Medical exam's validity date & POE/AOS

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

My fiance had his medical exam end of November and his administrative processing just ended today. So his validity on his medical will be expiring end of May. I know he must enter USA before medical exprires or he will need to get new one. I read that for AOS he needs it and is valid for 1 year, but by the time we get married and apply for AOS they might be expiring. Can someone confirm this and advise it is better to renew it abroad (since is cheaper) or we will be fine for AOS? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance

[Pitaya 2,576]

~Moved from K1 Process to Fam.-based AOS Forum~

~Inquiry about AOS-associated process~

[madtownguy 164]

He does need it for AOS, but it counts from the date of file not from decision. My wife filed hers like 5 days before a year was up on the medical and it got approved a year later. They can't fault you for their back log. If unsure you will be married by November then do another before the flight here. There's a good chance you will have to see a civil surgeon here anyway to sign off on the vaccinations.

[madtownguy 164]

whoops went twice

Edited April 9, 2015 by madtownguy

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

They can't fault you for their back log.

Sure they can > http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-new-policy-form-i-693-report-medical-examination-and-vaccination-record

OP> No guarantee it will be fine for AOS. Some have found themselves receiving an RFE for an I-693 from a civil surgeon when their medical date was past a year at the time of the approval. If you can get it done abroad for cheaper and have all the required vaccinations marked off on a DS-3025 during the K-1 medical, then you might want to go that route. You could also risk it and hope they don't ask for a new one. If they do, you could worry about it at that time.

Edited April 10, 2015 by KayDeeCee

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

He does need it for AOS, but it counts from the date of file not from decision. My wife filed hers like 5 days before a year was up on the medical and it got approved a year later. They can't fault you for their back log. If unsure you will be married by November then do another before the flight here. There's a good chance you will have to see a civil surgeon here anyway to sign off on the vaccinations.

Thanks for the reply! He is planning to come here next month, so we will get married end of July and I will file for AOS immediately. So about 3 months before expiration date of the medical. Do you think we will still need doctor to sign off vaccinations? You know Doctors are expensive in USA and I am trying to avoid it anyway I can

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

Sure they can > http://www.uscis.gov/news/alerts/uscis-issues-new-policy-form-i-693-report-medical-examination-and-vaccination-record

OP> No guarantee it will be fine for AOS. Some have found themselves receiving an RFE for an I-693 from a civil surgeon when their medical date was past a year at the time of the approval. If you can get it done abroad for cheaper and have all the required vaccinations marked off on a DS-3025 during the K-1 medical, then you might want to go that route. You could also risk it and hope they don't ask for a new one. If they do, you could worry about it at that time.

Thank you so much for the reply. I am unfamiliar how long takes AOS to be approved, but I will be applying for it 3 months before medical will expire and I would want to avoid paying high doctor prices in USA He will be arriving within 6 months of medical, so it's ok for the visa, but my question is, would you recommend he just gets an updated vaccination form from the doctor abroad for future AOS? Is that the only form they require or do they also need updated X-ray for TB?

[D&AK1 0]

I have more questions about the medical. My fiancee got a medical exam from an approved doctor in her home country. She also got ALL the vaccinations and a copy of her DS-3025 (vaccination record). She has been here one month, and we got married last week, so we want to file for AOS. When I call approved Civil Surgeons, they want to do a full exam, TB test and vaccinations!

Does she NEED all this, and if so, why? It makes sense to have immigrants checked BEFORE they enter the country. Why are they required to get checked again?

What is the normal procedure concerning the i-693 form? Can't the doctor simply copy the vaccination records from the DS-3025 to the i-693? Since the original DS-3025 was turned into immigration when she arrived (in a sealed packet), why does USCIS need the vaccination records checked/copied again?

[Pishi_Pishi 63]

I have more questions about the medical. My fiancee got a medical exam from an approved doctor in her home country. She also got ALL the vaccinations and a copy of her DS-3025 (vaccination record). She has been here one month, and we got married last week, so we want to file for AOS. When I call approved Civil Surgeons, they want to do a full exam, TB test and vaccinations!

Does she NEED all this, and if so, why? It makes sense to have immigrants checked BEFORE they enter the country. Why are they required to get checked again?

What is the normal procedure concerning the i-693 form? Can't the doctor simply copy the vaccination records from the DS-3025 to the i-693? Since the original DS-3025 was turned into immigration when she arrived (in a sealed packet), why does USCIS need the vaccination records checked/copied again?

