What happens if the embassy does not have the medical report at the K1 visa interview? (London)

[Josh N 2]

Hi, I had my medical examination in London mid-December 2024, they needed a follow-up letter from my GP which I sent to them 3 Jan 2025 and the medical practice confirmed that they had printed off the information for checking.

My visa interview is scheduled for 4 Feb 2025 (i.e. 2 business days from now), and I received a phone call from the medical office today requesting the information I had already sent - seemed to be a mix up as they could see receipt when I told them, but this has prevented them from sending the report to the embassy which I was unaware of.

 

My question is that if the medical office does not send the medical report by the time I have my interview in a few days, despite me not being at fault given the time I'd left between the examination and the interview, what are the possible outcomes of the interview? E.g. is the CO able to approve conditional on receipt of the medical report? Can my case be put into processing for months? Other than this, it's a straightforward case and hoping to fly to the US end of March.

 

Thanks!

[Edward and Jaycel 800]

Assuming you are approved otherwise (i.e.: No other disqualifying issues), you will likely be given a 221g "Refusal" pending receipt of the medical exam by the embassy. Once they receive the medical, your application will go into the normal administrative processing necesary to issue the visa

[Josh N 2]

Hi Edward and Jaycel, thanks very much! So it's just a common sense approach that if the medical takes a few days, the whole process is just delayed a few days rather than causing any more significant (i.e. months of) delays? It sounds like we should be on track for issue by end of March assuming no other issues. Thanks!

[Edward and Jaycel 800]

8 minutes ago, Josh N said:

Hi Edward and Jaycel, thanks very much! So it's just a common sense approach that if the medical takes a few days, the whole process is just delayed a few days rather than causing any more significant (i.e. months of) delays? It sounds like we should be on track for issue by end of March assuming no other issues. Thanks!

 

If this does happen, just make sure that you follow up with the medical office to be sure they send it to the embassy. I would also be pressuring them beforehand to try to get them to send it before your interview so that you can avoid this scenario.

Edited January 30 by Edward and Jaycel

[Scandi 4,186]

They'll just give you a paper stating that your visa was refused blah blah, and then you'll get your approval later on once they have received everything they need (medical in this case). In Sweden, the medical report takes 2 weeks from the date of the medical until the embassy receives it. I had my medical on a Thursday and my interview was the following Monday, so only a few days apart. No issues, just had to wait for my visa to be issued (happened the day after they received the medical). The other K-1 applicant that I met at the interview hadn't even scheduled his medical yet. 😂

[Nywoek 17]

On 1/30/2025 at 11:55 PM, Scandi said:

They'll just give you a paper stating that your visa was refused blah blah, and then you'll get your approval later on once they have received everything they need (medical in this case). In Sweden, the medical report takes 2 weeks from the date of the medical until the embassy receives it. I had my medical on a Thursday and my interview was the following Monday, so only a few days apart. No issues, just had to wait for my visa to be issued (happened the day after they received the medical). The other K-1 applicant that I met at the interview hadn't even scheduled his medical yet. 😂

Oh wow. XD

I am norwegian, so I have to go to Oslo for my medical and then Stockholm for the interview. I have to take a plane to Oslo, so it would obviously be easier (and cheaper) if I could go to Oslo, stay a few days, go straight to Stockholm to my interview, but I am too worried about them not having the results to do that. XD

[Scandi 4,186]

1 hour ago, Nywoek said:

Oh wow. XD

I am norwegian, so I have to go to Oslo for my medical and then Stockholm for the interview. I have to take a plane to Oslo, so it would obviously be easier (and cheaper) if I could go to Oslo, stay a few days, go straight to Stockholm to my interview, but I am too worried about them not having the results to do that. XD

Happens all the time, no biggie at all. It's sometimes very difficult to get a medical appointment because there are so few places to choose from (I think Sweden only has one approved clinic these days), they're always fully booked, so you just have to take whatever date is still available. That can be before or after your interview, doesn't change anything other than your visa approval date. 

[Nywoek 17]

1 minute ago, Scandi said:

Happens all the time, no biggie at all. It's sometimes very difficult to get a medical appointment because there are so few places to choose from (I think Sweden only has one approved clinic these days), they're always fully booked, so you just have to take whatever date is still available. That can be before or after your interview, doesn't change anything other than your visa approval date. 

Hmm, maybe I can make that work then. There is only one hospital in all of Norway that I can go to, I emailed them last month to ask about their wait times and they just told me to try to book as early as possible, but since we just got our NOA2 and the case still needs to be sent to state and then the embassy I have no idea the timeline and I cannot make any appointments yet. But it would be nice to be able to try to schedule an appointment so that I could travel here - oslo - stockholm - oslo - back home instead of two completely separate trips, especially because I have family in Oslo I can stay with while I wait or something, to give it a few days. 

 

Do you have any information about booking interview slots in Stockholm? Someone mentioned to me that they had to pick a date a few months into the future. I am really hoping we can move this summer, but if I have to wait a couple of months just to get my case number and then wait a few months to get an appointment that is looking less likely. Mostly I want it because I have two kids that are school aged, and it would be nice if they got some time to "land" stateside before starting school in the fall. 

