Just had my K1 medical

[FrostyMist 1]

Today I had my medical for my K1 visa. Although everything seemed to go okay, I'm a little concerned about an issue that's come about regarding vaccinations during AoS:

Whilst I was talking to the nurse about my vaccination history, I was told I needed a teatenus booster. I told the nurse that I wanted to have the vaccine there, but she disagreed with me and told me that it would be better to get it from the GP because it would be free from them. I told her that I didn't mind the cost of paying today, and was more concerned that it be done so the paperwork could be signed and done today. The nurse told me that having the vaccine done today would not save us any work during the AoS process, and there was no benefit to having it done today.

Because I was really stressed out about the medical, and because she kept insisting there was no benefit to having it done today, I agreed to decline.

Now I'm regretting my decision.

I don't really know too much about the AoS process (too busy keeping track of the K1 process), but am I right in my worry that not having had the vaccine now is going to make us a lot of potential work to have a doctor acknowledge that I've had my teatanus booster when I'm in the US? I'm a little worried that the USCIS only accept certain specified doctors to fill out the proper paperwork to say I've had the vaccine, and am worried that though I might have saved myself £25 today, we'll end up paying out costs to drive halfway accross the country later on when I'm in the US in order to get vaccination paperwork completed by an approved doctor.

Was the nurse right to encourage me to decline today? Will it make me much more work in the USCIS to have it acknowledged that I've been vaccinated?

Edited November 26, 2009 by FrostyMist

[Inky 1,110]

If your vaccination history is incomplete you probably want to get it completed before you come to america, it will be A LOT cheaper by far.

The only required vaccination for AOS is gardasil which by dec 14th is not required anymore for AOS.

The shots you get before you come to america but after your medical will need to be added to the I-693 vaccination transcription by a civil surgeon in your area. Most people get RFE at AOS for not having the I-693, but some also dont get RFE.

[FrostyMist 1]

If your vaccination history is incomplete you probably want to get it completed before you come to america, it will be A LOT cheaper by far.

I'm only lacking the teatenus vaccine. And (assuming my GP will do it for me) will get it done from there before I leave for the US.

Will I need any specific sort of evidance from them so that the civil surgen will sign my I-693 form? I just had a printout of my vaccination history from my doctors, which was fine for my medical. But does it need to be something more... official looking to be accepted as evidence by a civil surgen in the US?

medical will need to be added to the I-693 vaccination transcription by a civil surgeon in your area

I'm sorry this if this is a very stupid question, but are civil surgens difficult to find? (I'm under the impression they're a bit different to a "normal" doctor?) It's mostly just finding a civil surgen to sign the form that I'm concerned about. Really wish I'd just insisted more firmly that I wanted the tetnus vaccine done today.

Edited November 26, 2009 by FrostyMist

[Inky 1,110]

Heres the link for finding civil surgeons that serve the area, all you need is the zipcode of where you will be living.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of...office_type=CIV

Im not sure if its the same in the UK but in canada we have a little book or you can request a paper saying you had the shot with the date and the dr / nurse's signature. You can probably ask your dr about that tho.

[FrostyMist 1]

Heres the link for finding civil surgeons that serve the area, all you need is the zipcode of where you will be living.

Ah, thank you for the link. That's relieved one of my worries: there's a civil surgen in my fiance's town, so at least my fear of having to travel halfway accross the US have been banished.

[NCWife 0]

You don't need to get the missing shots from the civil surgeon. You can go to any doctor or your fiance's family physician or the Health Department to get the needed shots and take the record to the civil surgeon to have them transcribed into the I-693. I had my tetanus shot here too (Tdap) and it costs me about $43 at the CS and I think it was free at the Health Department.

Cheers and good luck.

[FrostyMist 1]

Alright.

Getting the shot then isn't my concern: if I can't get it done for free at my GP here, I can get it taken care of in the US.

Once I get it done, I just need the information recorded on my I-693 by a civil surgen. Does anyone know how much we can expect to have to pay just for them to record this information on the form for me?

[UnIqUe 4]

Hello,

I just took vaccination: MMR first dose and I need to take second dose after one month. In America, where can I take for second dose? Plus I can come to America in my present condition?

Thanks a lot

[SunDrop 59]

Alright.

Getting the shot then isn't my concern: if I can't get it done for free at my GP here, I can get it taken care of in the US.

Once I get it done, I just need the information recorded on my I-693 by a civil surgen. Does anyone know how much we can expect to have to pay just for them to record this information on the form for me?

You'll need to ring around the civil surgeons in your area and ask them but make sure you specify it is NOT the full medical, but just the transcription of your vaccine records onto the I-693.

There's a CS in Texas that people have been sending their forms and records to, who does it by post but there's been some IO who's been questioning the validity of transcribing this way. He's comparatively cheap at about $35, I think.

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Back to your original question. Yes, I think it was a mistake not to get the only shot you need for AOS recorded on your vaccinaton sheet. You could have gone to your NHS doctor for a free shot and faxed the record back to the Knightsbridge office. We did that and I'm surprised they didn't tell you. They hold your records to add the shot before sending to the Embassy. And considering they are waiting on lab results of your bloodwork, it might not have been much of a delay to wait on your fax.

Civil Surgeons in the US are a major complaint here on the forums. Some refuse to fill in just the vaccination section of the I-693 and will insist you need a complete medical exam. (Not true if you had one for the visa within 12 months of filing AOS). Some charge a lot of $$ if you find one who will do the vaccination section only. It becomes frustrating, but you'll have to pay for the shot and pay a Civil Surgeon to copy your records onto the I-693 and seal it in an envelope. You download the form and fill in the first section and take to the CS with your UK records and new US record.

