Review: Medical at Medisys in Montreal

[samack 79]

I did my medical at Medisys yesterday, so I thought I'd just add to the existing reviews in case it helps someone in the future.

I'd taken the train overnight from New Brunswick and managed to catch a cold within an hour of getting on the train. Needless to say, I wasn't feeling the best when I went in at 1:30. I stayed at the Best Western Plus, which was a bit of a walk, but the place was easy to find. I'm staying at one of the McGill residences the night before my interview and it's almost directly across the street from the building Medisys is in.

I was sure I was totally prepared, but I just have gotten some wires crossed somewhere because I didn't have my packet 4 email with me and, for some reason, didn't think I needed it until my interview. After giving them the confirmation page for my interview, they asked if I had the "document with the barcode" and I confidently handed over my DS-160. Wrong. They insisted that I should have a 4-5 page email from the consulate "with a barcode" and that they couldn't do the medical without it, and I insisted that I'd received no such thing. They were very nice about it, though, and after watching me struggle to look it up on my phone, one of the employees let me log in to my email account on her computer. They'd meant the packet 4 email (I still don't really understand it, since it only confirms that you CAN schedule an interview, not that you HAVE), which I did have but that has no barcode, and they let me print it there. Crisis averted. I filled out the medical history forms they gave me and waited.

I went in to see the nurse first. Blood test (not painful, but I've had plenty of blood tests and I've never been bruised as badly before), height, weight (told her I didn't want to know, she told me anyway), vision test, and confirmation that I've had all my vaccinations. I went back out to wait and was called in by Dr. Pigeon a few minutes later. He seemed intimidating at first, but spent most of the time in the office joking about New Brunswick and asking about my fiancé. I had to take off all of my outerwear and put on a gown so he could do a very, very quick check of my lungs, heart, abdomen, and legs. I got dressed, he wished me happiness and luck, and it was back out to wait. They called me up to pay ($340), so things got a little out of sequence and I waited extra time at the end to get my receipt. I was called in for the chest x-ray, which was weird only because you have to wait in the changing area wearing your pants and a hospital gown until they pass you a paper through the door to bring to the front desk and tell you it's okay to get dressed. I handed the paper over, waited a bit for my receipt, and I was done. It all took a little over an hour. I'm heading to the US to spend my birthday with my fiancé and I'm picking up the results the morning of my interview (the 20th).

It's really all very easy, especially if you're prepared, and the most stressful part is just how quickly they do everything because of how used to the routine they are and how many people they have to process in a day.

[mrskent 11]

Thanks so much for the review and your comments about the forms! I'm also from New Brunswick and will be going through the same steps soon (hopefully!)

Wishing you all the best with your visa and hope you can be in the US with your fiance soon!

[NewBrunswicker 19]

Thanks for the review. Same as above. I am also from New Brunswick and I will have to go through that process soon hopefully.

[sanil1986 26]

thanks for the review

my wife is scheduled to be there next week

how many pictures were asked ?

[tkelt 11]

Oh my lord the exact same thing happened to me Re: the packet 4 email! My heart nearly stopped. There's literally no barcode anywhere on the email. It was so confusing.

[samack 79]

thanks for the review

my wife is scheduled to be there next week

how many pictures were asked ?

They want 5 passport photos, which need to be in US size like the two needed for the interview.

Oh my lord the exact same thing happened to me Re: the packet 4 email! My heart nearly stopped. There's literally no barcode anywhere on the email. It was so confusing.

I think that if I'd been less tired or not sick I would have immediately panicked. Instead, I was in a foggy, 'this does not make sense to me' mode. That said, if it would have been something I actually didn't have I would have cried right there in front of everyone.