Knightsbridge (London) - Nightmare Part 2

[Shokra 12]

K-1/AoS (US/UK - LONDON)
UKer's be Warned:  BCG, Knightsbridge-Bentinck Mansions, Incomplete Medical and Document Errors

 

Many people born outside of the United States have been given a vaccine called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG).  People who were previously vaccinated with BCG may received a TB skin test to test for TB infection.  Vaccination with BCG may cause a false-positive reaction to a TB skin test.  A positive reaction to a TB skin test may be due to the BCG vaccine itself or due to infection with TB bacteria.

 

This is my second warning about Knightsbridge - Bentinck Mansions (civil surgeon) in London.  Although, the appointment ease, examination, courtesy and length of lobby wait time/examination time were all good.  Knightsbridge has, now, made 2 - yes TWO - errors on our case that has caused delays, some major complications/inconveniences and additional fees.

 

1st error (April 2017): £299 Medical Exam fee
Although not a horrible delay, but an unnecessary delay and inconvenience.  Knightsbridge rings my husband 4 days prior to his interview (1.5 weeks after medical exam).  A clinical error occured and he had to come back to London and sign a few documents before the medical would sent to the Embassy.  Apparently, they forgot to have my husband sign a couple of documents.  No remorse or consideration that my husband lived almost 1.5 hours away and couldn't just hop on over.  His interview was in 4 days, and there wasn't enough time to give notice to his employer about the additional time off.  He signed them prior to his interview and the civil surgeon took 10 days to get everything to the Embassy.
Chest x-ray: Negative (clear)
Medical exam:  No issues found
US Embassy:  Approved off to the States!

 

AoS Interview (April 30th 2018):
USCIS is unable to complete your case at this time.  The vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed.  You will have to have Part 8, Vaccination Records completed by a designated civil surgeon.  In the case, you must submit Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9 of Form I-693.

NOTE:  We are NOT the first w/ incomplete medical and vaccination forms.  We personally know of 3 others from England who experienced the same issue.  IMHO - That's 3 to many!!!!

 

RFE issued @ Interview:
Submit a complete Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, completed by a USCIS Civil Surgeon.  We will not accept photocopied medical exams results.  You must submit the original form and any original supplement completed by the Civil Surgeon to us.  You and the Civil Surgeon must sign the form and it must be sent to us in a sealed envelope from the Civil Surgeon.

 

We stopped by a civil surgeons office closest to the USCIS office located in downtown Indianapolis.  They weren't able to see him and the closest schedule appointment available wasn't until May 15th.  She informed us he would need a TB test (which I found odd, but oh well needs to be done right?) 

We live 1 hour from USCIS and 1.5 hours to the closest Civil Surgeon. (with zero traffic) 

 

PCP (May 2018): $30 co-pay plus $95 vaccinations
Wellness check up and to make sure NO other Vaccinations could possibly be missing.
Received a 2nd Hep A, 1st series of Heb B and TB skin test

 

Test Results:  48-hours later
TB Skin test = Positive (sent to ER/Hospital for xray)

 

Hospital Results:  $200 medical co-payment

PCP:  24-hours later
Chest X-ray = Negative (No signs of old or new TB in lungs/chest)

 

PCP Results: will not issue clear TB skin test results until my husband sees a Infectious Disease Specialist
The PCP was informed about BCG and how it can cause a False-Positive test result with TB Skin testing.  They ignored this and demanded results from the infectious doctor.

 

Earliest appointment for Infectious Doctor:  May 29th 2018 (fees: unknown at this time)
Everything so far has been submitted to our medical insurance, so we are unaware if there will be additional charges at this time.

 

Today (May 15th 2018):  $250 Medical Examination

Civil Surgeon Medical Exam - Location: Indianapolis/Speedway
Overall, the new medical went fairly well.  We have to go back in 3 business days to pick up the sealed envelope to mail to the USCIS.  We brought the x-ray final report and images with us and PCP document of Immunization records (with updated vaccines).  The civil surgeon took a photo copy of the Knightsbridge doctors forms (I693 & DS 3025). He conducted his own medical exam and blood work.

 

The mistake Knightsbridge has done caused an a LOT of frustration, additional fees, missed time from work (without pay) and travel expenses.  Please make sure your vaccination forms are completed properly and toggled as being complete.  Do NOT leave there with copies of everything, especially the DS 3025.  Triple check that you signed EVERYTHING and have the receptionist show you.  Don't just take her/their word for it.
 

[Rahrah0526 2]

My Fiance is inbound from London today, and we're in the Indy area as well.  May I ask what civil surgeon in the Indy/Speedway area you used?  I have called a few places asking if they will fill out the I-693 pages for vaccine only verifying he received his 2nd MMR in the appropriate time frame AFTER his medical at Knightsbridge, but haven't been able to get an answer.  

[Shokra 12]

On 5/17/2018 at 9:30 AM, Rahrah0526 said:

My Fiance is inbound from London today, and we're in the Indy area as well.  May I ask what civil surgeon in the Indy/Speedway area you used?  I have called a few places asking if they will fill out the I-693 pages for vaccine only verifying he received his 2nd MMR in the appropriate time frame AFTER his medical at Knightsbridge, but haven't been able to get an answer.  

