Calling all Finns! Embassy, Medical, and other experiences please?

[Lynkali 163]

There are at least 4-5 of us K-1 filers all set to converge on the Helsinki embassy in the coming months, and probably several CR-1 or other people too, so I was hoping we could get some feedback from people who've recently dealt with Finnish procedures. I think a few others have questions too, but I'll start with mine:

Medical: any reviews of Doctors Helle or Borgström? I'm hearing conflicting things though private messages, for example that Helle will hand-deliver the medical results to the embassy if you don't live in Helsinki (my fiance's in Vaasa and going back to pick up the results would be a pain!), but that Helle is much pickier about vaccinations and Borgström is fine with just the neuvolakortti for proof of childhood immunizations (my fiance had the terveyskeskus do three separate checks and they cannot find any computer records, so he just has the 30-year-old card from his mom proving his childhood vaccines). Would LOVE any input on who we should choose for this!

Embassy: I hope I know the answer to this, but I want to make sure. For the I-134 and financial documents, they are brought TO the interview, correct? Not mailed in beforehand? (Since I speak German I was looking at some info regarding Frankfurt, just to pass the time, and Frankfurt seems to want the financial stuff mailed before the interview -- don't like that, I'd much prefer to hand-deliver it at interview!) I want to make sure because I'm planning to be in Finland in June-July, and plan to just bring my financial info to my fiance then, rather than mail it.

I'm REALLY hoping for my NOA2 this week or next at the latest -- I'm planning a trip to visit my fiance in June-July, and we're really really hoping that we can have the interview while I'm there. I know it's totally unnecessary for me to be present, it's not that -- I just wanna be there and hug him and know immediately when it's all resolved!!! But that depends on CSC getting my NOA2 to me really soon, so please cross your fingers for me!

Other Finn-USA people, please chime in with questions and answers or just random experiences here too -- we're such a small group, but I hope we can all share information!

[Eve&Josh 5]

Hi Lynkali! I think it'll be good to have a Finland-specific discussion thread, I know I would've appreciated it when I was waiting for NOA2 and preparing for the next stages.

For the Finns reading this thread, here's a link to a discussion forum on a Finnish website (the discussion is in Finnish so you could direct your fiance to it if you want, Lynkali): LINK

About I-134 and the supporting documentation, you bring them to the interview. The embassy in Finland does not require (nor want!) you to send in any documents to the office in advance. In Packet 3, they will send you a list of documents you need for the interview. After you have all of them, you need to sign the checklist and send that to the Embassy after which they will schedule your interview.

Your fiancé should go ahead with the medical as soon as he can, as it can take a few weeks for them to get the papers ready for pick-up. The medical is good for a year and you can also use it for the AOS. Ask for a copy of the vaccination record (which they need for you to send in with the AOS) and you can just use that without having to go see a doctor in the US (as long as the vaccination record is marked complete, that is).

About the doctors, I went to see Dr. Borgström, because I too like your fiancé, only had that age-old vaccination card that my Mom fortunately had saved. I used the healthcare center provided by my employer to get whatever extra shots I needed (worth asking about if your fiancé's still working in Finland), and the nurse also transferred the vaccination information from the old card onto an International Vaccination Card (I guess somewhat more official...?). For Dr. Borgström, those vaccination records were good enough, but for Dr. Helle I would've had to call every healthcare center I had ever been to to get vaccinated in order to get a copy of the original vaccination record. Now, my family moved around a lot when I was little, plus I had shots at the student healthcare center and at a couple different private centers provided by employers, so it would've been a mess to try to get my hands on those papers. This is why I chose Eiran Lääkärikeskus (Eira Medical Center) and Dr. Borgström.

Dr. Borgström seems to be very easy-going, he only asks a couple questions and chit-chats while he's prepping the papers. He's very old though and doesn't seem to be too careful when filling out the papers; my forms were actually not completely filled out even though I guess he put in all the important information. But, we all know how picky USCIS can be about missing a tick or a comment somewhere in that pile of forms, so.... However, the visit was very fast, didn't have to wait to get my X-rays taken or blood drawn, and everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. I was leaving for the US the same week and they held on to my papers there at the Medical Center until I got back two months later. Oh yeah, tell your fiancé to bring his KELA card, he'll get a small discount on the medical visit.

