Visa medical/document review experience

[koriyal 1]

I had my medical in London today for my K-1 and a few things were different for me than other's experiences on here. I found it very helpful reading about other people's experiences and I was super nervous, so wanted to do a quick write up for anyone else who might be feeling the nerves too!

My appointment was at 8.50am and I got there for when they opened the doors at 8.45am. I pressed the buzzer (used to be flat 4 but now is named visa medicals) and they opened the door for me. You go in the building and the door is on your right on the ground floor. I walked in and heard a voice calling me to a window on the right where a lovely lady asked for my name and crossed it off her list. She took all of my documents to copy (passport, police certificate, 4x UK passport pictures, medical questionnaire plus additional evidence from my GP and my welcome letter from the embassy) and gave me another questionnaire on a clipboard to start filling in. She came back a few minutes later with all of my original documents except my passport and told me to take a seat in the waiting room and finish the questionnaire there, making sure to hand it to the nurse when I saw them. It was pretty similar to the one you have to complete prior to the appointment with the link they give you but it was a few different yes/no questions. The font was tiny though so if be prepared to squint if you have bad eyesight!

 

I went and took a seat and at this point there were only two other people waiting. I took the time to fill out the questionnaire and then waited until I was called for my first check which for me was with the doctor. He was very nice and friendly and immediately put me at ease. As I am a woman the first thing he did was offer a member of staff to be a chaperone if I wanted (I declined), which I thought was nice.

When I was a teenager, like many, I struggled with depression and had about a year where I would cope with SH. Now it's been a loooong time (over 20 years) since I had any issues with SH but I still have the scars and I was very worried about this potentially causing problems. I had seen from other experiences here that it can help to get a letter from your GP beforehand so I had done just that. It basically detailed when I was last treated for depression, what medication I was prescribed and that I hadn't had any problems since then. I also made sure to get her to write that magic phrase everyone suggests- that I am not considered harmful to myself or others. He was very happy with this and said that due to the length of time it had been, the info from the GP and how I seemed to him in person, he said it was absolutely no problem and wouldn't cause any problems as far as the visa is concerned. When I tell you it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders I'm not kidding! He did also say that they're only really interested in any medical problems like that if they took place in the last 12 months anyway but said it was good to have all the additional evidence I brought in.

After that he went through all the other checks he needed to do. First up was an eye test, which was your standard stand and cover one eye and then read the lowest row of letters you can from the chart on the other side of the room, repeating for the second eye but reading them backwards. He then had me sit on the bed and he asked a few questions about any past medical history, then listened to my chest and back with the stethoscope. The weather was beautiful today so I had worn a knee length summer dress and because of that, he said I didn't need to remove my clothes/put the gown on because he could already see my legs and arms! I had been dreading the gown part so also breathed a sigh of relief when he told me that.

He then had me lie on the bed and he checked if I was ok with needles and took some blood. Next up was various other checks like pressing on my stomach and checking for pain, checking my feet, taking my pulse and then had me sit up and took my blood pressure. He checked my ears and took my temperature but didn't ckeck my throat or nose. I had also been expecting him to check my height and weight from other accounts here but he didn't. The whole time I was with him and while he was doing his checks, we were having a casual conversation about me and my fiancé, where I'm planning on moving to, what I do for work etc. He was so lovely and friendly and the whole check was by far nowhere near as bad as I was imagining it was going to be in my mind! It felt like I was having a catchup with a friend.

I was then sent back to the waiting room and about 5 minutes later was called by another lady to have my chest x-ray done. We go into another room and she tells me to put my things on a chair and handed me a gown. She told me to go behind the curtain and remove my top half of clothing including my bra and to put my hair up in a bun- I had it in a ponytail but that wasn't enough. They have a claw clip for you to use though so that worked out perfectly!

I then came out and she took me to the x-ray machine. I had to press my chest up to the plate and put my chin on the top, hands on my hips and push my arms as far forward as possible. She told me to take a deep breath in and that was it! All done. I got dressed and went back to the waiting room, which by this point was full of a lot of anxious looking people.

