Manila medical and K-1 interview: two notes from my fiancee's experience

[PeterMcS 3]

Two notes that you may be interested in:

1. Apparently, lots of people don't pass the medical right away: their lung x-rays aren't clear so they have to do a sputum test, to check for bacterial infection I believe. Consequently, they have to cancel their visa interview, and I believe the delay is months. My fiancee talked online with five people who did the medical the same day as she did (she'd met some online beforehand, and others she just met that day). She was the only one of them that passed the medical. She adopted healthy habits approaching her medical (eating, sleeping, exercising), and also chose to take an antibiotic for a week before the medical. She had another online friend that also passed the medical at a different time, and that one had also independently decided to take an antibiotic before her interview. All the usual disclaimers apply: this isn't medical advice, doctors should prescribe medications (though you can generally get them without a prescription in the Philippines), etc.
2. They didn't even ask my fiancee for her I-134. They did ask her what I did for a living. So no one ever even looked at all the documentation that I spent a lot of time preparing. Of course, they may ask for yours, so provide everything they ask for.

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

1.  I suspect most sputum cases are done to rule out Tuberculosis. Unfortunately, that is fairly common practice in PI.

2.  I think that is standard practice in Manila. 

Congratulations!!!  Sounds like you have overcome a major hurdle!!!!

[PeterMcS 3]

6 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

Congratulations!!!  Sounds like you have overcome a major hurdle!!!!

 

Thanks! Yes, we're very happy and I'm much more relaxed now that she's gotten her Visa!

[RO_AH 1,659]

14 hours ago, PeterMcS said:

Two notes that you may be interested in:

1. Apparently, lots of people don't pass the medical right away: their lung x-rays aren't clear so they have to do a sputum test, to check for bacterial infection I believe. Consequently, they have to cancel their visa interview, and I believe the delay is months. My fiancee talked online with five people who did the medical the same day as she did (she'd met some online beforehand, and others she just met that day). She was the only one of them that passed the medical. She adopted healthy habits approaching her medical (eating, sleeping, exercising), and also chose to take an antibiotic for a week before the medical. She had another online friend that also passed the medical at a different time, and that one had also independently decided to take an antibiotic before her interview. All the usual disclaimers apply: this isn't medical advice, doctors should prescribe medications (though you can generally get them without a prescription in the Philippines), etc.
2. They didn't even ask my fiancee for her I-134. They did ask her what I did for a living. So no one ever even looked at all the documentation that I spent a lot of time preparing. Of course, they may ask for yours, so provide everything they ask for.

1. Someone put up the percentage recently, I think 1 in 10, and Sputum is discussed in here probably every 2 weeks or so. My wife got flagged for sputum first medial and later ended up retaking medical and no sputum.

2. Also very common. I would be more surprised if they asked for it.

[IWander 589]

3 hours ago, RO_AH said:

1. Someone put up the percentage recently, I think 1 in 10, and Sputum is discussed in here probably every 2 weeks or so. My wife got flagged for sputum first medial and later ended up retaking medical and no sputum.

2. Also very common. I would be more surprised if they asked for it.

I think over the past 4 years or so, I think my now wife is about the only one who was asked for the I134 during the interview 

[Jason R 0]

My fiancé took the medical exam yesterday (1/17) and failed the Xray (seems like a default thing to do there). She has to go back in 3 weeks (2/7) to take the sputum test for 3 days in a row. So that means 8 weeks after (2/7) to get the results (4/7).
 

We had made the interview for (1/23) so now we need to reschedule.

Questions:
Scheduling
We we tried to reschedule via the website, yet the dates are not available all year. We tried cancelling and scheduling again but same result. I assume we have to contact them directly now. Anyone else have this experience? What's the best method of rescheduling? email, phone, chat? Are they US citizens that answer?

Timeline Issue
Is there a timeline in which we HAVE to get the interview in? Does the D-160 "expire" or is there an NVC timeline where we have to reapply?