I have heard some not-so-flattering stories about Dr. Helle, so I was glad to go and see Dr. Borgström. I did end up getting an RFE for him not putting anything in about my having had chicken pox when I was little and therefore not having been vaccinated against it, so if your fiancé sees Dr. Borgström he should be advised to make sure that the doctor fills something in about all the age-appropriate vaccinations. Dr. Helle is much pickier not only with the vaccines, but also is much more detailed in the actual medical examination. My friend went to Dr. Helle for her visa (to Australia) and said that he was okay, but has a weird sense of humor that some people could take offense to. He's the doctor on a medical advice column for teens called Bees & Honey in a teen music mag called Suosikki. If your fiancé knows the column he can elaborate, but to me that was kinda sketchy.

I hope you find this helpful!

-Eve

[Lynkali 163]

Eve&Josh, thank you so much for the detailed reply! Yes ... pretty sure we'll go with Borgström then, based on the vaccination documentation. I appreciate your other suggestions and my fiance read your post and says he'll try to get a nurse to transcribe to an international vaccination card, too. I could see that being helpful later in the USA, if needed.

We did know about Helle's columns -- rather funny, when we mentioned to a mutual friend the names of the doctors (we were thinking we'd go to Helle then), she started laughing uncontrollably and said "Mikko's going to a CELEBRITY doctor!" and explained what kind of things he writes about. Gave us a little hesitation, which I'm glad because then I started trying to find out more about Borgström.

Just one more doctor question: how are the results returned to the embassy? Did you have to go back to Borgström a week later and pick them up, or do they mail them to the embassy? Since Mikko lives in Vaasa, it would be a hassle to try to get back to Helsinki a week after the medical, but of course he can do that if there's no other choice .... just trying to understand the scheduling.

All your other details are so helpful, and we browsed the Finnish link you had. Mikko said he'd seen the forum before but not that thread, so he'll keep a closer eye on it now, I think! Thanks again!

[Eve&Josh 5]

Absolutely, I'm happy to help! If Mikko wants to be sure about what he needs for the doctor's visit and to get more info on the two doctors, he can always call them. That's what I did, I spoke with Dr. Helle himself and got instructions on how to proceed directly from him. I think I only spoke with the front desk when I called Dr. Borgström, but they seemed knowledgeable enough and told me that the vaccination card would be fine which was my main concern. I also googled reviews on Dr. Helle, and found some remarks about him being inappropriate. Given his background in Suosikki I'm not surprised... Ick.

I had to go in and personally pick up the medical results, with a proper ID. I used live in Helsinki pretty close to the medical center so for me it was easy, and I never even asked about the possibility of them mailing it to me. They give you a sealed envelope which you will take to the interview and they then open it up. You will also get your X-ray results on a CD, and if asked for, they will give you your own copy of the medical in a separate envelope. I don't know if there's anyone else here who would know more about the possibility of mailing, but if not, he should just call and ask them. And if it's not possible, maybe he could go and pick it up right before the interview while he's in Helsinki...?

There's a lot of advice in the Finnish thread I linked to before, or rather in that thread there's a link to the old one which has over 50 pages of discussion... So if Mikko's ever bored he can skim through that and I'm sure he'd find a lot of good (and tons of unnecessary) info, and a good amount of ranting .

[babuhanna 0]

Haha, Suosikki magazine was such a big part of my childhood, that when I first heard about the visa doctors, I was gonna go see Helle. Then I heard about his weird sense of humor and stuff, and changed my mind... So I have an appoinment with Borgström instead. I absolutely hate going to the doctor, so I think he will be easier. As Eve said, just make sure he will actually fill in the vaccination/chicken box thing.

I wish I would have asked them about the results when I called to book my appointment! I just assumed that you are required to pick up the results yourself, as that's what I've heard. If I'm not totally mistaken, I think the receptionist said something about how I can go pick up the result 1-2 weeks after the medical, you know, sounding like I have to go pick them up. I don't live close to Helsinki either, so I'm gonna have to go the day of my interview. And since it seems you have to be at the embassy quite early, I hope there will be enough time to go to Eira first.

Edited May 16, 2013 by babuhanna

[pddp 240]

Hi guys, great to see all you Finns here!

I did my medical w/ Helle, everything went very smooth. I was living in Helsinki at the time so it was no problem for me to pick up the documentation a few days after my appointment- 2 envelopes: one for the embassy, one for myself, including all the original docs I had given him about my vaccines, plus the forms I needed for AOS. Everything was properly filled out and I had no issues with AOS either.

Funny, I wasn't aware of Helle's "past" at Suosikki, even though I used to read that magazine religiously! Anyways, I wasn't offended by his sense of humor at all, as I remember he was mostly poking fun at the US immigration procedures actually... all the crazy questions in the exam he had to ask me etc. I do remember having had to chase down my vaccination records from several places, but I managed to find it all from different health center and school records. I also had a very old neuvolakortti, I don't recall that being an issue.

