Has anyone gone through medical in São Paulo instead of Rio?

[Bh_sarah 942]

Hello!

I'm wondering if there's any K1 beneficiary here from Brazil that instead of going through the medical exam in Rio, chose to do it in São Paulo? What was your experience? Can all the exams and the medical appointment be made in a single day contrary to Rio that asks for the exams beforehand? And how long does the doctor take to send the results to the embassy in Rio? Do we need to go back to the doctor's office and retrieve anything to take with us for the interview?

I ask because I'm closer to São Paulo so it would save me time and money to go through it there instead of Rio. I searched VJ and only found one person that did that, but it was for EB-2 visa. I wonder if it's the same for São Paulo. I also already emailed the SP doctor to ask, just waiting on a reply.

Thank you!

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to the South America regional forum, for Brazil-specific input ***

 

[Ayrton 965]

Yes, you can get the medical anywhere. I had mine in Sao Paulo.

[Troy B 223]

well not quite anywhere,  there are only 4 locations listed at https://br.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/medical-examination-instructions/

as of Aug 2023.

[Bh_sarah 942]

On 8/13/2023 at 2:35 PM, Ayrton said:

Yes, you can get the medical anywhere. I had mine in Sao Paulo.

 

8 hours ago, Troy B said:

well not quite anywhere,  there are only 4 locations listed at https://br.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/medical-examination-instructions/

as of Aug 2023.

Yes, there are only 4 doctors in Brazil that you can go to. I also think Ayrton was saying that it didn't need to be in Rio if the interview is in Rio, could be in the other 3 places as well.

Since this post, I collected information from other sources and from the doctors. Unfortunately, I had to re-schedule my interview because neither the Rio or São Paulo doctor had available dates before my interview. I chose to go to Rio because I will already be there and because it's the fastest one to send documents to the embassy.

Some things I know now for the sake of information (if anyone is seeking answers and stumbles across this thread):
- Rio doctor says the embassy doesn't allow them to schedule medicals after the interview (I thought I could go into AP while they waited to get the doctor's results).
- Rio doctor wants you to do the exams beforehand, at least 3 days before.
- São Paulo doctor has all the exams in one day only, but you have to go back in 30 days to his office to collect X-Ray results. Takes a while for the results to reach the embassy.
- Brasília doctor also has it all in one day but the transfer from them to the embassy takes time because of the exam results.
- Belo Horizonte doctor will only schedule anything with the embassy's packet 3 e-mail. Couldn't get more info.
- Rio and SP doctors require the Covid booster.

Edited August 19, 2023 by Bh_sarah