K-1 Visa Medical Exam Question

[HaydenCorneau 12]

Hello, everyone. I'm looking up information on the k-1 visa process, as my girlfriend and I want to live together and marry in the United States. (I am Canadian). I like to prepare in advance, but I am concerned about something related to the medical examination that is part of it. 

I was struggling with an eating disorder for a few years prior to this. I have recovered, and I have been doing great for over a year now, but I am concerned that I would be deemed inadmissable. I spent time getting treatment in our psychiatric ward, as there was not any eating disorder ward that specifically treated us on our own. I had a few admissions. I had previous issues receiving and maintaining employment prior to this, but I have held a job pretty well so far for close to a year, and I have been eating perfectly for the past year and a half. Things are going great, and I don't feel any need to worry about my condition. Would my eating disorder pose any significant issues in the k1 visa process if it is no longer with me anymore? 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by HaydenCorneau

[WeekendPizzaiolo 47]

19 hours ago, HaydenCorneau said:

Hello, everyone. I'm looking up information on the k-1 visa process, as my girlfriend and I want to live together and marry in the United States. (I am Canadian). I like to prepare in advance, but I am concerned about something related to the medical examination that is part of it. 

I was struggling with an eating disorder for a few years prior to this. I have recovered, and I have been doing great for over a year now, but I am concerned that I would be deemed inadmissable. I spent time getting treatment in our psychiatric ward, as there was not any eating disorder ward that specifically treated us on our own. I had a few admissions. I had previous issues receiving and maintaining employment prior to this, but I have held a job pretty well so far for close to a year, and I have been eating perfectly for the past year and a half. Things are going great, and I don't feel any need to worry about my condition. Would my eating disorder pose any significant issues in the k1 visa process if it is no longer with me anymore? 

 

It takes courage to talk about one's past struggles. I am sorry that you had to deal with that. It sounds difficult. I am pleased to hear that you have been making progress for a year and a half. We all have tough times here and there in different forms.

 

I am not an expert on this subject, but the US is generally screening for vaccination completeness, untreated communicable diseases, mental conditions that could pose a harm to public safety (unfortunately, there are some violent people in the world) or mental conditions that could interfere with your ability to work or care for yourself or pose significant resources on public programs. See: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-b-chapter-2 for more information.

 

Regarding the medical, you have significant time to get your ducks in a row, sort-a-speak. The medical exam cannot be scheduled until the very end of the third stage of the process (1st stage: I-129F approval with USCIS, 2nd stage: NVC, 3rd stage: consular) when you receive your appointment e-mail with your date and time. The medical is only valid if it was conducted no earlier than 30 days before your interview day. You cannot do your exam early and the immigration doctors are run like factories where you are in and out very quickly in a fairly rigid process. You could try e-mail Dr. Lyndon Mascarenhas (https://www.visadoctor.ca/en) to ask what documentation you would need to supply to him so that you can get it ready beforehand, but he probably would not help you any further than telling you what you would need when you are eligible to schedule your exam 1.5 years from now. Until your application moves along, the only thing you can really do in advance is get your documentation ready from your GP or other doctors showing that you have been successfully treated, what the treatment was, that you're in remission, and for how long you've been in remission. You may want to update that documentation 1-1.5 year(s) from now when you receive the e-mail that your case has moved to the consular stage as the period of remission would be of even longer duration.

 

With a strong letter from GP or specialist, I think you have a good chance to overcome this. Try doing a google search "k-1 eating disorders site:visajourney.com" to see what others have posted about this topic. I am sure it has come up a bunch.

 

I am cheering for your continued health and well-being.  

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by DE CS
accidentally clicked submit

[sarrobo 18]

We went through similar, but this was over 5 years ago. It looks like this: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-b-chapter-7 should be used as your guidance, which is a little different from what we were given. At the time we were told to bring "written certification including the diagnosis, duration of treatment rendered, and prognosis." 

 

My husband had an in-patient stay for a mental health issue (non-violent but also not related to an eating disorder so, again, take this all with a grain of salt). We were CR1/IR1 (already married), and at the time of his medical exam in 2018, it had been over 5 years since the hospital stay. You're going to want to come prepared, because from our experience they will ask about it in-depth and they will require documentation. For us, we went to his GP, got his detailed medical records, his discharge papers from the hospital, and a certified/signed letter from his GP stating his diagnosis, how long he had been treated (including ongoing), and the doctor's prognosis of the condition. They looked at everything (so bring it all!), but the letter from the doctor was KEY and what they cared about most. This may sound harsh, but they don't care what you think about how you're doing, they want the medical professional's opinion. 

 

I wish you all the best of luck!!

Edited February 7, 2022 by sarrobo

[HaydenCorneau 12]

31 minutes ago, sarrobo said:

We went through similar, but this was over 5 years ago. It looks like this: https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-8-part-b-chapter-7 should be used as your guidance, which is a little different from what we were given. At the time we were told to bring "written certification including the diagnosis, duration of treatment rendered, and prognosis." 