As far as I know, she does not have to do this as long dates are valid and it is 1 year before you apply for AOS. Doctors just trying to make money. I am pretty sure of it, because is she received full medical exam in her own country, there is no point to do this in USA unless dates expired. New exams are for those that they did not complete prior.

[KayDeeCee 4,891]

Thank you so much for the reply. I am unfamiliar how long takes AOS to be approved, but I will be applying for it 3 months before medical will expire and I would want to avoid paying high doctor prices in USA He will be arriving within 6 months of medical, so it's ok for the visa, but my question is, would you recommend he just gets an updated vaccination form from the doctor abroad for future AOS? Is that the only form they require or do they also need updated X-ray for TB?

The K-1 medical documents will be included in the sealed envelope you turn in at your POE. The full medical plus all the required vaccinations marked off on the DS-3025 by the panel physician abroad will be needed. If getting it done by a panel physician to be included in your K-1 case file, then you need the whole exam again plus the required vaccinations being done and marked off on the DS-3025.

If you file for AOS within a year of the K-1 exam, then you are not supposed to need another medical. So, if it were me, and I had all the required vaccinations at the time of the K-1, and it was done within a year of filing for AOS, then I would try filing using only a copy of the DS-3025. I would worry about possibly needing a new medical or vaccinations transcribed if I were to receive an RFE asking for it.

I have more questions about the medical. My fiancee got a medical exam from an approved doctor in her home country. She also got ALL the vaccinations and a copy of her DS-3025 (vaccination record). She has been here one month, and we got married last week, so we want to file for AOS. When I call approved Civil Surgeons, they want to do a full exam, TB test and vaccinations!

Does she NEED all this, and if so, why? It makes sense to have immigrants checked BEFORE they enter the country. Why are they required to get checked again?

What is the normal procedure concerning the i-693 form? Can't the doctor simply copy the vaccination records from the DS-3025 to the i-693? Since the original DS-3025 was turned into immigration when she arrived (in a sealed packet), why does USCIS need the vaccination records checked/copied again?

If she had all the required vaccinations marked off on the DS-3025, then no need for the civil surgeon > http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/428381-i-693-report-of-medical-examination-and-vaccination-report/?p=6206232

[D&AK1 0]

I have more questions about the medical. My fiancee got a medical exam from an approved doctor in her home country. She also got ALL the vaccinations and a copy of her DS-3025 (vaccination record). She has been here one month, and we got married last week, so we want to file for AOS. When I call approved Civil Surgeons, they want to do a full exam, TB test and vaccinations!

Does she NEED all this, and if so, why? It makes sense to have immigrants checked BEFORE they enter the country. Why are they required to get checked again?

What is the normal procedure concerning the i-693 form? Can't the doctor simply copy the vaccination records from the DS-3025 to the i-693? Since the original DS-3025 was turned into immigration when she arrived (in a sealed packet), why does USCIS need the vaccination records checked/copied again?

On the USCIS website I found the explanation that if a full medical exam was performed overseas, then we do not need to have it done again here in the states. We submitted the I-485 packet long before the anniversary of the medical exam, without the I-693. Now, months later we get an RFE for two items. One is the TB test.! The other was for my tax returns. But the blank where they are supposed to fill in the tax years, was still blank!

I called the USCIS in Atlanta (the office which had sent the RFE) to ask for clarification. Their first response was to recommend we hire an immigration lawyer!! I explained we just want to know how to how to give them what they ask. They then recommended I use the Info-pass system, and make an appointment at our local USCIS office. Which we did. The lady at the office explained the tax request was for TRANSCRIPTS, not just a copy of my returns. She could not explain why we have to repeat the TB test. She did not offer to look into it, nor contact the Atlanta office. Atlanta is functionally a black box. There is no way to get information out of them.

The overseas doctor had put the paper verification into the sealed envelope, and gave the x-ray to my wife. The sealed packet was taken at the port of entry. So, we have no proof of the negative TB test. I called every civil surgeon in our area. All of them will only do a complete exam and all medical tests (including the TB test). They will consider not re-vaccinating her, if we show the DS-3025. But then they might do them again too. The fee is the same regardless of how much, or how little, they do.

I suggest that immigrants get the minimum medical treatment allowed overseas. Or, at least, get your own copy of EVERYTHING the doctor puts in the packet. If you can not prove the results of a test, then the USCIS and their Civil Surgeons can make you repeat the whole process. Several hundred dollars of medical work performed overseas was simply wasted!