is 819). This application got denied. 2 weeks ago she reapplied, but no response from the credit card department yet…

 

I didn’t anticipate this. Is there something I am doing wrong? Should I be trying elsewhere? Any recommendations?

If you have an existing RBC Canadian account, you can apply a cross border account. The RBC US account will review base on your credit score from Canada Credit Bureau. Another option is try to inquire at Bank of America if they can offer you a credit card and if they can base your credit score from Canada Credit Bureau. If they say no, then ask if they can offer you the Secure Credit Card. You will provide them a secure deposit which will be kept on your card. Every bill period you have to pay off your credits otherwise your secure deposit will be deducted with the amount of credit you owe. 

[Ontarkie 14,221]

18 hours ago, darth vader said:

Sorry if I am missing something obvious here. I went through the websites of all three Ontario doctors, and I am confused about how vaccination works. For e.g. Dr. Mascarenhas' website says that you need a vaccine checklist filled out by your family doctor and they DO NOT GIVE VACCINES IN THEIR OFFICE.

 

Well, I do not even have a family doctor, I have been to walk-in clinics occasionally but no family doctor per se. I however, have vaccination checklist from my previous U.S. visa medical from India (mentions Tdap and MMR which were administered, and notes that I have had chickenpox in the past). I am utterly confused if this would be admissible. Is it safe to just get all the applicable vaccines again? If so, where do I get them if the doctor at the medical appointment can not administer them? Do I get them from a walk-in clinic BEFORE my medical exam?

 

I will be calling all the places tomorrow but hopefully someone with experience can share some information. Thank you!

Take that form and if you ever had any other immunization records with you. No need to get all the shots again. 

[affy 35]

4 hours ago, From_CAN_2_US said:

Not sure if this question belongs here.

 

I am having trouble acquiring a credit card here in the US. I applied for one back in Feb 15, when I opened a bank account with TD. The banker told me they would be basing it on my credit history in Canada (which is 819). This application got denied. 2 weeks ago she reapplied, but no response from the credit card department yet…

 

I didn’t anticipate this. Is there something I am doing wrong? Should I be trying elsewhere? Any recommendations?

I'm not in the states yet and I was able to get a really good card through RBC Cross border. Not sure if it will be the same for you but mine is $15K+ credit limit. I would also maybe check equifax/transunion to make sure there isn't anything weird going on with your credit in Can! Hope that helps  

[cgy2cali 20]

@darth vader I don't think you need to worry too much about this as long as you have your vaccination record from India, that should be acceptable. It just needs to have the full dates of each vaccination.

Depending on your age, some of the listed vaccines are not required so be careful before you start going and getting vaccines. I did a lot of research for mine and Dr. Cheema's info sheet really helped me figure it all out. The doctor you go to should absolutely be able to guide you on this and let you know what they need, but I really think your existing record should be fine. If you're missing any, they might tell you in advance if you ask before your appointment, and you can get any missing vaccines at that point. 

[darth vader 133]

20 minutes ago, cgy2cali said:

@darth vader I don't think you need to worry too much about this as long as you have your vaccination record from India, that should be acceptable. It just needs to have the full dates of each vaccination.

Depending on your age, some of the listed vaccines are not required so be careful before you start going and getting vaccines. I did a lot of research for mine and Dr. Cheema's info sheet really helped me figure it all out. The doctor you go to should absolutely be able to guide you on this and let you know what they need, but I really think your existing record should be fine. If you're missing any, they might tell you in advance if you ask before your appointment, and you can get any missing vaccines at that point. 

I called Dr. Mascarenhas' office and emailed them my vaccination record from my last U.S. visa medical. I was told I do not need to get the checklist or get any further vaccinations including Flu since it is not needed after March 15. I think even if you are missing some vaccines the worst impact is that they wait for you to get whatever vaccine they recommend and you send them the proof, so essentially this can cause delay but not denial. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Edited March 15, 2022 by darth vader

[cdndesro 44]

21 hours ago, darth vader said:

Sorry if I am missing something obvious here. I went through the websites of all three Ontario doctors, and I am confused about how vaccination works. For e.g. Dr. Mascarenhas' website says that you need a vaccine checklist filled out by your family doctor and they DO NOT GIVE VACCINES IN THEIR OFFICE.

