ExpatPhD

Hi 👋 my PD is 22 Aug 2024. Settled into the long wait™️. 

I thought it would be useful to post a review of my appointment at Visa Medicals in London on 4th August 2023. I found it hard to find recent ones and hopefully this'll calm someone else's nerves!
 
I waited until I had my instructions letter from the embassy before calling to book my appointment. There was a relatively short wait on the phone (better than calling my GP) and I was offered an appointment within a few days. Forgetting that I was still waiting for a letter from my GP and that it was the weekend, I had to call and reschedule for later the same week. The lady on the phone laughed when I said I got over excited.
 
I received a confirmation email with instructions like where it is, documents to bring and booking translators (if applicable)
 
I arrived at Bond St very early. Killed a couple hours in Leon, found Bentinck Street and had a wander. My appointment was at 11:10am, pressed the buzzer at 11:05am. The email suggests a one in, one out situation. That isn't the case and is probably left over from COVID era. I was worried I was going to be told off for buzzing 5 minutes early, no one even spoke on the intercom, they just let me in.
 
Visa Medicals is the first door on your right when you come in.
 
The lady on reception asked for my name and 'all the documents we asked you to bring' which threw me a bit. It's probably a good idea to have everything ready to go in one bundle, not in well organised seperate sections of a folder like I did. I think I excepted the doctor to be asking for the reports and vaccination records, not the receptionist. This is what I gave over:
 
My passport 4 US sized visa photos (Snappy Snaps can do US sized photos, it was ~£35 for 8 photos) A copy of my ACRO police certificate A copy of the first page of the instructions letter form the embassy with my LND number and visa category Summary care record from my GP Vaccination records from my GP COVID pass from the NHS app Hep B vaccination proof Medical questionairre A letter from my GP outlining past mental health issues, treatments and current mental health status (because I ticked yes to self harm) A discharge letter form a surgery I had in 2016 (because I ticked yes to hospitalization)  
Note, you do not get these back (except your passport) so make copies for your own records and keep the original ACRO and embassy letter for yourself.
Here's how the email words the documents required:
 
 
I was sent into the waiting room with two more yes/no questionairres to fill out. The first was very basic and asked questions related to allergies, steroids/immunosuppresants and pregnancy. Anything I ticked yes to, I put a note underneath explaining why.
 
The second was more detailed (and very confusing because yes/no swapped places). These are the questions I can remember:
Have you had an injury or illness that required hospitalization? Multiple questions on different types of heart/thyroid/kidney/liver diseases Have you ever taken recreational drugs? Multiple questions about substance abuse, related conditions and criminal record due to substance abuse Have you ever had thoughts of harming yourself? Have you ever acted on those thoughts? Have you ever had thoughts of harming others? Have you ever acted on those thoughts? Current medications (I also listed non-prescribed hayfever tablets and multivitamins) Any other medical conditions that required treatment? (I put yes - vitamin D deficiency, treated via daily supplements)  
Someone then called me through to take a chest x-ray. No need to remove my piercings (nipple included) and sent me back to the waiting room.
 
A few minutes later a doctor called Michaela called me through. She was extremely friendly and I felt at ease with her. We discussed some of the questions I had ticked yes to like why I had surgery and what methods I used for self harm in the past. She repeated some of the questions to me directly, particularly about drug use and harming others. She told me that the US is very keen to ask these questions due to the availability of guns and the risk of gun violence. I had an additional report on my mental health from my last counsellor, so she took that from me as all evidence is good evidence.
 
The rest of the exam was height, weight, vision, ears and mouth. Then I was asked to undress to underwear and socks and drape a gown over my lower half whilst on the bench. Here she took my blood pressure, took a blood sample for syphillis, listened to my heart and lungs, bent my knees around to check for pain and pressed different areas of my stomach. No urine sample was taken due to my age (27) and no past STDs.
 
I have a scoliosis in my spine, which she noticed and asked if it caused back pain (it doesn't) and that was that.
 
She sent me back into the waiting room while a nurse checked my vaccinations. I didn't need anything done as I'd had my DTaP booster at my GP recently and I'd already had Hep B vaccinations for work reasons in the past. They can do them for you but it may be cheaper to get them done elsewhere before your appointment.
 
