Algeria - Medical Exam & Pre-Interview Obstacles

[Cindy and Oualid 0]

Hi everyone. I just have some info for anyone going through (or about to go through) the same thing as we are.

We have our interview date finally (married in December 2012, received our priority date March 29, 2013). Everyone knows this is all a struggle, but one that is worthwhile, but there are a few things about Algiers leading up to the medical exam that really put a clunker in our process.

The phone numbers on the government website for medical exam clinic are incorrect. I don't have any correct numbers. After a week of calling the clinic with variable outcomes (no answer, a woman answers and hangs up immediately, a man answers and tells my husband the number is incorrect and gives him another incorrect number), my husband decided to travel to Algiers to go in person to the clinic. The woman in charge of the desk there was not very helpful.

My husband works in the desert, as many Algerians do. This means he is at work 28 days in a row and home in BouSaada 28 days vacation. We prayed and prayed that our interview would be scheduled when he is on vacation, because our attorney told us not to have him quit his job until after the interview decision in case we have a RFE (hopefully not).

He went to the clinic, and the woman told him to come back after June 1. He explained that he would be in the desert June 1, but she insisted that she would NOT schedule the interview until the month in which the interview is scheduled. He asked her if she would schedule it in advance for 4 days before the interview, and she said no.

She did, however, give him some paperwork about vaccinations. He went to the suggested clinic, and all they do is diphtheria, meningitis, and hepatitis b. There is a longer list on the government website, and we're not sure exactly what to do with that. He's going to investigate some local doctors there in his home town and consult with his sister's husband (the best man at our wedding, who is also a generalist doctor).

My husband's passport expires in September, which leaves less than the desired 6 months on the passport. However, our attorney emailed the consulate and they said it would be fine because it has at least 60 DAYS. Some places are giving my husband a hard time about this.

Last but not least, it takes a LONG TIME to get the marriage registered on the Algerian spouses birth certificate. There are two types of birth certificates in Algeria - one that lists marriage and one that doesn't. We didn't realize that we should do this until just a few months ago, and it's still not done. I don't think it is a requirement, but it would be nice for him to walk into the interview with the correct birth certificate. We had our attorney check on this as well, and it's fine, but if you're wanting that extra peace of mind, do it EARLY.

The vaccination clinic also demanded that he come back June 16 for a follow-up, and I think he's going to have to come home early. He's very afraid that he will be fired because of this, and then if we have any technical error that causes RFE, he will not have a job.

We could have avoided a lot of hassle had the government website had the correct info, but I talked to my attorney earlier today and she said that many of the countries' websites have incorrect or outdated information, and the best thing to do is what we did - go in person.

Hope that this keeps someone else from being hassled around like we have been the last couple weeks.

[momof1 205]

The birth certificate is a non-issue. My husband used an ancient copy of his birth certificate that didn't list any marital status. Even now, I don't think his birth certificate has been updated. We did, however, do lots of paperwork stateside to register our marriage: family book, 3 children are algerian citizens...etc

Good luck with everything. Hope the rest goes smoothly.

[raflen 1]

I also had passed a very bad experience at that clinic. Numbers are true they just avoid answering for ppl and if she answers she hangs up.

[Cindy and Oualid 0]

Well, we have an update. The consulate called my husband on his cell, and moved his appointment up two days. They said bring the original letter of appointment because apparently they are not going to be open on the originally-planned date.

He went in person to the clinic, and they gave him the runaround. They said he had to return after the first of the month. The problem is he works in the desert, and there are strict rules, so he had to leave work on bad terms to go to Algiers. He's there now, and after BEGGING the woman at the clinic, she said he could have an appointment for tomorrow.

We are just being very cautious, and I don't want him to lose his job in case we get an RFE and he's stuck there for a while longer.

The clinic lady also suggested that he didn't need to prove all the vaccines on the list, only the ones on the clinic's special list, but I'm wary of that, and I'm not sure if I trust them. They only suggested he get 4 of them. I'll keep this updated as things go along.