As for the interview scheduling at the embassy, I wanted to have mine asap, so I emailed the embassy after our NOA2 came through, giving them a heads up that they were about to receive my file from the NVC for K1 visa, and that I was available for an interview at their earliest convenience. I got a reply that very same day that they had just received my file and were about to send out my packet 3. That actually ended up spending a few days in the mail since I had moved during the process, and despite having made an address change with the USCIS, it had not gone through and the embassy sent my packet 3 to my old address- luckily the Finnish post office was quick to find me nonetheless.

Anyways, the scheduling and the interview was a breeze. After my interview I was told that it would take maybe a day or so for all the checks to go through, and then they would mail my passport to me. Instead, I actually got an email the very next day (I believe from the woman who interviewed me) saying that my passport was ready and that I could pick it up anytime. I thought that was very cool of them so I picked it up from the consulate the day after my interview and booked my flight immediately after!

Hope this helps! I think they are very professional and respectful at the US consulate in Finland so really the whole process at this stage is not a big deal.

Lynkali, I've been meaning to reach out to you, hubby and I are about to move to your neck of the woods in a month or 2! You're in Escondido, right?

[Lynkali 163]

It sounds like it will be such a relief to deal with the competent Helsinki embassy! I cannot believe how sick I am of USCIS and especially the insane chaotic behavior of CSC. 191 days waiting for NOA2 now, and just this morning I've finally had it, and contacted my senator. Not that I expect much to come of that, but there's simply nothing more I can do when people who filed 4 months after me have already been approved!

PDDP, thanks for your comments too! I still think we'll choose Borgström, although it's good to know that Helle isn't as bad as he might sound. And yes, I'm in Escondido, I grew up here, then spent years in Wisconsin and Germany, and have settled back here probably permanently (inherited a beautiful house so that really influenced our decision for Mikko to come here rather than me going to Finland!). Where are you coming to, San Diego in general? It's a pretty nice town!

[pddp 240]

Definitely contact your senator, I would say! Our K1 was pretty smooth but my AOS took forever at CSC- they are insanely incompetent. Obviously we'll never know what happened but my AOS did get approved within days of our senator contacting them- what a coincidence!

Both my husband and I have always wanted to live in a warm climate by the ocean and San Diego seemed ideal to both of us! We're in Northern Illinois right now, have just sold our house here (closing in mid-June), so we're scrambling to find jobs, housing, coordinate the sale process, the move, etc etc.... Our summer will be hectic! The housing market here is so depressed and slow still, we weren't sure how long it would take to sell the house so we weren't able to really plan much beforehand, now it's all suddenly taking off- we're so excited and can't wait! We're looking at San Diego in general at this point, an apartment to rent to get us started in the area, and then we'll take it from there. This will be our US home for good, both of us have lived in different areas (me: New England, DC, IL, hubby: Las Vegas, FL, OK, WI) so we're done "experimenting", until we move somewhere abroad in the coming years... We'll see. Very cool to know that there will be another Finnish-American couple around!

[Nagoon 2]

Finally got the NOA2 yesterday, jipiiii! Exactly 6 months from when we sent the papers! NOA1 was 6th of December. We also got the RFE, but luckily it was easy fix. Although the hard copy never arrived and we needed to wait 15 days until they took the case and resent it, so it took more than a month from RFE note in email to get the NOA2. But here we are now, soooo happy!!!! Good luck ja tsemppiä kaikille who are still in the middle of the process like we are Also thank you for all who have helped us and answered to all those millions of questions so far

[Lynkali 163]

Just a small update from me, things are going SO WELL after worrying so much, I actually can start to sleep again at night.

NVC received our case and shipped it out yesterday. It showed up on DHL tracking today! I'm guessing it will arrive in Helsinki on Monday, based on other tracking I've seen.

Mikko called Dr. Borgström and said he was very "jolly and Swedish" and didn't seem scary at all! (Mikko's kinda shy so that was important and a relief!) So he booked his medical exam for NEXT WEEK already, June 13, whee. That will mean a lot of round trips across the country (Mikko lives in Vaasa, doctors in Helsinki), so I feel bad about that, but it can't be helped really.

Borgström verified that Mikko had gathered his vaccine info, and he did make sure that both tetanus and polio had to be quite recent. Luckily, Mikko had gotten both those shots updated via his local health center and work nurse, and got his older "neuvolakortti" transcribed onto an "international vaccination card". So even without his school vaccine records (they are nonexistent and probably destroyed), we are feeling pretty confident about his medical.