Had you gotten the booster in the UK and recorded by the visa exam doctor on the DS-3024 immunization worksheet, that is all you would need to send in with AOS (a photocopy). No need for a Civil Surgeon or I-693 if every immunization needed is recorded on the DS-3024.

You might want to look at this UK AOS timeline spreadsheet we started. The second column shows if people did an I-693 or used the DS3024 from Knightsbridge. You will see alot of people who got greencards without seeing a Civil Surgeon. The column called --I-693?-- is marked "no" if people did not see a CS.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=p4x...HVG6dVoxmTGAKEg

[Rob_Lesya 4]

Once I get it done, I just need the information recorded on my I-693 by a civil surgen. Does anyone know how much we can expect to have to pay just for them to record this information on the form for me?

As has been pointed out by others here, Civil Surgeons are sometimes considered rip-offs because they can basically charge whatever they want.

But not all are that way---

Our first time through the process we went to the local Civil Surgeon. He was an elderly gentleman, a retired physician who now worked as a Civil Surgeon about 5-6 hours a week. We didn't need a full medical -- we only needed the vaccination info transcribed. I'm sitting in his office looking at the various signs posted around the place. One of them said something about ALL patients requiring a full medical exam.... another said something about the minimum charge being $200 dollars.... another said something about all charges having to be paid at the time of service. I'm sitting there thinking, "Oh my God, how much is this gonna cost me!!??" We finally get called to the back .... we go to his office and sit there talking with the guy for well over an hour. We talk about meeting people from abroad, the traditions of various countries, etc, etc. And as we're talking, a little voice in the back of my mind is saying, "Oh... now I get it--- this guy is gonna charge us by the minute!" Finally, he gets around to actually transcribing the vaccination records onto the form. We talk a little more as he explains a little about what to do with the form and a few stories about people who had encountered various problems in the AOS process.

We get up to leave and the wife asks him how much we owe him. He says, "Oh for that little bit of nothing that I did, I'm not gonna charge you anything." So-- I grabbed the wife and hurried out of there before the guy changed his mind.

[menina 50]

Can anyone direct me to a link that lists required vaccinations for AOS? Also, I am wondering since my fiance had all of his vaccinations before entering the US, do we need to have the information transcribed? What about a TB test? (He has the xray showing he is clear). Thanks for your help!

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

Here you go.... 2009 Immunization pdf from the CDC who makes up the list.

If you have a clear x-ray, your visa medical doctor would have reported that on you medical exam. No need to get a TST Tuberculin Skin Test as you have already been cleared of TB.

(I am speaking from experience here. No skin test and no I-693 or Civil Surgeon and a green card without RFE. Many others have the same experience)

Edited November 27, 2009 by Nich-Nick

[FrostyMist 1]

Back to your original question. Yes, I think it was a mistake not to get the only shot you need for AOS recorded on your vaccinaton sheet. You could have gone to your NHS doctor for a free shot and faxed the record back to the Knightsbridge office. We did that and I'm surprised they didn't tell you. They hold your records to add the shot before sending to the Embassy. And considering they are waiting on lab results of your bloodwork, it might not have been much of a delay to wait on your fax.

No, she didn't advise me to do anything but "Get it done in the US".

I told her I wanted it done there and then, because it would save time when in the US, but she insisted I was incorrect and it would not save any time at all. I was so stressed out by the whole process and she was so utterly adament that I not bother having the vaccine done, that I ended up making a decision I regretted the minute I left the building.

I noticed when I looked at the vaccine worksheet they gave me when I left that the box labelled "may be entitled to a waiver on medical grounds" has been ticked. Could they have been trying to discourage me because they didn't want to have to establish whether it was safe for me to actually have the vaccine?

Edited November 27, 2009 by FrostyMist

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

I noticed when I looked at the vaccine worksheet they gave me when I left that the box labelled "may be entitled to a waiver on medical grounds" has been ticked. Could they have been trying to discourage me because they didn't want to have to establish whether it was safe for me to actually have the vaccine?

That box is almost always ticked. It means that you did not get every single vaccine in the list. You are eligible for a blanket waiver based on not being age appropriate for you. If you want to read the details of where I got that bit of info, go to the CDC website and you will find instructions to Panel Physicians and instructions to Civil Surgeons. Somewhere in the long documents there is detail written to the doctors of how to fill out the forms. It discusses that the blanket waiver is ticked in just about every case.

Back to the lady at Knightsbridge. They really don't know the ins and outs of immigration. They know to get a visa, you don't have to complete the jabs. They've never called 10 civil surgeons and were told it would cost them $200-$400 to get them to do an exam and they wouldn't sign off on the last page if they didn't do the whole exam. The Civil Surgeons are sorta like her....some will insist you have to have another exam. Maybe the civil surgeon in your new home town has read the memos explaining that K1s dont need another exam. You're going to find that nobody "gets it" when it comes to the K1. I mean social security workers, driver's license offices, local police, etc. That 90 day thing throws them, because you don't really have anything to prove your legality in the US between the end of the 90 days and the receipt of your green card. There is a gap where you are indeed allowed to stay while you wait on your AOS decision, but try to explain that to a highway patrolman at night who wants to see your unexpired I-94 card, or an unexpired visa. ( We had that exerience and it took alot of talking to explain the whole fiance visa process well enough that he believed us and didn't haul in Nick as in illegal alien. He wrote a speeding ticket and sent us on our way.)

Just move on and deal with it later. Water under the bridge now.