Hi all,

I got Packet 3 last Friday, so I'm working to get all my documents together over the next few days (mostly now waiting for the affadavit of support material to be FedEx-ed over from my joint sponsor.) I think I should be able to send off the request an interview in about a week or so.

I've got myself slightly confused about the medical.

I got material about the medical in Packet 3, so I could just go ahead and make an appointment. But living quite far from London, it would be good not to have to do multiple trips, and schedule the medical on the same day, or consecutive days. Is it reasonable to wait until I have a date for my immigration interview before booking the medical?

Matt

Hi Matt,

I might be wrong, but I believe London applicants *must* go for the medical before the interview, so multiple trips are unavoidable Perhaps do a search on 'London Medical' or check out the UK section of the forums?

I am attending my medical the same day as my interview in Frankfurt, but I think different consulates have a different policy.

Best wishes

I can't edit this post so apologies for the double posting. I just found a reference that someone had their medical in London the same day as the interview, so what I said above might be b*llocks!

Candace, that isn't true; we went to my husband's medical after his interview. It was the day of, but it was still after the interview. We were told that wouldn't be a problem, and that was just a couple of weeks ago.

The US embassy in London seems to constantly be changing the rules, so I would just say check frequently that the instructions you have been given are correct. Frequently, ours were not.

Homesick, you put it so much nicer than I did! Thanks for clarifying, I think it was your post about the medical on the same day that I remembered seeing

I should add I don't recommend doing it the way my husband has done it. We hit a snag at the medical (they need a letter from hubby's GP saying he's not a nutter) and would have been approved at the embassy that day if we'd gotten this crap cleared up BEFORE our interview.

Now we're waiting. And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Thanks for replying homesick_american. It's useful to know that this is the downside of scheduling them on the same day.

I've found in my packet 3 documentation that the doctors will courier the results to the embassy after 4 working days, so it would speed up processing to get it done beforehand. I guess I'll book one soon to get it over with, though I could have done without another London trip.

Another thing people might have experience of... I have got my vaccination record off my GP, and can see that several of the ones requested by the embassy are not ones I have. Should I arrange with my GP to have these vaccinations before I go down for the medical, or should I wait for the doctor at the medical to tell me what I need? Does it cost extra to be given the injections at the medical?

Sorry I'm so full of questions. Hopefully you don't mind the quiz :-)

Matt

Matt, why make 2 trips?
What does it matter to you if yoiur visa isn't issued for a week after your interview?

For most people, the separation is the issue. For you, not so much, right?

If you're missing vaccines then by all means try to get them off your GP. However, be warned that your GP may refuse to give you certain vaccines...some GPs here refuse to give the MMR to adults...and you may have to pay for the vaccines anyway.

Your GP could also do an immunity screen but those take a while.

True, there is no separation issue, but I would like to have the visa in hand as soon as I can so I can solidify our moving plans. I guess I have to trade off the benefit of only a single trip against the cost of getting it a little later. You may be right meauxna.

Thanks

Matt

Thanks for the info.

Having read the medical information a bit more closely, it's probably only the Td (adult formation tetanus and diphtheria toxoids) than I might need. I had MMR when I was younger, and Varicella is not available in the U.K. I shouldn't worry too much about one vaccination I guess.

Sorry for not reading the forms more closely. I think there's only a limited amount of information about immigration I can absorb each day. On the bright side, every day I'm becoming more competent!

Matt

If all you need is a diptet then get your GP to give it to you, then you'll probably get it for free.