I-693 TB skin test

[fabulous02 1]

Hi all,

I had my medical exam done on Tuesday and had to go in today to get the results of my TB test. The TB skin test came positive coz apparently the bump was about 10mm . I am kind of freaked out regarding what this means. I will have my chest X-ray tomorrow to see the results. How many people end up getting a TB +ve but don't actually have TB? Will it cause problems with USCIS approving my AOS if they see that the TB skin test was positive, or will a normal chest X-ray set the record straight?

Please provide your inputs.... I'm a little tensed, but I know I'm fine since I've never had any medical condition before.... Thanks for your help.

[Amit-N-Melody 11]

hey, I was doing a little bit of diggin around on this subject. My FIL was diagnosed with stage 4 TB about 6 months ago, and his only care taker was my Husband.. I had also been around him when I stayed in India, so not only did I think that I could have this I was freaking out about my Husband having it and not being able to pass the medical for his visa.... This is what I found.... if you have ever had the TB shot which most kids do in India, then you will always get a false positive. If you have never had the TB shot and you get a positive skin result this could possible be a false positive and there is a second step that they do here in US. If this test is positive then a chest xray is done.... worse comes to worse and you end up having TB it isnt the end of the world. As long as you take the medication as directed then it is 100% treatable. This would not ban you from the US only delay you for about 4-6 months until your first corse of antibiotics are taken and your medical is then cleared. I have all kinds of articles that I would be happy to share with you... inbox me if you would like me to forward them to you

[HeatDeath 431]

Hi all,

I had my medical exam done on Tuesday and had to go in today to get the results of my TB test. The TB skin test came positive coz apparently the bump was about 10mm . I am kind of freaked out regarding what this means. I will have my chest X-ray tomorrow to see the results. How many people end up getting a TB +ve but don't actually have TB? Will it cause problems with USCIS approving my AOS if they see that the TB skin test was positive, or will a normal chest X-ray set the record straight?

Please provide your inputs.... I'm a little tensed, but I know I'm fine since I've never had any medical condition before.... Thanks for your help.

The skin test is checking if you have antibodies in your blood for TB. False positives are very very common, especially if you have had the vaccine. You don't need to worry about the AOS. A normal xray is considered authoritative, and overrides any results from the skin or sputum tests.

[fabulous02 1]

hey, I was doing a little bit of diggin around on this subject. My FIL was diagnosed with stage 4 TB about 6 months ago, and his only care taker was my Husband.. I had also been around him when I stayed in India, so not only did I think that I could have this I was freaking out about my Husband having it and not being able to pass the medical for his visa.... This is what I found.... if you have ever had the TB shot which most kids do in India, then you will always get a false positive. If you have never had the TB shot and you get a positive skin result this could possible be a false positive and there is a second step that they do here in US. If this test is positive then a chest xray is done.... worse comes to worse and you end up having TB it isnt the end of the world. As long as you take the medication as directed then it is 100% treatable. This would not ban you from the US only delay you for about 4-6 months until your first corse of antibiotics are taken and your medical is then cleared. I have all kinds of articles that I would be happy to share with you... inbox me if you would like me to forward them to you

Thanks so much for your response. So did your husband get a false positive during his medical? I was hoping someone here can corroborate that having a TB skin test positive does not cause any issues with getting a GC if your chest X-ray is normal.

[Anh map 2,098]

The skin test shows that you have been exposed to TB. Doesn't mean that you have active TB.

Active TB would have to be treated.

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

Thanks so much for your response. So did your husband get a false positive during his medical? I was hoping someone here can corroborate that having a TB skin test positive does not cause any issues with getting a GC if your chest X-ray is normal.

In Europe, everyone gets the BCG (TB vaccine) at birth or shortly after. Because of this, they don't even give us the skin test for the visa medical, they go straight to X-ray. I remember reading on the CDC website that the skin test always shows positive for those who had the vaccine, so you can look there.

[Brit Abroad 166]

Thanks so much for your response. So did your husband get a false positive during his medical? I was hoping someone here can corroborate that having a TB skin test positive does not cause any issues with getting a GC if your chest X-ray is normal.

Happy to confirm it's no problem at all. I was vaccinated at school, had a similar positive reaction of around 10mm, clear chest x-ray at the medical and had no issues, not even a single question about it. When you get your vaccination supplement transferred by the civil surgeon (the 3025 gets transcribed onto the I-693 Revised - formerly I-693a) he/she should annotate the form as a positive reaction but negative for TB.

Hope this helps!

[Amit-N-Melody 11]

Thanks so much for your response. So did your husband get a false positive during his medical? I was hoping someone here can corroborate that having a TB skin test positive does not cause any issues with getting a GC if your chest X-ray is normal.

My husband has not had his medical yet, we are still in the NVC stage. But I had him go to the Dr and have a blood test to check to see if he had active TB, and he did not atleast this is what he told me....

[fabulous02 1]

Happy to confirm it's no problem at all. I was vaccinated at school, had a similar positive reaction of around 10mm, clear chest x-ray at the medical and had no issues, not even a single question about it. When you get your vaccination supplement transferred by the civil surgeon (the 3025 gets transcribed onto the I-693 Revised - formerly I-693a) he/she should annotate the form as a positive reaction but negative for TB.

Hope this helps!

Just a clarification, since I am here on H1B visa, I had to get a complete medical done by the civil surgeon. Not that it should matter if its a complete medical or just transcribing the DT 3025. During the medical is when they performed the TB test and told me that it was positive. They referred me to their center that has a radiologist and my civil surgeon will receive the faxed X-ray results from them. Hopefully she will mention in my form that the TB skin test was positive but Chest X-ray was normal, so I don't have active TB.

Thanks everyone for your responses.... I feel much better now...

Edited February 19, 2010 by fabulous02

[MI.PI 7]

I also had a positive TB skin test result. The doctor said that people from Asia usually get a false positive result because of the BCG vaccine administered when we were young. He had me go through chest x-ray and the result was normal. He checked the "No Class A or Class B TB" in my I-693 form and attached the result of the chest x-ray that says there is no evidence of active disease in the chest. We just filed our AOS and hoping that we will have a smooth process, no RFE so far.

I don't think you need to worry as long as your chest x-ray result is normal. I'm sure your civil surgeon will also indicate the result of your chest x-ray in your form.

[HeatDeath 431]

In Europe, everyone gets the BCG (TB vaccine) at birth or shortly after. Because of this, they don't even give us the skin test for the visa medical, they go straight to X-ray. I remember reading on the CDC website that the skin test always shows positive for those who had the vaccine, so you can look there.

Canada is the same way. At the medical they don't even bother with a skin test, they just march everyone straight through the xray room

A normal xray totally trumps any skin test results.