 

5 minutes went by and I got called by another nurse- vaccination time! She went through my history and noted I needed my Hep B jab. I was already aware of this and had spoken to my GP about it before my medical, but they would only offer a 3-dose course which would cost me £150. For the visa/AOS purposes you only need the one dose and Visa Medicals only charge £40 for it so I had already decided I would get it done on the day. She also said I needed a tetanus booster. Apparently, the UK only requires the initial 5 doses which I've had, but the USA requires a booster every 10 years. So, keep that in mind! She gave me the choice of getting them both done then and there, or leaving it till I got to the states as they're not needed for K visas prior to the AOS. I had read stories about some people having to pay for all new medical exams in the states if you're missing vaccinations and she confirmed that it's possible, so I decided to have the tetanus done there too. She gave me the jabs and handed me a vaccination record to keep for my AOS once I get to the states. I was in the room for about 5ish minutes total and then got sent back to the waiting room.

 

Maybe 10 minutes passed and I got called back to the initial window at reception to pay. It was £395 plus the additional £80 for the vaccinations. She handed me back my passport and gave me a pink piece of paper which was a checklist of documents I needed to take to the embassy and gave me instructions on how to get there. I will say I also didn't have to give a urine sample. I hadn't even thought about it at the time and it wasn't until I got home and thought about it that I realised. No one else while I was there had to do this either from what I saw so they may be changing this so it's not required. Either that or I'll get a call in a few days telling me I need to come back in, but if I do, I'll try and remember to update this account!

 

At this point it was about 10.30am and the window to hand in your stuff at the embassy is 11.30am to 1pm. I decided to grab an uber and got to the embassy for about 11am, sitting outside for a bit before heading to the window for 11.30. There was only one person in front of me and I got in very quick. Went through security which as others have described, is just like airport security only you don't take your shoes off! I didn't have to open my phone or drink any of my water, just put everything in the tray to be scanned. I then walked through to the main embassy building and a lady gave me a sticker with a number on my passport and instructions on where to go (1st floor, turn left and left again and then take a seat).

I got up there and there was only one other person there who I had also seen at the Doctors. Sat and waited for about 30 minutes with more people trickling in from the doctor office before they started seeing us. They called me to the first window where I gave the man my passport picture and pink piece of paper from the doctors. He took my fingerprints on both hands, scanned my passport and told me to take a seat again.

Maybe 5 minutes passed and I was called to another window with a lovely American man. He went through the checklist and took all the evidence they will need for my interview. He ticked off my passport as they had scanned it and stapled my photo to the pink checklist. He then took my birth certificate, police certificate, I-134 affidavit of financial support form and the additional evidence for it (only took W2's although I also had 1040's, a letter from my fiancés employer and one from his bank, plus proof of his retirement account with me- I came prepared!) and that was everything. He put it all in a clear plastic wallet and sealed it with a sticker that says "US embassy checked, please do not tamper" and said that was what I needed to bring to my interview in a couple of weeks. He even said I don't need to take my DS-160 as it's all electronic, though I will be taking it to my interview regardless, just in case I need it to get into the embassy. In fact, I’ll probably just take all my documents again just in case because I'm a worrier and I'd rather have too much than not enough!

Overall, the whole experience was very painless. Well minus the tetanus jab which has made my arm ache, haha. But if you are like me and are overthinking and worrying about the medical, please don't! I promise you the staff are all so lovely there and it will not be as bad as your mind thinks it will.

Edited Thursday at 12:54 AM by koriyal

[Halcy 0]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! As someone who’s been battling latrophobia, I’ve spent countless hours researching medical exams to prepare myself (even though I only received my NOA 1 less than a month ago—haha). Reading about your journey has been incredibly reassuring. I actually created this account just to say thank you! 😊

[Halcy 0]

Sorry...I have no idea why the reply was sent repeatedly :( Anyway, good luck with the process and I hope you can meet your loved one very soon and have an amazing life in America!

Edited Friday at 01:12 PM by Halcy

[koriyal 1]

4 hours ago, Halcy said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! As someone who’s been battling latrophobia, I’ve spent countless hours researching medical exams to prepare myself (even though I only received my NOA 1 less than a month ago—haha). Reading about your journey has been incredibly reassuring. I actually created this account just to say thank you! 😊

Of course! If what I wrote helps calm even one person's nerves then I'm happy.  I can't imagine how hard it is to have that phobia but I suppose my only advice would be to remind yourself that the worst part is getting through the door. And I'm sure once you get to that point in the visa process you could call them in advance to let them know and they'll be very accommodating for you! They genuinely were all such lovely people. You're going to do amazing!

