Tuberculosis Skin test positive - NIGHTMARE at Civil Surgeon

[EtherealVocalist 0]

For crying out loud...

My husband went to get all of his shots done at the local clinic - he also gets the TB skin test done. Well, he got the BCG vaccine when young ( in Germany ) and

of course he tested positive. So the local clinic sent him downstairs to take a chest X-ray and the hopsital read the X-ray and the report says that his lungs are clear.

So we bring EVERYTHING with us today to the civil surgeon at our appointment. After waiting 2 hours past our apointment, she looks at all the details and told us that we NEED to see a TB doctor / Pulmonary Specialist to give us a letter stating that he's not infectious. I live in a remote area here and these kind of doctors do not come by the dozens! His Visa is expiring on the 26th of February...

I am afraid we might not be able to send the I-693 with the I-485 and the I-130 ( plus all the other forms ) if I cannot secure an appointment with such specialist! We want to send everything in before his I-94 expires so we are not accum ulating out of status time!

What should I do?!

Has this happenend to anyone here? If so, what did you do?

I am stressing out!!!!!

[Slightly Bonkers 0]

One suggestion which others may not like is to send your pack in with what you have now and get the appointment when possible and have the report ready for the RFE. I know some people do this when adjusting from K1's dunno how it would work in your situation.

[EtherealVocalist 0]

One suggestion which others may not like is to send your pack in with what you have now and get the appointment when possible and have the report ready for the RFE. I know some people do this when adjusting from K1's dunno how it would work in your situation.

What happens if I cannot find any doctor to help me?!!?!?! I spent the whole freakin day on the phone calling people in Mass, in Maine and in NH and no one has ever heard of having this clearance done when the chest xray report says "NO Pulmonary disease process is recognized" !!!! What am I supposed to do? I am on the edge of a nervous breakdown here cause no one wants to help me!!!

His visa expires on the 26th of February and I want this taken care of! It would be absurd to take medication if he doesnt have TB! If he does have TB * wich I doubt he does * what does this do to the AOS process??

Please someone help me here....................

[KasAla 0]

One suggestion which others may not like is to send your pack in with what you have now and get the appointment when possible and have the report ready for the RFE. I know some people do this when adjusting from K1's dunno how it would work in your situation.

What happens if I cannot find any doctor to help me?!!?!?! I spent the whole freakin day on the phone calling people in Mass, in Maine and in NH and no one has ever heard of having this clearance done when the chest xray report says "NO Pulmonary disease process is recognized" !!!! What am I supposed to do? I am on the edge of a nervous breakdown here cause no one wants to help me!!!

His visa expires on the 26th of February and I want this taken care of! It would be absurd to take medication if he doesnt have TB! If he does have TB * wich I doubt he does * what does this do to the AOS process??

Please someone help me here....................

You can read this website

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/civil.htm

I think that he should have called to the local county health departmnt and have you refered. Look in your county for health department they can help.

Edited January 28, 2009 by KasAla

[Slightly Bonkers 0]

The other option is maybe to try another Civil Surgeon.

Again, from only k1 experience it seems like theres a huge variation on what a surgeon will require you to do before signing off on a form. Maybe another Civil Surgeon will understand that us europeans vaccinate better than the us does. (sorry i went through something similar and was put in quarantine while awaiting xray result, so I'm a little bitter)

[2xHollyx2 3]

You still have time. I send my package 10 days before my visa expired.

Call your local Health department and take the xray reports with you. They'll give you a card which states that your hubby has no TB.

This card has to be enough for the cs to fill out the papers.

[Dakine 26]

Doesn't matter if the I-94 expires as long as you married in the 90 days. Some people have waited a couple years before applying for AOS. They had AP ans EAD tho.

[Nikita2Charles 33]

The positive sign is quite common specially for folks who may have taken the Vaccine as a child. What they will do is take Chest X-Ray to confirm it's a Fake Positive then you are set. Check with your nearest Health Care Provider from the city, you might be able to see someone there and they will give you the letter. ACTUALLY you can go back to the doctor who went over the X-ray result confirming it's a FAKE POSITIVE, He would gladly give you a note i would assume. GOOD LUCK!!

Edited January 28, 2009 by Nikita2Charles

[Dakine 26]

The positive sign is quite common specially for folks who may have taken the Vaccine as a child. What they will do is take Chest X-Ray to confirm it's a Fake Positive then you are set.

A person can show a clear CXR and still have TB. They have to do a sputum test to make sure they are not positive.

[EtherealVocalist 0]

Doesn't matter if the I-94 expires as long as you married in the 90 days. Some people have waited a couple years before applying for AOS. They had AP ans EAD tho.

He is here on the VWP, so I am not sure the 90 days you are talking about still applies, though I remember reading somewhere that it does.