I paid and was given proof of vaccinations to use when I adjust status. All in all, nothing to worry about but I am glad I was prepared! Good luck to anyone going for their medical
 
 
 
 
 
 

Matt Gaetz as AG? 🤣

Hey @ArtUK,
 
No worries--in fact, sorry it took me a bit to respond to you. I work as an immigration law paralegal and, as you can imagine, it's been a busy period! Hope you're all settled and no longer jet-lagged. 
 
I researched the issue online and it seems your wife can qualify, but it's going to be difficult. All of those documents you listed, such as her travel receipts, photographs of her in the United States, driver's license, bank accounts, tax returns, they're great evidence that she hasn't abandoned her domicile in the United States. If you can include evidence covering the entire period she lived overseas, that would be best. Even better if she owns property, perhaps has a storage unit, or a permanent mailing address in the U.S. Include also the docs Lil bear listed above, such as any future jobs, residence lined up, schools your kids are enrolled in for the future, anything at all that shows your wife is intent on living in the United States. I would also suggest a letter, written and signed by your wife, that explains the reasons why she lived in the UK for so long--family obligations, difficult & slow immigration process, perhaps even some health or family issues, etc.--but that she still considers the United States her primary domicile and she's working on living full-time in the States. 
 
Here are some resources I found about proving her domicile in the U.S., hopefully they will help:
https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/prove-domicile-form-i-864/
https://www.immigrationhelp.org/learning-center/proof-of-us-domicile
https://citizenpath.com/proof-of-domicile-i-864/
https://www.novacredit.com/resources/proof-of-domicile
 
The biggest factor in your case is that your wife has been living in the UK for the past four years, so you'll have to work hard at showing that she never intended to abandon her domicile and the plan was always to come back and live together in the U.S. My recommendation would be to have an extra I-864 ready from one of her family members, just in case; CEAC *sometimes* lets you know why a certain document has been rejected and, if they find issues with the affidavit, you have the opportunity to supplement it. (Plus, the joint sponsor doesn't have to show all the stuff your wife does; they can just show their tax return, passport, and driver's license, with maybe a few paystubs and utility bills if necessary). Be prepared, as the Department of State and USCIS has been particularly strict with affidavit of supports recently. 
 
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any issues with CEAC!

I recieved a letter from USCIS wanting proof of evidence of our marriage, I was at 4 months, They received the proof and it went up tp 5 months, later that day my application was approved and case closed.  This happened last thursday.  As I was told when my dates kept changing from 1 week to 5 months not to be concerned with those dates.  I applied May 28 2023.

To give an update on this topic for future questions someone may have, both have been accepted on the i864 - petitioner (no US income but some savings + beneficiary's savings which total to 3x the poverty line) and joint sponsor's income

If it's well over 3 times, and liquid, you wouldn't need a joint sponsor.  If not, you might be able to withdraw the joint sponsor during the interview, but providing an updated affidavit of support based on the new income from a US job.

sounds to me like an arrest for a fine-able offence rather than a criminal charge...something that can happen sometimes in USA in some jurisdictions on traffic offences...ie, you get released after paying a fine...no court, if ever a document is "unavailable" all you have to do is submit an written explanation as to why its unavailable, but maybe they will still just request a common "police certificate" from that country which should show nothing

Thank you. 
 
When she did her NCRC she asked them to assist with the police report, and they told her the Amman police will not issue that. So she’s going to go back to the Jordanian Consulate in Manila and ask them write a short statement to that effect and sign it for her interview. 
 
I think it’s a good idea to just be prepared. Hopefully they will do that for her. 
 
Thanks again for helping! 

At worst, you will need confirmation that nothing more is available.  You'll just have to wait and see, unless you can get that confirmation before the interview.

Thanks again everyone for your insights.
 
After a little more back and forth and providing more proof of a few more wire transfers with significant funds over to my US account they have approved us and we got issued the visa a few days ago!! So if anyone is in this position, wiring funds might be a good way to prove intent if you need something further. However, as we've seen, it is totally dependent upon what consular officer will accept.