They can't just fill out 1 section - they have new forms (a lot different then what we had to go through last year).  They will not work off another Civil Surgeon's DS 3025 or the I-693.  Apparently the DS 3025 is now merged into the I-693.  

MedCheck Urgent Care - Speedway
1011 West Main Street #140, Speedway, IN 46224
(317) 957-9000
they do it Monday - Friday between 9 am - 3 pm

[yuna628 9,680]

A K1 applicant who has had a successful medical in the UK and received their visa (and has filed for AOS within 1 year), is not required to have another medical stateside. That means no examination, NO TB test, and no other bloodwork, or shots to speak of.

 

The problem with the DS3025 and the RFEs it causes during AOS is due to several factors. For many it's never known, the general RFE letter doesn't give many clues, but as pointed out many times on this forum you can successfully argue the point to the USCIS that it states in their own manual that the I-693 is not actually needed at all. They just need to look at the appropriate DS3025 paperwork in the original casefile, if they can be bothered to pay attention or if you have a newbie officer not aware of the rules.

 

In other cases, they may genuinely be aware of the rules, but have lost the paperwork or can't find the appropriate file to match up (stuff happens).

 

Some received their K1 and elected for whatever reason not to obtain their shots before or during the Knightsbridge medical, instead deciding to get them stateside. Even in those cases all that is required for a K1 to bring to the US Civil Surgeon is proof of those vaccinations, and to complete only the required parts of the I-693 as listed in the instructions (NOT ALL of it).

 

And lastly, there are cases where the error is Knightsbridge's fault by not certifying the vaccination portion of the DS3025 as complete. That was usually a big issue when the forms were tweaked for many UK applicants. Still, even this error on their part (which is the same issue for pretty much everyone coming out of Knightsbridge) caused the rest of the mess.

 

Of course there are those that don't want to waste time fighting it out with the USCIS about their own rules and simply want to respond to the RFE asap, as me and my husband did. In those situations (as mentioned above) there's a list on VJ of US Civil Surgeons who can recertify the vaccination portion ONLY (as clearly stated in the rules). Again no exam, no TB test, nothing. Your copy of the DS3025, passport, and filling out the portion of the I-693 (as listed for K1 applicant adjusters in the instructions) is the ONLY thing that is required. The Civil Surgeon fills out there required part, signs, recertifies, and seals it. That always honors the RFE. And you can even include a strongly worded response letter (like we did), highlighting their own rules for them, that their request is pedantic and nonsense.

 

The problem becomes for many adjusting and then needing to find a civil surgeon, is finding one that will do the vaccination portion ONLY. They see hundreds of people, and aren't familiar with the rules in every case... to top it off many are willing to run a money scam, and charge you for things that are not needed whatsoever. It is correct that having a BCG can cause a false positive for certain TB tests but not all. You can even print out the CDC instructions regarding such false positives, and a variety of other more reliable and more pricey tests that should not trigger that response (I've seen it happen to a few Ukers on here). In your case, you were unlucky that you found a Civil Surgeon that refused to follow the instructions AND charged you for services un-needed (the TB test) and the rest of it.

 

Our Civil Surgeon understood the rules and the very common RFE, and literally charged us about $30 for about ten minutes of her time, and we left with the envelope to send back to the USCIS that day.

 

I feel for you really. Your husband did not need a new examination, blood test, seeing a PCP or an infectious disease doctor, a TB test, an xray (he already had one at Knightsbridge), nor did he need a Hep A or B shot either (presuming husband is over the age of 18).

Edited May 20, 2018 by yuna628

[trudi 1,317]

On 5/17/2018 at 9:30 AM, Rahrah0526 said:

My Fiance is inbound from London today, and we're in the Indy area as well.  May I ask what civil surgeon in the Indy/Speedway area you used?  I have called a few places asking if they will fill out the I-693 pages for vaccine only verifying he received his 2nd MMR in the appropriate time frame AFTER his medical at Knightsbridge, but haven't been able to get an answer.  

I had the first mmr before my medical and didn't need to get the 2nd either for the medical (not enough time) or AOS (never mentioned)

[Shokra 12]

On 5/19/2018 at 9:21 PM, yuna628 said:

I feel for you really. Your husband did not need a new examination, blood test, seeing a PCP or an infectious disease doctor, a TB test, an xray (he already had one at Knightsbridge), nor did he need a Hep A or B shot either (presuming husband is over the age of 18).

1

Well, he did need a new medical or the USCIS officer would not have approved our AOS for the green card.  As for the additional shots, the civil surgeons RN stated they would give him a TST (TB skin test) - So instead of traveling back and forth over an hour each way for the medical exam and then 3 days later for the TST results.  We opted to have that done at our PCP since our insurance would cover it. 

There is really nothing to dispute or argue here.  The matter of fact is, that the USCIS wanted a new medical exam because the one from Knightsbridge was incomplete and we had to do it.