RFE Help please!

[meelo 4]

We sent of DW's K-3 AOS package. On Friday we received an RFE saying that the I-693 medical exam wasn't signed. I looked at the copy that the doctor gave me and sure enough no signature. I called the DR office today and they told me that since she tested positive for non-contagious TB they cannot sign the document until treatment is done. They said the treatment is 9 months. What should I do with the RFE? Is this Doc screwing us?

TIA

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Was this not mentioned at the original medical appointment?

No, the doc is not screwing you. It is their job to protect the American people from contagious diseases that are eradicated here.

I am not sure why this is news to you though. What happened at the original medical? Was the treatment discussed then?

Edit: Non-contagious TB has a high likelihood of turning contagious over the course of a lifetime.

Edited May 16, 2011 by Harpa Timsah

[VanessaTony 3,567]

We sent of DW's K-3 AOS package. On Friday we received an RFE saying that the I-693 medical exam wasn't signed. I looked at the copy that the doctor gave me and sure enough no signature. I called the DR office today and they told me that since she tested positive for non-contagious TB they cannot sign the document until treatment is done. They said the treatment is 9 months. What should I do with the RFE? Is this Doc screwing us?

TIA

Did she get a chest x-ray done? They do the skin test and if that tests positive you have a chest x-ray. If the x-ray is positive then you need treatment. You certainly should have been told that you had TB or might have it.

[garfield529 47]

Am I just confused, why are you AOSing? I thought CR-1 receive greencard on arrival, or are you still in China?

[meelo 4]

Was this not mentioned at the original medical appointment?

No, the doc is not screwing you. It is their job to protect the American people from contagious diseases that are eradicated here.

I am not sure why this is news to you though. What happened at the original medical? Was the treatment discussed then?

Edit: Non-contagious TB has a high likelihood of turning contagious over the course of a lifetime.

The CS told us that this would not hang up the AOS as long as she took the treatment. I know that this could be serious but latent TB turns into full blown TB in only 5 to 10% of patients.

[meelo 4]

Did she get a chest x-ray done? They do the skin test and if that tests positive you have a chest x-ray. If the x-ray is positive then you need treatment. You certainly should have been told that you had TB or might have it.

She received the PPD skin test and it failed so the CS ordered a chest xray which came back negative. Then he ordered the Quantiferon TB Gold blood test. The results tested positive for latent TB. The doc then put my wife on a drug treatment plan for 6-9 months of taking this drugs.

We were told that everything else was fine and they completed the paperwork and sealed it up to be opened only by USCIS. We received the RFE on friday saying that the papers were not signed.

I called the CS's office and they said that they will not sign the papers until the treatment is done.

Why would they give us the sealed documents if they weren't signed and ready for USCIS?

Am I just confused, why are you AOSing? I thought CR-1 receive greencard on arrival, or are you still in China?

Thanks for the heads up! I corrected my profile. We received the K-3 visa and now we are adjusting based on the K-3 visa.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

If the CS says you can proceed for immigration as long as you are undergoing treatments, then you need to reply to the RFE saying as such or perhaps get a letter saying such from the CS. I am guessing that the AOS will be on hold until treatments are finished, but you want to keep your AOS open until that point - keep everything moving, and not have it denied and be forced to reapply and pay monies again. Good luck.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The civil surgeon is authorized to sign the I-693 if he concludes that the alien has a class B latent TB infection. Your civil surgeon is not following the CDC or USCIS guidelines. Pressure him to sign the I-693.

[meelo 4]

The civil surgeon is authorized to sign the I-693 if he concludes that the alien has a class B latent TB infection. Your civil surgeon is not following the CDC or USCIS guidelines. Pressure him to sign the I-693.

Jim you made me a very happy man! Thank you! Do you know where I can find the guidelines by chance? I will look and if I find them then I will post them here too.

[meelo 4]

Ok I found where it says that the CS should have signed the i-693. I want to thank Jim for giving me hope!

http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/pdf/tb-ti-civil.pdf

On page 19 there is a chart that explains exactly how the CS is supposed to fill in the form.

I will be going to the CS's office tomorrow and show them what I have found and demand that they give me the proper packet to give to USCIS. I will report back here to let everyone know what happened.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Jim you made me a very happy man! Thank you! Do you know where I can find the guidelines by chance? I will look and if I find them then I will post them here too.

USCIS FAQ about tuberculosis guidelines (2009). Look at the second question from the bottom:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=7abb2ee7efee4210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

[meelo 4]

So I went to see the CS today. They were very adament about not signing the paperwork for I-693. After showing them the documents listed above, they finally signed the I-693! So Happy!

I just wonder if this CS is screwing any other immigrants? Is there a place to report them so they can get retraining on the whole process? I feel bad for others who do not have access to an awesome resource like VJ and JimVaPhuong!

Thanks again for all of your help!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

So I went to see the CS today. They were very adament about not signing the paperwork for I-693. After showing them the documents listed above, they finally signed the I-693! So Happy!

I just wonder if this CS is screwing any other immigrants? Is there a place to report them so they can get retraining on the whole process? I feel bad for others who do not have access to an awesome resource like VJ and JimVaPhuong!

Thanks again for all of your help!

congrats!! Glad to see you got it sorted and I agree. Who knows how many others s/he stuffed up. Hopefully they learnt their lesson now.

[meelo 4]

congrats!! Glad to see you got it sorted and I agree. Who knows how many others s/he stuffed up. Hopefully they learnt their lesson now.

Well the office girls were mad at me when I showed them the technical instructions for giving immigration physicals. I think that they just signed it to get rid of me. I do not think that they learned anything at all.

Would I report them to CDC or USCIS? Perhaps both?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

So I went to see the CS today. They were very adament about not signing the paperwork for I-693. After showing them the documents listed above, they finally signed the I-693! So Happy!

I just wonder if this CS is screwing any other immigrants? Is there a place to report them so they can get retraining on the whole process? I feel bad for others who do not have access to an awesome resource like VJ and JimVaPhuong!

Thanks again for all of your help!

Good to know! Glad you got it sorted! Keep up with your medicine!