K1 Visa Medical at NMC, Dubai - A Review for UAE Filers

[doggieandsam 765]

This is a review / rundown of the visa medical process that I went through as a K1 visa filer in USEM Abu Dhabi. Very long post so please bear with me! I hope this is helpful to somebody else who will undergo the same process soon. BUT please be aware that while this may be applicable to you, it is still best practice to check with the USEM Abu Dhabi and the medical center to ensure you follow the most recent procedure. 

 

Medical Center: NMC Medical Centre (NMC), located in Abu Hail area, Deira, Dubai. Abu Hail metro station is just in front of NMC and there is ample public parking available as well if you decide to drive there.

Date of medical: 22 July 2017

Length of medical: 3-4 hours

Release of medical report: 2 days after

Cost: AED 975, plus AED 230 if you need to be given the mandatory vaccinations

General impression of facilities: Not luxurious but the premises are clean and looks well equipped

General impression of staff: GP time was a bit of a rush but the GP, nurses and other staff were friendly and accommodating

General impression of procedure: Slow / could be faster, lots of waiting around which contributed to the length of the medical

 

Scheduling the medical:

It was fairly easy to schedule the medical. I emailed them at appointmentdeiradxb@nmc.ae to schedule it and I was told to come at 8AM and given a list of documents to bring and instructions. If you do not want to pre-book, NMC said you can come in as a walk in customer but in doing so, your waiting time will increase and you will need to be prepared to wait longer than 4 hours. Walk-in applicants must arrive before 9AM. They are open all days of the week except Fridays.

 

You will need to bring and/or provide:

• Original Passports plus three copies
• 6 passport size photographs (35 mm x 45 mm) with white background
• Vaccination Record in English (if any) // Note: I did not have my vaccination record with me and that was ok, I was just asked to pay the additional AED 230 and given the mandatory vaccinations.
• Embassy Appointment Letter //Note: I took the interview appointment confirmation that I printed off the appointment scheduling website
• Eyeglasses (if any)
• You will need to provide your complete address here (with postal code if any), your intended address in the US (compete with city, state and postal code), your email address and your mobile number

 

On the day of the medical:

I arrived at NMC at 10 minutes to 8AM and went straight to the reception desk with the documents / info mentioned above. There were already several people who arrived ahead of me so if you can, come early. The earlier you arrive, the earlier you will be out of there. The reception staff took my documents and gave me a form to fill out, then asked me to wait for my name to be called. After an hour and a half, a nurse came by and called my name.

 

The nurse took me to an examination room but only to verify my name and other pertinent info and then explained the medical process to me. The nurse then told me to go to the cashier to pay for the medical (AED 975) first and then once that is done, that I should go to the laboratory area next for blood and urine sample submission. I paid and then went to the lab area as instructed. There were about 4 people already waiting at the lab area when I got there so I sat down to wait. After about 30 minutes or so, the lab technician called my name and asked me to come inside the room where she verified my name and other details again. Then, the technical took a vial full of blood and then afterwards she gave me a urine sample bottle and told me to collect my urine sample and drop it at the sample collection window next door.

 

After the blood and urine sample submission, I went back to the original examination room to wait. After a little while, the reception staff paged me and asked me to wait for my turn to see the GP. The GP gave me an impression that they were in a rush (I guess because they were seeing a lot of patients that day). The GP asked me about my general health history and also asked specific questions focusing on mental health and about contagious diseases. GP then did a physical examination which as far as I can remember, included taking my weight, height, temperature and breathing. She also prodded my stomach and lower stomach. The GP also asked if I had my vaccination record with me. I said no and she then wrote a prescription for two vaccinations (TD and MMR).

 

After the GP examinations, her nurse took me to the vaccination room. In there, the vaccination nurse explained to me that I was supposed to get the two vaccines prescribed by the GP but I have to pay for them first. So I off to the cashier I went, paid and then went back to the vaccination room. The nurse then administered the vaccines, one on each arm. One vaccine (I don't know which one) was quiet painful and I suffered pain and soreness on one arm for at least two days after the medical.

 

After the GP and vaccinations, I was told to report back to the original examination room. Once there, there was some more waiting. After a little while, I was called and the nurse then checked my information against some form they were filling out, took my blood pressure reading and then did an eye test, first with the eyeglasses (or contacts) on and then without. If you normally wear contacts, I suggest don't wear them on the day of the medical and wear eyeglasses instead. It was a bit of a hassle to find contacts lens solution so I could remove and store my contacts in between the eye tests.

 

After the eye tests came the x-ray. I was instructed to report to the radiology section. More waiting there. When it was my turn, I was fetched by the radiology technician from the waiting area and brought to the x-ray room. Once inside I was told to change into a lab gown and remove my jewelry and then she took the x-ray. I was told to report back to the original examination room. I did and there, the nurse checked with me and made sure that I had completed all the tests I was supposed to complete and when she was satisfied that I had, she sent me home.

 

Collection of medical report:

During my time with the GP, she made me sign a medical results release form and told me that barring any issues with the tests results then the medical report will be ready for collection after 2 days, after 8pm. She gave me a copy of the form - do not lose this paper as this is the paper you need to submit when you collect your report. The GP said that if there are any issues with the test results, then they will contact me with next steps. They will not issue the medical report if they find any issues so no contact from them while waiting for report collection date is good!

 

When I arrived to collect the report on the date and time as instructed in the paper, the report was waiting for me. I was given two sealed envelopes plus a copy of my vaccination record. Do not open nor fold these two envelopes! These two sealed envelopes will need to be given to the USEM Abu Dhabi during your interview. Keep the vaccination copy with you for safekeeping as you will need this during your AOS process later on.

 

Additional info:

For those who will be prescribed the two vaccines TD and MMR like I did, you will need to get boosters shots for those later - one dose each for both a month after the first dose and then another dose just for TD six months after the second dose.

Edited August 7, 2017 by iamdegie

[jaybeltisroy 210]

thanks @iamdegie

[SallySaidHi 5]

Hello and thank you for the info! My husband, who is an Egyptian national, has no vaccination records as they just don't provide those things in Egypt. You stated they only gave you 2 vaccinations (with no record available). I am worried that they may want to give my husband ALL of the required vaccinations (long list!). Should I assume that they wont do that? It seems quite dangerous to get injected with all of that in one sitting!!

[TBoneTX 43,020]

Country-specific thread is moved from the K-1 Case Progress subforum to the Middle East/North Africa regional forum.

[SallySaidHi 5]

On 6/14/2019 at 9:41 AM, TBoneTX said:

Country-specific thread is moved from the K-1 Case Progress subforum to the Middle East/North Africa regional forum.

When a thread is relocated, as stated, how do I then go about finding it? I am not very good at navigating this forum.. 😬 

[doggieandsam 765]

On 12/29/2019 at 3:26 AM, SallySaidHi said:

When a thread is relocated, as stated, how do I then go about finding it? I am not very good at navigating this forum.. 😬 

hi there...sorry I have not been too active in VJ for a while. if i remember correctly (it's been a awhile!) i did not have a record of all my previous vaccinations either and they still just gave me the two (TD and MMR). don't worry too much about it, when your husband is doing the medical exam, they will let him know what vaccines he needs right then and there.