 

Remember, it's just one small step to take to be with your partner forever. You got this 😊

 

And thank you for the kind words!

[JJM97x 0]

Hey! 
 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I’m glad it went well! Good luck with your interview too!!
I’m in a similar situation. I SH when I was around the age of 12/13 due to bullying, I have scars and they are very faint (also led to me being diagnosed with autism). It’s been 17 years now and I haven’t SH since then but I’m still so nervous about my medical examination! 
 

Also - on the medical questionnaire we fill out before the medical, did you tick yes to “have you ever caused deliberate injury to yourself or others?” due to SH at a young age?

 

sorry for the questions!🫣😂

[koriyal 1]

5 minutes ago, JJM97x said:

Hey! 
 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I’m glad it went well! Good luck with your interview too!!
I’m in a similar situation. I SH when I was around the age of 12/13 due to bullying, I have scars and they are very faint (also led to me being diagnosed with autism). It’s been 17 years now and I haven’t SH since then but I’m still so nervous about my medical examination! 
 

Also - on the medical questionnaire we fill out before the medical, did you tick yes to “have you ever caused deliberate injury to yourself or others?” due to SH at a young age?

 

sorry for the questions!🫣😂

Try not to be nervous, you will be absolutely fine as it sounds like you're in an almost identical situation to me. ! I would definitely suggest getting a letter from your GP though if you are worried and I would make sure they include that you are not considered to be a danger to yourself or others. I did have to pay £30 for it, but it was 100% worth it in my opinion for that peace of mind.

 

And yes, I did tick yes to that question on the questionnaire. They do check for evidence of SH in the exam so if you have scars, even faint ones, there is a high chance they would see them and it would probably go against you if they can see you lied on the form. Honesty is always the best thing to do when it comes to this stuff imo. It's not worth the risk when you've spent so much time and money on the process to get this far!

 

Trust me, you will have no problems at all 😊

[JJM97x 0]

5 minutes ago, koriyal said:

Try not to be nervous, you will be absolutely fine as it sounds like you're in an almost identical situation to me. ! I would definitely suggest getting a letter from your GP though if you are worried and I would make sure they include that you are not considered to be a danger to yourself or others. I did have to pay £30 for it, but it was 100% worth it in my opinion for that peace of mind.

 

And yes, I did tick yes to that question on the questionnaire. They do check for evidence of SH in the exam so if you have scars, even faint ones, there is a high chance they would see them and it would probably go against you if they can see you lied on the form. Honesty is always the best thing to do when it comes to this stuff imo. It's not worth the risk when you've spent so much time and money on the process to get this far!

 

Trust me, you will have no problems at all 😊

Thank you so much for the reply! I’m going to give my doctors a call this week and see if he will do it for me. I’m hoping he does, they’ve been great with everything else so far😅 

 

That’s very true! I’ve ticked yes but I wanted to double check, I don’t want to fill out the form wrong or like you said come across as lying to them. Thank you again for the reply, it’s put my mind at ease!☺️

[appleblossom 3,824]

On 5/3/2025 at 2:57 PM, JJM97x said:

Thank you so much for the reply! I’m going to give my doctors a call this week and see if he will do it for me. I’m hoping he does, they’ve been great with everything else so far😅 

 

That’s very true! I’ve ticked yes but I wanted to double check, I don’t want to fill out the form wrong or like you said come across as lying to them. Thank you again for the reply, it’s put my mind at ease!☺️

 

As above, be 100% truthful. My daughter had very recent SH scars (from the previous year) and was also on Sertaline at the time of the medical. Neither were an issue at all, but we did have a letter from her GP with the all important wording about her ‘not posing a danger to herself or others’ as @koriyal has said above. 

 

Good luck. 

[Tesco 93]

Very likely a class B medical result, as the SH was so long ago. As suggested, be 100% upfront, as the Dr will actually examine you for tell tell signs of SH. He/she will question you in depth, so have the documentation from your GP/Consultant with you. You’ll be fine though -)

[Boiler 46,849]

I have seen no end of cases going through London where there has been self harm and do not remember anyone not getting the visa.