Medical exam in Moscow

[Evgeniya 3]

Okey,

I just talked to a "nice lady" in Vladivostok Dr. Luchaninova. She is quite a personality. She totally refused to proved me with any information regarding med exam unless I will provide her with an interview letter. I don't have one and my interview in exactly in three weeks. Also Dr. Luchaninova is going to be in Vladivostok only till the end of this week and couple days before I leave for my interview. I have already asked US Embassy to give me an email confirmation about my interview appointment hoping I still can do my medical here. But if it doesn't work, I know it is risky but can I do my medical in one day with IOM a day before interview????

Thank you,

What a pain to leave so far away from Moscow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edited September 23, 2008 by Evgeniya

[mox 298]

The only requirements you should have to provide are:

When you go to a clinic, please be sure to bring the following: 2 color pictures 3X4 cm in size, travel passport and an extract from your medical history with the list of vaccinations you have received. The document should include a doctor's signature and stamp.

These are listed on the consulate's website. You could complain to the consulate, but it might take a long time to get resolved.

You are probably better off making an appointment at one of the clinics in Moscow. You can do your medical one day before the interview at IOM, but make sure you show up between 9-12am. From the consulate website:

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION (IOM)

#12, 2nd Zvenigorodskaya, 1st entrance; Moscow, metro: "Ulitsa 1905 goda"

tel. (495) 797-8723

* Appointment hours: Mo-Thu 9 am - 6 pm; Fri: 9 am - 4.30 pm

(Those who come between 9 am and 12 pm, can obtain the results on the same day)

* Cost of medical examination: $ 100

* Cost of vaccination: - the IOM clinic will charge a flat fee of $ 50, regardless of how many of the vaccinations are needed.

Bacteriological examination of sputtum for detection of tuberculosis is free of charge.

Hope this helps. Click on the link I gave for more information.

[Chuckles 0]

Okey,

I just talked to a "nice lady" in Vladivostok Dr. Luchaninova. She is quite a personality. She totally refused to proved me with any information regarding med exam unless I will provide her with an interview letter. I don't have one and my interview in exactly in three weeks. Also Dr. Luchaninova is going to be in Vladivostok only till the end of this week and couple days before I leave for my interview. I have already asked US Embassy to give me an email confirmation about my interview appointment hoping I still can do my medical here. But if it doesn't work, I know it is risky but can I do my medical in one day with IOM a day before interview????

Thank you,

What a pain to leave so far away from Moscow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You absolutly can do the medical a day before the interview. My memory is hazy, but I believe that is how we did it. I have also read of others who did.

As always, you take your chances if something comes up, but it will work!

[slim 1,514]

What about showing her your case number and interview date on the website? You could print that out pretty easily, right? Or, even show her at her office. You may not EVER get the letter being all the way out in Vlad, so maybe she'll buy it if you show her your case number and the date on the screen. "See, it's official!"

Seems like your problem is one of proving to this individual lady that you really do have an interview on that date. Sometimes these doctors are really picky about what they want to see. If she "has to have the letter" then maybe you could "make one" or maybe there's another doctor out there that can do the exam. I know there's a very short list in the Far East, but it's possible there could be another doctor. Also, make sure she writes "she had a chicken pox when child" because I think that very same lady forgot to write that on my wife's DS-3025. She wrote "she had a mumps when child" but there was no mention of chicken pox. We had to get a special test here later to verify that she indeed had the chicken pox. Another doctor here wanted to see something specific that we didn't have so we had to jump through some hoops to please him. Sounds like you're doing the same thing. Good luck!

That said, you can get it done in Moscow in only one day. (See above posts.) But, don't forget, you have to go to DHL office and pay for the shipping bill before the interview also. That'll be two stops you have to make and that's a lot to do in just one day. Possible, yes. But maybe you need two days to do all that?

Also, from reading your last post about travel, if at all possible, I would return to Vladivostok and remain there for a few weeks before heading to the U.S. My wife went back to the Far East and got her visa about a week later. If she would've stayed in Moscow for even a few days, the price would've been astronomical. If you have family or friends there, no big deal. But, if you're paying for a place to stay, better to return home and wait. Keep in mind you have up to six months to enter the U.S.

Another thing to consider is being on that side you may find it cheaper to travel into the U.S. through LAX, SFO, or SEA. A trip through SEL (ICN) or TYO (NRT) may save you a couple hundred bucks depending on where you're going in the U.S. Domestic airfare in the U.S. is very cheap in some locations and starting on the West Coast can sometimes be cheaper than starting in NYC (JFK, LGA) or even ATL. Where are you going in the U.S.?