 

My husband had an in-patient stay for a mental health issue (non-violent but also not related to an eating disorder so, again, take this all with a grain of salt). We were CR1/IR1 (already married), and at the time of his medical exam in 2018, it had been over 5 years since the hospital stay. You're going to want to come prepared, because from our experience they will ask about it in-depth and they will require documentation. For us, we went to his GP, got his detailed medical records, his discharge papers from the hospital, and a certified/signed letter from his GP stating his diagnosis, how long he had been treated (including ongoing), and the doctor's prognosis of the condition. They looked at everything (so bring it all!), but the letter from the doctor was KEY and what they cared about most. This may sound harsh, but they don't care what you think about how you're doing, they want the medical professional's opinion. 

 

I wish you all the best of luck!!

I regularly attend outpatient meetings, where they report my progress and document everything. They have a chart and everything for me. I regularly attend 1-1 meetings with a nurse practioner/therapist and a physician. They know me really well, and the last time I saw them, they were so insanely happy with how I had slowly gotten better and improved over the past year and a half. I will ask them to provide a note indicating my recovery.

Edited February 7, 2022 by HaydenCorneau

[sarrobo 18]

9 minutes ago, HaydenCorneau said:

I regularly attend outpatient meetings, where they report my progress and document everything. They have a chart and everything for me. I regularly attend 1-1 meetings with a nurse practioner/therapist and a physician. They know me really well, and the last time I saw them, they were so insanely happy with how I had slowly gotten better and improved over the past year and a half. I will ask them to provide a note indicating my recovery.

This sounds great, and kudos to you for doing so well!! Just get all the documentation you can, and get someone in charge to write you a letter when the time comes for your interview. I truly wish you all the best on your immigration and wellness journey 😀

[HaydenCorneau 12]

8 minutes ago, sarrobo said:

This sounds great, and kudos to you for doing so well!! Just get all the documentation you can, and get someone in charge to write you a letter when the time comes for your interview. I truly wish you all the best on your immigration and wellness journey 😀

I am worried, though, because I had a four voluntary admissions, and I spent time in a day treatment program to help deal with the illness. (Age 17 to 23). Would a signed doctor's note with my recovery with the medical history be enough? 

Edited February 7, 2022 by HaydenCorneau

[sarrobo 18]

17 hours ago, HaydenCorneau said:

I am worried, though, because I had a four voluntary admissions, and I spent time in a day treatment program to help deal with the illness. (Age 17 to 23). Would a signed doctor's note with my recovery with the medical history be enough? 

From my experience (again - 5 years ago, so it may be different now), the letter should be have information about your diagnosis, your treatment, and especially the prognosis. Based on the wording in the policy manual (linked above), it seems like now they are focusing on how your diagnosis would be associated with "harmful behavior" to yourself or others. So, I think as much as your doctor can demonstrate all of that in the letter will be your best shot. My best advice would be medical history, any discharge information from hospital stays, and then as detailed of a letter from your physician as you can get. 

[HaydenCorneau 12]

2 minutes ago, sarrobo said:

From my experience (again - 5 years ago, so it may be different now), the letter should be have information about your diagnosis, your treatment, and especially the prognosis. Based on the wording in the policy manual (linked above), it seems like now they are focusing on how your diagnosis would be associated with "harmful behavior" to yourself or others. So, I think as much as your doctor can demonstrate all of that in the letter will be your best shot. My best advice would be medical history, any discharge information from hospital stays, and then as detailed of a letter from your physician as you can get. 

I also don't plan to have this all done right this moment either. The earliest she'd be submitting the initial i-129 would be September. From my understanding, there's also a bit of a wait between that time frame and the medical exam as well.

[HaydenCorneau 12]

2 hours ago, sarrobo said:

From my experience (again - 5 years ago, so it may be different now), the letter should be have information about your diagnosis, your treatment, and especially the prognosis. Based on the wording in the policy manual (linked above), it seems like now they are focusing on how your diagnosis would be associated with "harmful behavior" to yourself or others. So, I think as much as your doctor can demonstrate all of that in the letter will be your best shot. My best advice would be medical history, any discharge information from hospital stays, and then as detailed of a letter from your physician as you can get. 

Adding onto my previous statement. They have a team of dietitians, physicians, nurses, etc. They all work together and have known about my journey getting better. They've been regularly updating everyone, and have been really happy. Back in october or november, I recall my physician at the program stating that I finally "Got my sh*t together". Literal quote. lmao.

I attend regular outpatient meetings, but I kinda lost track of time and haven't been there since november. So far I've been good. With regards to eating, I was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and if you saw how much I was eating in the past few months, you'd know I'm fine lol. My issue was never even a cycle, either. I would describe it as a rough patch or slow start, where I was a bit unsure about what I wanted to do. Now, of course, I have a goal in mind, and I want to follow that through.

I am currently 24 at the moment. 

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by HaydenCorneau

[HaydenCorneau 12]

On 2/7/2022 at 3:03 PM, sarrobo said:

This sounds great, and kudos to you for doing so well!! Just get all the documentation you can, and get someone in charge to write you a letter when the time comes for your interview. I truly wish you all the best on your immigration and wellness journey 😀

Following up on this, I have plans to request multiple notes from different staff members who work with me.