[Scandi 4,186]

18 hours ago, Nywoek said:

Hmm, maybe I can make that work then. There is only one hospital in all of Norway that I can go to, I emailed them last month to ask about their wait times and they just told me to try to book as early as possible, but since we just got our NOA2 and the case still needs to be sent to state and then the embassy I have no idea the timeline and I cannot make any appointments yet. But it would be nice to be able to try to schedule an appointment so that I could travel here - oslo - stockholm - oslo - back home instead of two completely separate trips, especially because I have family in Oslo I can stay with while I wait or something, to give it a few days. 

 

Do you have any information about booking interview slots in Stockholm? Someone mentioned to me that they had to pick a date a few months into the future. I am really hoping we can move this summer, but if I have to wait a couple of months just to get my case number and then wait a few months to get an appointment that is looking less likely. Mostly I want it because I have two kids that are school aged, and it would be nice if they got some time to "land" stateside before starting school in the fall. 

I don't know if things have changed since, I had my interview back in 2016, so quite a few years ago.

Back then, and possibly still, they only held K-1 interviews on Thursdays, and there was only two slots each Thursday. So yeah, the wait time can potentially be long depending on how many applied around the same time as you. I messaged NVC and got my case number about 30 days after my NOA2, that way I didn't have to sit around and wait for the NVC letter that took way too long to show up. The case number is not needed to book a medical, but you need it when you go to the appointment. 

I got my NOA2 in the end of June and managed to schedule an interview for the end of August, so that wasn't too bad. 

[Josh N 2]

Hey just a quick update on my visa interview, it all went well.

 

I chased the medical office the day before and they advised that the courier should collect the report that afternoon, and I called again at the end of the day and they confirmed that the courier had done that.

During my visa interview the following day, the document collector and the consular officer asked whether I had done my medical and what date, I said it had been completed 13 December and that I'd chased the medical office and the report should have been delivered to the embassy the previous day as there had been a mixup at the medical office. They were satisfied and gave the expected visa refusal pending receipt of the medical report - the consular officer told me he was satisfied to approve otherwise.

 

Interested to note that I submitted the I-134 Declaration of Financial Support with no income for me or my fiancée (we have taken a year out to travel), so submitted on an asset basis, but they did not ask for any evidence to accompany the I-134. I had also received a notice advising that a reaffirmation of the letter of intent was needed, so prepared this and asked the consular officer if they required it, but they did not want it. Obviously good to be over-prepared than the opposite, and I will carry all of these documents with me at the US border, but I was surprised at how chill the process was.

 

Timeline so far:

 

USCIS processing - all correspondence sent to US citizen

13 Mar 2024 (Wed) - mailed I-129F

18 Mar (Mon) - I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) received by USCIS

21 Mar (Thu) - I-797C Notice of Action (NOA1) confirming USCIS is processing the I-129F

30 July (Tue) - Request For Evidence/RFE because the company we used to prepare the I-129F (Boundless) has failed to submit the I-129F with the first page of the form (!)

13 Aug (Tue) - mailed response to RFE

23 Aug (Fri) - I-797 Notice of Action (NOA2) confirming approval of I-129F and start of processing by NVC

 

Embassy processing - all correspondence sent to foreign fiancé

26 Nov (Tue) - welcome letter from London embassy

7 Dec (Sat) - completed DS-160 online

13 Dec (Fri) - medical examination in London

3 Jan 2025 (Fri) - emailed the medical office with a letter from my GP that had been requested, and they confirmed receipt

30 Jan (Thu) - medical office called me asking for the letter (that they had confirmed receipt of but didn't seem to realise that), I re-sent and they confirmed receipt

31 Jan (Fri) - medical report and GP letter were checked by the physician and medical report approved

3 Feb (Mon) - medical report couriered to the London embassy

4 Feb (Tue) - visa interview, refused pending processing of medical report

6 Feb (Thu) - checked CEAC and status was "Approved"

7 Feb (Fri) - checked CEAC and status was "Issued"

 

Currently waiting for an email for collection. Thoroughly recommend anyone to check in with the medical office. I was told "no news is good news" originally, so assumed there was no need to check in, but I could have caught the issue earlier if I had phone to asked about the status of my medical report.

 

This page is a useful reference that reiterates what others in this thread have said:
https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/immigrant-or-fiancee-visa-case-status-and-delivery-information/ - see this part: '2) My application was refused because my medical report had not arrived. What should I do?'

 

Thanks!

[Edward and Jaycel 800]

37 minutes ago, Josh N said:

but they did not ask for any evidence to accompany the I-134.

 

It seems to vary by Consular Officer what they want... I've heard some want the whole package with all the evidence and then there's our experience where they didn't even ask for the I-134 form LOL Glsd you sorted out the medical office and you got your visa to issued status! Congratulations! 🎉🎊  

[Josh N 2]

Thanks so much !!