 

[PeterMcS 3]

1 hour ago, Jason R said:

My fiancé took the medical exam yesterday (1/17) and failed the Xray (seems like a default thing to do there). She has to go back in 3 weeks (2/7) to take the sputum test for 3 days in a row. So that means 8 weeks after (2/7) to get the results (4/7).
 

We had made the interview for (1/23) so now we need to reschedule.

Questions:
Scheduling
We we tried to reschedule via the website, yet the dates are not available all year. We tried cancelling and scheduling again but same result. I assume we have to contact them directly now. Anyone else have this experience? What's the best method of rescheduling? email, phone, chat? Are they US citizens that answer?

Timeline Issue
Is there a timeline in which we HAVE to get the interview in? Does the D-160 "expire" or is there an NVC timeline where we have to reapply?




 

 

My fiancee says: You cannot reschedule an interview. You have to cancel it wait for the medical result. Then they'll let you reschedule. The D-160's don't expire.

[Jason R 0]

Thank you!

 

Do I schedule again through the website or by some other means? I am assuming that SLEC will let the embassy know that we are allowed to schedule again - hence opening up the dates.

 

 I have no idea if/how SLEC and the embassy communicate.

[PeterMcS 3]

3 minutes ago, Jason R said:

Thank you!

 

Do I schedule again through the website or by some other means? I am assuming that SLEC will let the embassy know that we are allowed to schedule again - hence opening up the dates.

 

 I have no idea if/how SLEC and the embassy communicate.

 

You can schedule again through the website, later.

[top_secret 2,421]

2 hours ago, Jason R said:

Thank you!

 

Do I schedule again through the website or by some other means? I am assuming that SLEC will let the embassy know that we are allowed to schedule again - hence opening up the dates.

 

 I have no idea if/how SLEC and the embassy communicate.

 

SLEC would notify the Embassy if someone is flagged for sputum testing so it shouldn't be a problem.  If you want to be proactive you can keep checking for appointment dates to open up in the future after the scheduled sputum test result date.  The embassy releases future appointment periodically and undoubtedly has just not released any April appointments for anyone yet.

[Jason R 0]

28 minutes ago, top_secret said:

 

SLEC would notify the Embassy if someone is flagged for sputum testing so it shouldn't be a problem.  If you want to be proactive you can keep checking for appointment dates to open up in the future after the scheduled sputum test result date.  The embassy releases future appointment periodically and undoubtedly has just not released any April appointments for anyone yet.

Thanks top_secret!

What a pain in the butt  
It would be nice to have a total procedural timeframe with all the "what ifs" or "how to" with outcomes. At least for K1.

[RO_AH 1,659]

On 1/17/2024 at 9:13 AM, Jason R said:

It would be nice to have a total procedural timeframe with all the "what ifs" or "how to" with outcomes. At least for K1.

They have a location for all of that. These forums. Every pitfall you can come across has been posted here. The problem is if you only come here when you have a problem and make a post, you will not know the abundance of the information here. I started frequenting these forums when I first had the thought of pursuing a visa for my wife. I came here every day or 2 during the entire process.

[Jason R 0]

8 hours ago, RO_AH said:

They have a location for all of that. These forums. Every pitfall you can come across has been posted here. The problem is if you only come here when you have a problem and make a post, you will not know the abundance of the information here. I started frequenting these forums when I first had the thought of pursuing a visa for my wife. I came here every day or 2 during the entire process.

So true!
I still want to write out an expectations list of sorts. I get so many different scenarios when looking through the interwebs lol

 

 

[IWander 589]

6 hours ago, Jason R said:

So true!
I still want to write out an expectations list of sorts. I get so many different scenarios when looking through the interwebs lol

 

 

The absolute worst place for immigration advice includes but not limited to fellow filipinas, Facebook, YouTube and Reddit 

[sofie18 0]

Hi. After your medical, did they give you a sealed envelope or your xray film?