TDAP Vaccine Booster for AOS

[Rebecca95 1]

46 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Just FYI: most AOS from K-1 interviews are not currently being waived.

Thank you for informing us of this, we'll bare this in mind.

 

44 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Why didn't you just pay for the full exam?  No medical provider in the US is going to sign documentation that they've done something that they haven't.  That would be our license on the line.

She tried to charge us $600 for the full exam which is something we were not prepared to pay, nor willing to pay. The exam was $350 back in the UK and we were informed on the phone (albeit by the receptionist, not the doctor herself as she wasn't in work that day) that we could come by for just the vaccine and only have to pay $120 (which ended up being $111 instead?)

 

38 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

It doesn't matter what the USCIS says.  If their form states that an exam was performed by that particular provider, and it was not, the provider will not and should not sign it.  USCIS does not have any governance over professional practice/medical boards.  

 

If the end result of not obtaining vaccines during the overseas medical is that a new medical exam must be completed in the US, then the applicant just has to bite the bullet and do that.   Or, shop around for a physician that will sign off that they've completed an exam when they have not.

 

I've attached an image at the bottom of this post that was taken straight from the instructions for the I-693 that states I do not need another medical exam if I've already had one overseas within one year, which is the case. The vaccination record page also states that the civil surgeon only has to submit certain parts of the form if I only require a vaccination assessment, which she still refused to do. If I had known it would be this much hassle in the U.S, I would've figured out a way to get it done in the UK but at the time, I didn't have the money for the vaccine as well as the medical exam.

 

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

@Rebecca95

 

I’m so sorry you are having to go through this. It’s the exact reason I have tried for years to warn K1s in the UK Forum to get every shot and get signed off in London and avoid Civil Surgeon hassles completely. But that is water under the bridge now.

 

This is warning to anybody reading this thread and in the same K1 boat:

It is so very important for you to immerse yourself in the instructions for Form I:693. It tells you what to fill out on the I-693 and print before you ever go in the door. Your information, but don’t sign until you are in the presence of the doctor who is verifying your identity. You sign on page 2 in front of the doctor.
Parts 1-4 are for you to fill out before going. You can put N/A on those sections for interpreters if nobody else worked on your form.

Part 5 is where the doctor writes what identification you showed.

Part 7 is for the doctor to give their name, location, etc  and sign their name. I can understand their reluctance to not sign because the fifth item being a bit ambiguous for a K1 special situation. I would suggest they cross that out if it was bothersome to them. Better than no signature at all.

Part 10  vaccinations (on two pages) must be filled out by the doctor. They could mark out all those other medical test pages if it made them feel better and indicating they are only have done vaccinations and signed off on vaccinations. 

To all following this— The civil surgeon is supposed to give you all pages of the I-693 to review what is in the sealed envelope. All of the pages! Sit yourself down in their waiting room and check every detail before you walk out. Have the printed instruction with you to show them where it says you get a full copy. Have a spare copy you printed of the form with highlighter showing what was supposed to be filled out for your reference while you check. You have got to be very prepared because most civil surgeons won’t be prepared for K1s. Be polite and ask for corrections. 

 

 

Absolutely, with what I'm going through right now, I'm happy to see you're encouraging people in the UK to get all of their vaccinations before coming over to America. I just wish I was as active on this forum prior to my medical exam. We're going to submit what we have but it's looking like we might be told we need more proof of my TDAP vaccine, which means we'll likely be seeking out a different civil surgeon to handle this as I've actually been vaccinated now and won't need it again.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Rebecca95

[SalishSea 17,987]

3 minutes ago, Rebecca95 said:

Thank you for informing us of this, we'll bare this in mind.

 

She tried to charge us $600 for the full exam which is something we were not prepared to pay, nor willing to pay. The exam was $350 back in the UK and we were informed on the phone (albeit by the receptionist, not the doctor herself as she wasn't in work that day) that we could come by for just the vaccine and only have to pay $120 (which ended up being $111 instead?)

