Civil Surgeon in Northern California

[arnie209 5]

Anyone know of any good Civil Surgeons in Northern California? I checked the list but everyone I call gives me a different story... Also, can someone dumb down the steps for me for getting the medical part of aos out of the way? everything seems so confusing and my wife has no medical record of any vaccinations. help! thanks for any replies!!!

[Operator 1,927]

She should have turned in a copy of her medical when she entered on her K-1 so Uncle Sam "should" have that (her I-693). If she had her medical more than a year ago she'll need another. If less than a year she only needs to have the immunization portion the the I-693 certified by the CS. Some of them just won't do it without a full medical, find one who will. Take her to your primary doctor and ask them to give her everything that is age-appropriate, take an I-693 with you to explain what you are trying to do. You can find a list of vaccinations on the CDC website. If she is on your insurance it should be covered. Take the records of the immunizations to a good CS and they should complete the form for you. This is exactly what we did and it only cost about $75 for everything.

Edited June 16, 2012 by Operator

[Ning 619]

Anyone know of any good Civil Surgeons in Northern California? I checked the list but everyone I call gives me a different story... Also, can someone dumb down the steps for me for getting the medical part of aos out of the way? everything seems so confusing and my wife has no medical record of any vaccinations. help! thanks for any replies!!!

Check with your local county health clinic to get the shots and shot card. We did this and it cost 23 dollars. We took the I 693 to them where it was stamped and signed. This may not satisfy USCIS where you are but it was accepted by our local office. The clinic can advise you about the shots required and the follow ups she should have.

[Operator 1,927]

Check with your local county health clinic to get the shots and shot card. We did this and it cost 23 dollars. We took the I 693 to them where it was stamped and signed. This may not satisfy USCIS where you are but it was accepted by our local office. The clinic can advise you about the shots required and the follow ups she should have.

Our county health department told us they didn't do immunizations for immigration purposes. I was totally amazed but since then I have seen lots of folks on here that have gone to some county agency. The CS we used even said to check with our primary care doctor because it would be cheaper than most Civil Surgeons charge.

The medical system is as convoluted as the immigration system in this country.

[Ning 619]

Our county health department told us they didn't do immunizations for immigration purposes. I was totally amazed but since then I have seen lots of folks on here that have gone to some county agency. The CS we used even said to check with our primary care doctor because it would be cheaper than most Civil Surgeons charge.

The medical system is as convoluted as the immigration system in this country.

It makes sense that people need to check because we see here it can vary wildly. Here in Az they didnt ask but they did see from our form that it was for my immigration AOS meeting. They were hesitent to sign the form because they said they hadnt seen one before. My husband explained what it was for and they signed it.

I recieved 3 shots for 23 dollars which were just follow up shots. Our daughter got a total of nine due to her school requirments. Those were free.

At our AOS meeting the officer wasnt interested in the form we had and didnt even ask. Our AOS was done before the one year point.

I suggest the health clinic for anyone due to cost. Our doctor wanted over 300 dollars for my shots alone. I hope people can use the clinics and if needed take that info to a C S where they can just pay to have the form filled out and sugned for less money. I know people that have done this in our area but people will have to look into their own situations.

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Anyone know of any good Civil Surgeons in Northern California? I checked the list but everyone I call gives me a different story... Also, can someone dumb down the steps for me for getting the medical part of aos out of the way? everything seems so confusing and my wife has no medical record of any vaccinations. help! thanks for any replies!!!

Since she has no records of any vaccinations, and as you know, Juarez does not give K-1 applicants vaccinations or a DS-3025, you are going to have to call around to civil surgeons. It can be really tough to find one that will not insist on giving a new medical, but let them know the instructions state a K-1 is not required to get a new medical and you can print those out and show it to them. You may have to call around a lot and even some farther away from where you live. We drove 2 hours to get to a CS that would just do the vaccinations transcription for my husband.

Some civil surgeons insist on giving the new medical because they can and they know that, they don't fully understand how it works for a K-1 that is adjusting, and/or they want the large fees they charge for a new medical. It can be tough to find one that won't insist you get another medical. Some people just break down and pay to get another medical just so they can get the I-693 done to file their AOS.

If you have insurance, you can get them from your own family doctor or try the health department. Just make sure they are recorded onto a vaccination shot record she can take with her to the civil surgeon to prove she had those done. Or she can have them done at the CS of course, but they tend to charge more.

She only needs the ones that are age appropriate. If you are over 18, you only need one in a series(or booster) for:

MMR

Tdap/TD

Varicella (unless you already had the chickenpox)

Flu shot (only if it is flu season, which it is not right now)

http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/exams/ti/panel/vaccination-panel-technical-instructions.html#tbl1

Check this thread to see if you can find a CS somewhere near-ish to you that won't rip you off: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/231026-civil-surgeons-who-dont-rip-you-off/

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The only person I know that filled out the I-693 went to the only civil surgeon that covers the northern California area I live in, north of San Francisco. He wouldn't fill out the form without doing a full medical, and he charged around $250 four years ago. The rest of us "forgot" to bring the form with us, just showing receipts for the missing vaccinations, and got approved for AOS without a problem.