jporron

Contrary to the popular belief of some, the US cannot feed, house, and provide medical care for anyone who crosses the border.....nor should we be required to.
---Lucky Cat out

But what quality of life would there be? In 2017 over 22 million people applied for the diversity visa lottery. Imagine if all 22 million had arrived here with your “open border” policy. Where would they live? Where would they work? Already we have more than enough unemployed and homeless people here. We don’t need to add to those statistics. How large would school class sizes need to be? Could the infrastructure cope with those numbers? Hospitals? Roads? Food production? 
 
It would also open the door for terrorists to come in. Public health would be a concern if people were arriving having not been vaccinated or tested for things like TB. This country would end up poorer than the places they all left to come here for a “better life”. 
 
All other countries have policies in place to control immigration. Why should the US be any different? 

Thanks everyone! very true, this is a hard situation for everyone involved and safety comes first. I appreciate all the feedback. Sometimes we only focus on individual things and how something is affecting us personally and not the bigger picture. It's good to refocus. Stay safe everyone. 

There is a definitive answer and that his a medical is valid for a maximum 6 months and must be valid prior to a visa being issued. In some cases, the exam is valid for less than 6 months which is determined by the local civil surgeon who conducted the exam and the embassy. 
 
Now having gotten that out of the way I can only opine that when the embassies begin to reopen then you will have more information about what will happen. I am sure the embassies are formulating their reopen strategy and until it is complete and ready for publication you will not receive the answer that you are searching for. Calling a closed embassy will in most cases get you their storybook answer. Patience and you will soon know what is and isn't required or what is or isn't going to take place once they reopen. Good luck and stay engaged. 

The problem is there are many hands in this pot....
 
For your visa you are required to get a medical exam... we all agree that is the case...  These medicals are outsourced to a 3rd party by certain selected Medical examiners.  They are all (as far as I am aware at least in Australia) Private Clinics...not Government or Bulk Bill Clinics...So they are a business.
 
You are not at fault that the global pandemic and shutdown has occurred.
The Consulate is not at fault that the global pandemic and shutdown has occurred.
The Medical Examiner is not at fault that the global pandemic and shutdown has occurred.
Everyone has stopped (or not) and are making their own decisions on what is the safe course of action for their employees.  At the moment the US Government is trying to protect their workers the best they can.
 
Ultimately you are paying for the medical examiner's time again.  That's not their fault.  While I agree that maybe there could be some leniency in the time that the medical exam is valid for due to the situation that we are all in, that's not likely to happen.  The rules are in place... and we don't make the rule.... what is it that @Greenbaum says??  He who has the gold makes the rules.... or at least words to that effect.  It's absolutely frustrating I know... because it's a lot of money.... but ultimately you and I have a choice... do we follow through, or do we abandon our applications over a second medical?  What I would suggest is wait till you are able to get a confirmed answer out of YOUR Consulate/Embassy.... Don't try and get that answer out of them while they are closed.  Once they are open and then either they contact you, or you contact them to reschedule your appointment.. ask the question... 'Hey do we have to redo the medical exam, because it expired while the Embassy was shut?' or something like that.
 
I wish you all the best.... I really do...

For a visa to be re-issued there needs be a current medical exam.  The good news is that you won't need any vaccinations unless it is flu season.

The man who has the gold makes the rules. 

Beneficiary fills out the DS-5540 but I recommend the two of you work together to complete the information asked for. If it asked for an item, and you are the beneficiary, and you do not have the item in question then enter N/A or leave blank to explain at the interview. DO NOT assume that it doesn't include the beneficiary as this document is about the beneficiary not the petitioner. Good luck.

Thanks great info! I think some people may be told different information in regards to having the NVC number in order to schedule an interview. The first few times we called trying to schedule that is the same answer they gave me. That I had to have an NVC number and today I called and was not even asked for it. I tried scheduling online and the dates would not show up for me ever, which is why I went the phone route. Wish I knew the NVC number really was not needed maybe I could have pressed to get an appointment instead of waiting. 

Yes I agree with doing the research as well, this site has helped me tremendously! Once I called I was able to schedule, the lady gave me available dates and sent us a confirmation email. Although I would suggest if anyone gets told they need an NVC number to not just accept that answer since appointments fill up fast. I would clarify that your doing a K1 visa or ask to speak to someone else. I am not sure if maybe there was confusion or why I was told no the first few times. Although I stated I was scheduling a K1 visa Interview. If the website works, I would go that route. Every time I logged on I always got the there are no available appointments. Which is why I chose to call.

This is asked about time and time again. The instructions state to mail the I-129F petition to the Dallas Lockbox facility, but people are still often confused about where to mail it, where it goes, and where it gets processed.
The Dallas Lockbox is an intake facility. It is not a USCIS service center. They do not process and adjudicate the petitions there.
The address for regular mail is a Dallas address and the address for courier mail is a Lewisville address. They are still both being sent to the Dallas Lockbox. The difference in addresses is just because the Dallas PO Box address cannot accept courier mail.
This is exactly what happens when your petition is received at the Dallas Lockbox > http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/directorates-and-program-offices/lockbox-intake/lockbox-intake-processing-questions-and-answers
The Lockbox Service provider performs the following activities when processing incoming applications:
Receive, open, sort and stage mail. Prepare and scan documents. Enter document data in system from scanned images. Accept or reject applications and related fees based on business rules. Balance applications and fees. Deposit payments to the U.S. Treasury Send receipt notices for accepted applications to the applicant and designated representative. Return rejected applications to the applicant or designated representative. Transmit application data to USCIS and payment data to U.S. Department of Treasury. Send application files to the appropriate USCIS service center or field office for further processing. Once your petition is received and dealt with by the Lockbox facility, it will be sent to one of the USCIS service centers to be adjudicated. This is not a transfer of your case. Transfers only happen between one service center and another. If your petition was to be transferred, then you would receive a transfer notice stating such. Don't enter a transfer into your VJ timeline unless you actually receive a transfer notice, which is something entirely separate/different from your NOA1 receipt notice of filing.
Your receipt notice (NOA1) will contain your receipt number and the service center location that your petition was sent to. Currently there are only two service centers processing the I-129F petitions. They are California (CSC) and Texas (TSC). If your receipt number begins with WAC, then your petition is at the CSC. If your receipt number begins with SRC then your petition is at the TSC.
Typically the petitions are sent to one of the two service centers based on where the USC petitioner resides. I have seen some report that is not always 100% the case, but for the most part this is correct.
California Service Center: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Texas Service Center: Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.