 

 

I've attached an image at the bottom of this post that was taken straight from the instructions for the I-693 that states I do not need another medical exam if I've already had one overseas within one year, which is the case. The vaccination record page also states that the civil surgeon only has to submit certain parts of the form if I only require a vaccination assessment, which she still refused to do. If I had known it would be this much hassle in the U.S, I would've figured out a way to get it done in the UK but at the time, I didn't have the money for the vaccine as well as the medical exam.

 

Absolutely, with what I'm going through right now, I'm happy to see you're encouraging people in the UK to get all of their vaccinations before coming over to America. I just wish I was as active on this forum prior to my medical exam. We're going to submit what we have but it's looking like we might be told we need more proof of my TDAP vaccine, which means we'll likely be seeking out a different civil surgeon to handle this as I've actually been vaccinated now and won't need it again.

Right.  I get that.  

 

What I'm saying is that if the form the civil surgeon is expected to sign states that the patient was examined (as you wrote in a previous comment in this thread), and that did not happen then she is well within scope to 1) refuse to sign, or 2) require a full exam at whatever her fee is for that.

[Rebecca95 1]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

Right.  I get that.  

 

What I'm saying is that if the form the civil surgeon is expected to sign states that the patient was examined (as you wrote in a previous comment in this thread), and that did not happen then she is well within scope to 1) refuse to sign, or 2) require a full exam at whatever her fee is for that.

Yeah, that part did confuse us. We're not sure why it states we're allowed to get the vaccination and records signed off by a civil surgeon, and certain parts of the forms signed by them and us, yet it mentions that they examined me. I understand where she was coming from there but it confuses it for us as it seems like the forms are contradicting things. If it turns out that I do in fact need another medical and everything else to be signed off, we'll call around for an affordable civil surgeon. I'm just worried that they won't sign off on the vaccine stuff as they weren't the ones who vaccinated me, and I don't even know if the proof she provided of my new TDAP vaccine is sufficient for someone else. 

[arken 4,197]

30 minutes ago, Rebecca95 said:

Yeah, that part did confuse us. We're not sure why it states we're allowed to get the vaccination and records signed off by a civil surgeon, and certain parts of the forms signed by them and us, yet it mentions that they examined me. I understand where she was coming from there but it confuses it for us as it seems like the forms are contradicting things. If it turns out that I do in fact need another medical and everything else to be signed off, we'll call around for an affordable civil surgeon. I'm just worried that they won't sign off on the vaccine stuff as they weren't the ones who vaccinated me, and I don't even know if the proof she provided of my new TDAP vaccine is sufficient for someone else. 

You definitely got a hungry civil surgeon. DS3025 is supposed to be vaccination records itself to be used anywhere in the US including by the civil surgeon. Based on that vaccination records and any other if applicable, a civil surgeon is supposed to administer any required vaccinations and complete the required sections of i693 not go with full medical. Lets hope i693 is still filled out correctly.

 

[SalishSea 17,987]

3 hours ago, Rebecca95 said:

Yeah, that part did confuse us. We're not sure why it states we're allowed to get the vaccination and records signed off by a civil surgeon, and certain parts of the forms signed by them and us, yet it mentions that they examined me. I understand where she was coming from there but it confuses it for us as it seems like the forms are contradicting things. If it turns out that I do in fact need another medical and everything else to be signed off, we'll call around for an affordable civil surgeon. I'm just worried that they won't sign off on the vaccine stuff as they weren't the ones who vaccinated me, and I don't even know if the proof she provided of my new TDAP vaccine is sufficient for someone else. 

Vaccine records are vaccine records.  There is no magical difference in vaccines administered by different clinics.

 

And inoculation status can be objectively demonstrated via antibody titers.

[SalishSea 17,987]

3 hours ago, arken said:

You definitely got a hungry civil surgeon. DS3025 is supposed to be vaccination records itself to be used anywhere in the US including by the civil surgeon. Based on that vaccination records and any other if applicable, a civil surgeon is supposed to administer any required vaccinations and complete the required sections of i693 not go with full medical. Lets hope i693 is still filled out correctly.

 

If the form states that the civil surgeon completed an exam, and she did not, then she is right not to sign it.  It is sound professional practice, not greed.