I have the X-Ray report stating that his chest appear to be clear. I will take the advice of seeing a different civil surgeon. I have appointment in line for the 3rd of February with a civil surgeon in Portland Maine. I think I might have his PCP write a letter stating that he doesn't have TB ( due to the BCG vaccine he received as a child, it's a false positive ). I also set up an apt with a Pulmonary Specialist at the hospital on the 11th of February in case the CS in Maine asks us to see this type of doctor... I am mostly freaking out ( and ####### ) about filing before his visa expires on the 26th of Feb. I really dont want to wait after that... And wow! All of these tests/exams are not cheap!!!!

[KasAla 0]

The positive sign is quite common specially for folks who may have taken the Vaccine as a child. What they will do is take Chest X-Ray to confirm it's a Fake Positive then you are set.

A person can show a clear CXR and still have TB. They have to do a sputum test to make sure they are not positive.

That is very uncomon and the X-ray to show that there is not acive TB is enough if a persons X- ray shows signs of TB than the sputum culture is required

[KasAla 0]

Doesn't matter if the I-94 expires as long as you married in the 90 days. Some people have waited a couple years before applying for AOS. They had AP ans EAD tho.

He is here on the VWP, so I am not sure the 90 days you are talking about still applies, though I remember reading somewhere that it does.

I have the X-Ray report stating that his chest appear to be clear. I will take the advice of seeing a different civil surgeon. I have appointment in line for the 3rd of February with a civil surgeon in Portland Maine. I think I might have his PCP write a letter stating that he doesn't have TB ( due to the BCG vaccine he received as a child, it's a false positive ). I also set up an apt with a Pulmonary Specialist at the hospital on the 11th of February in case the CS in Maine asks us to see this type of doctor... I am mostly freaking out ( and ####### ) about filing before his visa expires on the 26th of Feb. I really dont want to wait after that... And wow! All of these tests/exams are not cheap!!!!

CDC does not recognize BCG vaccine and it treats every reaction that is bigger than 10 mm as latent infection (5mm for at risk groups) While CS are not trained in TB they will refer you to specialist. How big vas his TST?

[Thai family 0]

Doesn't matter if the I-94 expires as long as you married in the 90 days. Some people have waited a couple years before applying for AOS. They had AP ans EAD tho.

He is here on the VWP, so I am not sure the 90 days you are talking about still applies, though I remember reading somewhere that it does.

I have the X-Ray report stating that his chest appear to be clear. I will take the advice of seeing a different civil surgeon. I have appointment in line for the 3rd of February with a civil surgeon in Portland Maine. I think I might have his PCP write a letter stating that he doesn't have TB ( due to the BCG vaccine he received as a child, it's a false positive ). I also set up an apt with a Pulmonary Specialist at the hospital on the 11th of February in case the CS in Maine asks us to see this type of doctor... I am mostly freaking out ( and ####### ) about filing before his visa expires on the 26th of Feb. I really dont want to wait after that... And wow! All of these tests/exams are not cheap!!!!

Sounds like an okay plan, but TB programs are mandated by the CDC and administered by the state and local health departments. The new civil surgeon may work out, but I would call your state or local health department client services number to see if they can point you in the right direction prior to seeing the pulmonologist. In most locales there are designated "health officers" who can sign off and the civil surgeon would (should) respect that. Sometimes the TB program is contracted out and a pulmonologist would be involved, but it's usually a specific Dr. or practice. New Hampshire may have their own special way of doing things, but if they can't point you to the TB program they are not doing their job.

Dr. José T. Montero, Director (NH State Health Dept.)

Tel: 603-271-4501 FAX: 603-271-4827

Client Services: 1-800-852-3345 Ext. 4503

Thai Mom, wishing you well

[Thai family 0]

Specific contact for NH's TB program:

http://www.cdc.gov/tb/pubs/tboffices.htm

NH Dept. of Health and Human Services

Health & Welfare Building

29 Hazen Drive

Concord NH 03301-6504

Tel: 603-271-4496

Fax: 603-271-0545

The people I know in Public Health are very nice and do their utmost to help you.

Thai Mom

[EtherealVocalist 0]

I actually called that very specific number Thai Mom and they told me that they will not sign off "TB Clearance" on my husband because they only see

ACTIVE TB patient. His TST test was 15mm. They told me on the phone that if his Chest Xray were clear, he has no business there... I am so confused.

What I dont understand is why cant the CS fill out the form, prescribe him medication etc ( in the even he feels that he has a latent TB )? All I want is this to be taken care of! I am afraid to be running out of time here. I mean if he needs to spit in a petry dish, we'll do that! I just want to go to the CS and his tell me what I need to do in the event that he wont sign off the I-693. The last CS we went to spoke barely english and didn't even told us what to do - she did take my money though!

I know I am pretty frustrated... Can we send all the forms minus the I-693 and wait for the RFE? Or that will flat out reject the application? When I called USCIS yesterday, their system was down and no one could give me that information...