A.O.S. Advise needed

[johnnybgood265 3]

Getting ready to file our AOS paperwork and been getting alot of conflicting information about this I-693 form. So my question is WHAT WOULD YOU DO ? We really dont need an RFE at this point but the doctor we went to yesterday thinks we have endless money and was trying to extort us for all these test. So we left more confused and upset. Should we try to just get away with just getting the shots we need or getting the whole physical done over ? She said that the reason why everybody gets RFE is because americans think the medical doctors in the phillipines are a joke and dont trust the results.. I dont know what to think and know it still cost money over there for that saint lukes stuff. I hope it wasent wasted time and money doing it there. But what choice do we all have. Drop us a lines with your thoughts and comments please.

[payxibka 10,044]

There is an entire forum dedicated to AOS

moving thread from the K-1 forum to the AOS forum

[johnnybgood265 3]

Thanks, but i thought it was apart of the k1 process

[Nik+Heather 121]

You're right, they are both steps of the same overall process, but since they are different and it's easy to break it down, they get their own forums. In this forum you'll find people who have actually gotten to this step, and you'll get more visibility to people who have experience.

It is true, people have been getting RFEs for the medical even though they followed all of the directions EXACTLY. We sent in the vaccination portion of the I-693 with the CS, not just the DS3025. I am adamantly sure that we did things correctly - which is why I'm so ticked about our bogus RFE. So, it's not just for your country, but the UK as well.

I suppose that if we were doing it all over again, I would lobby hard with Nik that we should just get a whole new medical exam. What with paying $65 just for the transcription, why not go the whole way for only $85 dollars more - there are lots of doctors out there who will charge you only $150 for a full medical.

There also seems to be a systematic problem where they loose the overseas medical entirely (lost, burned, stolen by little green men, who knows!). If your top priority is to get the AOS as fast as possible, with as little risk as possible, and you can afford the full medical, and have no problem with having to do that because their process is so stupid, then just get the full medical at the start and be done with it.

[Eric-Pris 1,602]

She said that the reason why everybody gets RFE is because americans think the medical doctors in the phillipines are a joke and dont trust the results..

THAT'S A LIE, THEY WANT YOU TO DO A FULL EXAM SO THEY CAN CHARGE YOU ACCORDINGLY. DON'T DO IT.

Btw...The overseas doctors are certified by the consulates so the government does trust their findings.

What's the big deal about getting an RFE? It just delays you a little while, it's not the end of the world. I never understood why people fear RFE's so much. If you want to avoid an RFE, go get another full exam, including all shots up to date, bloodwork, and TB test. But even that doesn't guarantee you won't get one for whatever they can come up with.

[LaneAndDaisy 0]

hi John and Tin... i checked this post from the Admin under AOS ...i believe Nevada has lots of CS accredited by the USCIS..try other civil surgeons..I called and asked first on the fon what will be required of me before they will transcribe my I 693 form...at first they told me I need to undergo again a complete medical and physical exams here...but that was before my fiance called again their hospital and explained that my medical in the PI was taken less than a year..so only PARTS 1, 2 and 5 of the I-693 will be filled out by the CS..just let Tin bring her vaccination record and Chest Xray CD from St. Lukes and if she needs more shots here, she can get it in another health clinic where the shots are cheap but make sure to get a card of that shot she'll be taking..but I heard she wont need one till next year..

here it is:

Q: Do I need to complete another full medical to adjust status?

Per Section 1245.5 in the Code of Federal Regulations, a medical examination shall not be required of an applicant for adjustment of status who entered the United States as a non-immigrant spouse, fiancée, or fiancée of a United States citizen or the child of such an alien as defined in section 101(a)(15)(K) of the Act and §214.2(k) of 8 CFR chapter I if the applicant was medically examined prior to, and as a condition of, the issuance of the non-immigrant visa; provided that the medical examination occurred not more than 1 year prior to the date of application for adjustment of status.

Q: I received an RFE for Form I-693 and my medical is less than one year old.

Sometimes the medical gets "lost" during the transfer. It is entirely possible that you may receive an RFE for the vaccination supplement (Form I-693), and possibly even for the full medical (Form I-693), even if the medical is current. Here is a helpful post from someone who was able to relocate a lost medical.

Hey I have some good news that I wanted to share so that hopefully others will benefit. I contacted my congressperson who contacted the National Benefits Center and they found my husband's medical. According to the congressman's office, there are two files, a temporary and a main file, and my husbands medical report was in the other one dry.gif

We got an email today from the USCIS that our case is back in processing.

So if anyone else gets this RFE contact your congressperson. I would not even waste your time with infopass. Our case was back to processing literally 1 week after I called the office, and 1.5 weeks after the infopass. Plus we saved a lot of money on another medical

To find a Civil Surgeon in your area you can link here to use the USCIS Civil Surgeons Locator.

Edited January 22, 2010 by LaneAndDaisy

[f1_gurl 0]

you can get your shots at a health dept or county health whatever they all it here for a cheaper price then just take the paperwork with u when u go to the civil surgeon to have it transcribe...

You dont need a complete medical again since u had that in pi before u came here in the US.. try calling other civil surgeons who can just transcribe ur vac records...

goodluck

[Calypso 464]

Nik+Heather has initiated a thread about "reliable" civil surgeons. Check out the link below and find one for yourself (if there's any):

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=231026

There are civil surgeons who are honest enough to admit that K1 visa holders don't need another medical exam. I only met one with the help of Wis-Can. I kept calling lots of civil surgeons last month and they all said the same thing-- they wouldn't sign my I-693 unless I undergo a full medical exam in their clinic. My husband and I drove to Inglewood after calling one seemingly dependable CS. Unluckily, they took a shift and told me I needed another medical exam.