We had long ago planned for me to visit this summer one last time anyway, and the timing is working out perfectly. I'll fly to Helsinki on June 19th and stay until July 27th, over a month there. That should allow us time to schedule the interview while I'm there, I hope! (Just for moral support and hugs, I know I don't have to be there!) And after interview (mid July? hopefully), Mikko will give his one-month notice to work and apartment, start to ship his things (hopefully I can still be there to help a bit), and probably POE here in late August or early September.

I'd still welcome any feedback on two things that are on my mind:

- best way to ship things (I think we're going to go with VictorEk.fi or pddp's suggestion of niemi.fi )

- how and when does Mikko pay the visa fee? is it a bank transfer or what?

I am on cloud nine in relief and anticipation and happiness that things really are going smoothly now, after SO much trauma, waiting and delays on the NOA2. Walking around feeling panicked that "the house isn't clean/organized enough, he can't come here yet!" but that's a laughing wonderful feeling compared to a month ago.

Thank you all so much for your detailed info both here and in private messages ... and good luck to those of us still in process, I hope everything continues and goes quickly now!

[Eve&Josh 5]

Congrats Lynkali, it's great to hear that things are finally moving really moving forward with your process!

A couple things that you should keep in mind. Tell Mikko to make sure that Dr. Borgström fills out the vaccination form properly; he tends to not fill out the varicella box, which I got an RFE for at AOS stage. Mikko's probably had chicken pox when he was little so just tell him to ask Dr. Borgström to put something into the varicella box about that. And don't forget about asking for an extra copy of the medical (just the form with his vaccination history is needed for AOS).

Most offices in Finland close down for the month of July, or are functioning at minimum staff, so summer vacations might delay your interview date by a week or two. For me it took almost a month from sending in packet3 to having the interview, and this was mid July - mid August. I guess that's still fast compared to most other countries, but at least back then people in Finland had been getting their interview date for a week (or two max) from sending in packet3. I figured it had to be because it was in the middle of summer vacationing season.

Once Mikko gets packet3 from the embassy, there will be instructions in there about making the visa payment. Basically they ask to make a bank transfer and bring a copy of the receipt to the interview and that's it. If he makes the payment online, he should be able to print a receipt for free no matter which bank he's got his account with. The embassy will provide the account number and whatever else he would need for it in the instructions.

Hope this helps a little! Unfortunately I have no experience in shipping things over, I've brought all my belongings over in suitcases over the past couple years. Still probably have half a suitcase of things (mostly plates) waiting for me in Finland. Hopefully someone else can pitch in with advice and suggestions on shipping.

[Nagoon 2]

lynkali, just curious how you were able to find out when nvc received case and when it left there and when it got to consulate? we are just in that stage now and have no idea how to find out that information.

[Lynkali 163]

You'll need to call (the USC should call, I believe -- not sure if the foreign fiance is allowed to) the NVC. (603) 334-0700 and give your WAC number. It took mine 17 calendar days (exactly 10 business days) to show up at NVC after the NOA2. The hold times aren't as bad as USCIS, but I did have to wait on hold about 10-15 minutes each time I called. Just press 1 for English and it drops you into the hold queue.

Once your case is at NVC, they should give you a new case number (Helsinki case number starting with HLSxxxxxxxx). Once you have that, then you can track your status at https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx . When that says IN TRANSIT, then they're shipping it off. Alternately you can keep calling NVC to see when they ship it.

DHL tracking is a whole other issue ... once you know the date your case left NVC, write again and we'll try to find your tracking number!

[Nagoon 2]

Thanks Lynkali I checked still not in system. Hopefully it will be soon ill try again in few days I guess. I really appreciate the help.

[R and L 5]

This is a very late reply, and probably not current anymore to Lynkali, but really want to give some input for the doctor choice.

I went to Dr. Helle and it was such an uncomfortable experience that my advice is to choose Bergstrom or somebody else.

First of all, in the beginning of the appointment he made some really unprofessional and inappropriate comments. I have a pretty good sense of humor and managed to take his jokes, but I'm still shivered by his inappropriate comments. I also had to chase my vaccination records, but that wasn't too bad. My main complaint was his disgusting behavior. Also, he told me it would take him just a day to do the paperwork, but when the moment came, he said he would have them in about 3 days. Eventually he did it in one day as I bumped into him in the reception and gave him some straight forward negative feedback.

So my humble opinion, be kind to yourself and choose Bergstrom!