[arken 4,197]

48 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

If the form states that the civil surgeon completed an exam, and she did not, then she is right not to sign it.  It is sound professional practice, not greed.

The instructions clearly says only the vaccinations part be completed and the form signed by civil surgeons for the ones with ds3025. Any examination mentioned on i693 for the surgeon's signature would be related to vaccinations only not the medical conditions that they are not required to check and fill. Not signing the form sounds unprofessional by not properly understanding the very thing they are supposed to do.

 

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by arken

[SalishSea 17,987]

1 minute ago, arken said:

The instructions clearly says only the vaccinations part be completed and the form signed by civil surgeons for the ones with ds3025. Any examination mentioned on i693 for the surgeon's signature would be related to vaccinations only not the medical conditions. Not signing the form sounds unprofessional by not properly understanding the very thing they are supposed to do.

 

 

An exam is an exam. I stand by what I said.

 

If the form says that an exam was conducted, even in the context of missing vaccinations, then it would not be professional to sign it without conducting an exam.

[arken 4,197]

8 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

An exam is an exam. I stand by what I said.

 

If the form says that an exam was conducted, even in the context of missing vaccinations, then it would not be professional to sign it without conducting an exam.

Where you stand is your choice, I am mentioning what civil surgeons are supposed to do professionally.
 

By not signing the form (part 7), the civil surgeon is giving the birdie to uscis instructions that he/she is supposed to follow.

 

2) Even if a new medical examination is not required, you must still show proof that you complied with the vaccination requirements. If the vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed and included as part of the original overseas medical examination report, you will need to have the Part 10. Vaccination Record completed by a designated civil surgeon. In this case, you must submit Parts 1. - 5., 7., and 10.
of Form I-693.

Edited November 11, 2021 by arken

[Wuozopo 4,293]

5 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Just FYI: most AOS from K-1 interviews are not currently being waived.

Yes agree. Back when we did AOS about 50% were waived. I think it was a Trump thing to interview everybody, wasn’t it? So the AOS times are crazy long because of that, plus Covid slowing things down. We had a K1 interview in London and no more until citizenship. Two waived. 

[SalishSea 17,987]

20 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

Yes agree. Back when we did AOS about 50% were waived. I think it was a Trump thing to interview everybody, wasn’t it? So the AOS times are crazy long because of that, plus Covid slowing things down. We had a K1 interview in London and no more until citizenship. Two waived. 

Not necessarily Trump, but for sure there was a brief time during the first year of the pandemic when we saw some waivers being given.  This most likely related to USCIS office closures.

[Wuozopo 4,293]

6 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Why didn't you just pay for the full exam?  No medical provider in the US is going to sign documentation that they've done something that they haven't.  That would be our license on the line.

But there are Civil Surgeons who do. I can’t find my copy of the memo to civil surgeons which addresses that they do not have do a full medical on a K1 who assures them they have had a full medical turned in to USCIS. I explained it above somewhere  I have followed versions of the I-693 and this whole civil surgeon fiasco since 2008 when some new changes about TB testing exploded in the summer. It was a big deal that had every K1 with a medical after a certain date June/July?? date required to have a civil surgeon and a TB skin test even though they had a chest x-Ray on record from two months earlier. I fell into that group.So being British, many had the BCG which often makes false positive skin tests. So you get the skin test at the CS and if the red bump exceeds x-number of mm, then you MUST be cleared by a follow up chest xRay—-which you already have had and the film to prove it!!! Yes huge film and not a cd. So another had to be done by a CS.
 

Well I didn’t. I decided to skip that, be a rebel, and send in a copy of my complete DS-3025 and ignore the new quidelines. I got a greencard in the mail, no interview, within 5 months. And I wrote emails to many Congressmen to complain about how it was all messed up. Others started trying what I did and they were okay too.  Changers to policy and form I-693 started evolving and the forms got better but still not perfect. I clearly see your point. And I clearly believe Civil Surgeons do not even read the instructions or their memos from USCIS which clarify the issue …somewhat.
 

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by Wuozopo