 

Well, I do not even have a family doctor, I have been to walk-in clinics occasionally but no family doctor per se. I however, have vaccination checklist from my previous U.S. visa medical from India (mentions Tdap and MMR which were administered, and notes that I have had chickenpox in the past). I am utterly confused if this would be admissible. Is it safe to just get all the applicable vaccines again? If so, where do I get them if the doctor at the medical appointment can not administer them? Do I get them from a walk-in clinic BEFORE my medical exam?

 

I will be calling all the places tomorrow but hopefully someone with experience can share some information. Thank you!

I used Dr. Lee for my medical.  I did it 9 days before my interview and he told me that I should expect my bloodwork not to come back before the interview, however it was back 5 days after medical.  They called me when they got the bloodwork back and said I needed a booster for MMR before they could send the paperwork to the consulate.  I went to a walk-in clinic that day, got the booster and emailed the receipt to the Dr. and they sent my medical to the consulate the next day - on time for my interview.

 

He does not administer any vaccines there, so you need to get them form a Dr or walk-in clinic.  Shoppers Drug Mart does some as well but they charge a fee.  

 

As far as what they will accept as proof you have been vaccinated, I don't know.  I had my vaccination list from the local Health Department from when I was a kid, my Covid vaccine proof and a receipt for the tetanus booster I received prior to the medical.  He took my verbal confirmation of having chicken pox as a kid so I didn't need that vaccine.

 

I suggest you get everything you can before your medical or they can't finalize it or send to the consulate which means they can't approve your visa at the interview and you will have to wait, likely several weeks or even months after it gets sent.

[darth vader 133]

21 minutes ago, cdndesro said:

I used Dr. Lee for my medical.  I did it 9 days before my interview and he told me that I should expect my bloodwork not to come back before the interview, however it was back 5 days after medical.  They called me when they got the bloodwork back and said I needed a booster for MMR before they could send the paperwork to the consulate.  I went to a walk-in clinic that day, got the booster and emailed the receipt to the Dr. and they sent my medical to the consulate the next day - on time for my interview.

 

He does not administer any vaccines there, so you need to get them form a Dr or walk-in clinic.  Shoppers Drug Mart does some as well but they charge a fee.  

 

As far as what they will accept as proof you have been vaccinated, I don't know.  I had my vaccination list from the local Health Department from when I was a kid, my Covid vaccine proof and a receipt for the tetanus booster I received prior to the medical.  He took my verbal confirmation of having chicken pox as a kid so I didn't need that vaccine.

 

I suggest you get everything you can before your medical or they can't finalize it or send to the consulate which means they can't approve your visa at the interview and you will have to wait, likely several weeks or even months after it gets sent.

Thank you, please read my comment just above yours with an update. I emailed my records (which have dates of shots mentioned) and the doctor's office told me that it is acceptable and I do not need any other vaccines. I am going to take their word for it rather than run around and trying to get boosters. I am not even sure what would I need.

 

Based on your experience though, I am curious, do they ALWAYS do a titers test at the medical to verify if you have immunity or did they do those checks in your case because your records from local health department may not have had the date when you got vaccinated in the past?

Edited March 16, 2022 by darth vader

[cdndesro 44]

9 minutes ago, darth vader said:

Thank you, please read my comment just above yours with an update. I emailed my records (which have dates of shots mentioned) and the doctor's office told me that it is acceptable and I do not need any other vaccines. I am going to take their word for it rather than run around and trying to get boosters. I am not even sure what would I need.

 

Based on your experience though, I am curious, do they ALWAYS do a titers test at the medical to verify if you have immunity or did they do those checks in your case because your records from local health department may not have had the date when you got vaccinated in the past?

I don’t know if they always do them. I’m guessing so as my vaccination history has all dates on it so there wasn’t a question on whether I had them or when. I don’t know if this varies by doctor or not either.