[Turboguy 6]

There is a DHL office in the building just to the right of the Embassy so going in the morning for the physical then going to the DHL office for the mailer and back to the clinic for the results would be easy enough to do.

[Evgeniya 3]

There is a DHL office in the building just to the right of the Embassy so going in the morning for the physical then going to the DHL office for the mailer and back to the clinic for the results would be easy enough to do.

Hey fellows,

I have resolved that issue. My husband got his copy of the interview letter so he scanned it and sent it to me. So now I have it. I called back the lady (she is the only one who does Medical exam in Vladivostok, nobody else can do it), so I have an appt with her tomorrow. I already got a list of all my vaccinations from my clinic. So I am doing good. Just didn't want to risk it and do my medical a day before my interview with flight being cancelled all the time and delayed and so on. Thank you for advice and I will let you know how it goes. I am just getting ready to leave right now and sorting things out.

[Chuckles 0]

Good luck! It sounds like you have everything ready to go.

Just a word of advice to other people who may be in this situation, if for some reason you cannot do your physical, or some other type of "pre-interview" task, go to the interview anyway. They will not deny you based on this, they will only make you come back (not wait in line again) with the information you are missing. Or, you can always re-schedule your interview and it will have no bearing on the embassies "pass/fail" decision.

[Evgeniya 3]

Ok, I talked to the Lady in Vladivostok today and showed her NVC letter that clearly states that I need to come to the interview on the date of Oct 14th to the US Embassy and etc. She said it is not the letter she needs, she claims that I have to have an Invitation letter from the US Embassy itself. Are they going to send it to me. I have emailed them about it two days ago but they haven't responded.

She still gave me a list of things that I need to do, but it seems like that she is not going to give me her conclusion until I show her that Da.. letter

Did you guys get one? Who can I contact about this at the Embassy?

[Bobalouie 0]

Ok, I talked to the Lady in Vladivostok today and showed her NVC letter that clearly states that I need to come to the interview on the date of Oct 14th to the US Embassy and etc. She said it is not the letter she needs, she claims that I have to have an Invitation letter from the US Embassy itself. Are they going to send it to me. I have emailed them about it two days ago but they haven't responded.

She still gave me a list of things that I need to do, but it seems like that she is not going to give me her conclusion until I show her that Da.. letter

Did you guys get one? Who can I contact about this at the Embassy?

It should have come with the packet from the embassy. We didnt get ours either. If you didnt get it, the embassy told me that you didnt need that letter to go to the doctor or to be admitted to the embassy on the day of the interview.

[slim 1,514]

Ok, I talked to the Lady in Vladivostok today and showed her NVC letter that clearly states that I need to come to the interview on the date of Oct 14th to the US Embassy and etc. She said it is not the letter she needs, she claims that I have to have an Invitation letter from the US Embassy itself. Are they going to send it to me. I have emailed them about it two days ago but they haven't responded.

She still gave me a list of things that I need to do, but it seems like that she is not going to give me her conclusion until I show her that Da.. letter

Did you guys get one? Who can I contact about this at the Embassy?

You may or may not get one. You can try to contact the embassy (maybe even the consulate in Vladivostok) and get another but it's doubtful they'll get one printed and out to you in time.

It's looking like you're going to have to do it in Moscow.

[Blues Fairy 0]

Very risky to do the medical a day prior to interview. They might find some reason for additional tests, as it happened in my case, and that would extend the waiting time. However, you can still go to your scheduled interview and they may approve your visa pending your medical results. Try to work with that silly Dr. Luchaninova but schedule another medical at IOM, just in case.

[Turboguy 6]

Very risky to do the medical a day prior to interview. They might find some reason for additional tests, as it happened in my case, and that would extend the waiting time. However, you can still go to your scheduled interview and they may approve your visa pending your medical results. Try to work with that silly Dr. Luchaninova but schedule another medical at IOM, just in case.

It should not be that dangerous Blues. Worst case scenario if there is a snag on the medical is that you would get a 221-G for the medical and once they received it they would issue the visa. If there should be a delay in getting the medical go to the interview without it. Rescheduling would take a long long time and entail another trip to Moscow. The 221-G could be satisified in a day or two whenever you got the medical report. It is unusual to have a snag with the medical anyway. Yes it can happen but would be a minor problem.