Finally, thanks to Wis-Can, we found the right one in Torrance.

Just choose the best CS. Shop around.

Hakuna matata.

God bless us constantly.

FAE

[payxibka 10,044]

Thanks, but i thought it was apart of the k1 process

Forum definitions:

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

If you are engaged to a non US Citizen and they want to immigrate and live with you in the USA then this forum is for you. General discussion relating to K2 Visas should also go here.

US Embassy and Consulate Discussion

You are almost there and now you have to deal with the embassy. This is the place to post your experiences or questions related to this last step before moving to the US. Topics relating to I-134's, packets sent from consulate and medical & police certificates should be posted here. Please post your interview experiences in the review section.

Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from Family Based Visas

Once you are in the US you will need to file for Adjustment of Status (AOS) to become a permanent resident of the USA. This process is lengthy and can be confusing at first.

[journeyingwithyou 0]

Getting ready to file our AOS paperwork and been getting alot of conflicting information about this I-693 form. So my question is WHAT WOULD YOU DO ? We really dont need an RFE at this point but the doctor we went to yesterday thinks we have endless money and was trying to extort us for all these test. So we left more confused and upset. Should we try to just get away with just getting the shots we need or getting the whole physical done over ? She said that the reason why everybody gets RFE is because americans think the medical doctors in the phillipines are a joke and dont trust the results.. I dont know what to think and know it still cost money over there for that saint lukes stuff. I hope it wasent wasted time and money doing it there. But what choice do we all have. Drop us a lines with your thoughts and comments please.

First, check for the list of civil surgeons through the USCIS website. Enter your zipcode to find CS in your area. Call everyone of them and ask each one how much they would charge. I called 20 within my area and lucky to find one who did the full medical for 129USD. Make sure that TB tests would be done too. In my case, I had the TB test done by the county health department.

Edited January 22, 2010 by journeyingwithyou

[johnnybgood265 3]

THAT'S A LIE, THEY WANT YOU TO DO A FULL EXAM SO THEY CAN CHARGE YOU ACCORDINGLY. DON'T DO IT.

Btw...The overseas doctors are certified by the consulates so the government does trust their findings.

What's the big deal about getting an RFE? It just delays you a little while, it's not the end of the world. I never understood why people fear RFE's so much. If you want to avoid an RFE, go get another full exam, including all shots up to date, bloodwork, and TB test. But even that doesn't guarantee you won't get one for whatever they can come up with.

The big deal is that we want to move out of this state and cant do so until this aos sh.t is finished. If we just change our address they will screw that up to and we will never get this aos finished. I know that from my fellow posters here on vj. Its happened to them moving. We dont fear the rfe but it doesent make us any happier when we can follow directions and still get refused.

[Calypso 464]

I hope you and Teen get to submit the AOS package this January. Our community of January 2010 AOS filers is growing. Join us very soon.

BTW, tell the CS to give you a copy of whatever he will place inside the envelope that's to be sealed.

God bless us constantly.

FAE

[moroccanwife 11]

The civil surgeon we went to tried pulling that with us too but we refused the entire physical, told him just do the vacs and he filled out that portion of the form, signed and sealed it and we were approved without a problem.

[journeyingwithyou 0]

We dont fear the rfe but it doesent make us any happier when we can follow directions and still get refused.

RFE caused these couple a problem so do your best not to get any.

QUOTE (buster2209 @ Jan 19 2010, 04:50 PM)

Here goes, let me explain this as succinctly as I can;

After submitting the green card application (I-485), I got an RFE a few months later stating "There is no record of a complete medical exam in your file. Please submit a properly completed form I-693".

I called the USCIS 1-800 number and explained to them that;

We didn't have to file an I-693 because;

a - I entered the country on a fiancé visa

b - The medical I took in my home country to gain the fiancé visa is less than a year old.

Within the original green card application, I submitted the receipt I received from my medical exam as proof I had a medical done less than one year before we applied for the green card.

I HAD to have a medical in order to receive a K-1 visa! It's MANDATORY!!!!!!!

I was then advised to send a letter to the USCIS explaining this which I promptly did INCLUDING attaching a copy of my medical receipt and vaccination form AND the relevant pages from the instructions on filling these forms in that stated I didn't have to submit an I-693.

I then received a letter today saying that I failed to submit the evidence required (the I-693) by the deadline stated and my application has been denied. It states there is no appeal allowed against this decision and my work visa is terminated from the date of this letter.

The letter also states that if I can fill in a form to re-open the case........... wait for it ............ for a fee of $585!!! I will then probably have to shell out another $xxx to get a medical the law states I don't require.

Needless to say, my wife and I have made an appointment at the local USCIS office tomorrow to try and rectify this but don't have high hopes that this will solve the situation.

After that, it's down to the local Congressman's office. It is the last avenue we have before we have to shell out more money to get the case re-opened. According to what I have read on this forum, it appears there has been some success with contacting your Congressman. We are hoping because it is an election year, and he's a democrat looking for re-election, he will use his clout to sort this.

The utter ineptitude and lack of professionalism of the USCIS is simply astounding.

I am posting this to ask for any advice people may have and I will also post any outcome that occurs with the intention it may help somebody else down the road who runs into the same problem.

[Nik+Heather 121]

RFE caused these couple a problem so do your best not to get any.

QUOTE (buster2209 @ Jan 19 2010, 04:50 PM)

... (snipped)

Check the update on these guys, they were unfortunately missing part of the response they were asked for, and that's why they were denied.