Tess4

its funny how there is always an "Ian" on every forum....sad but true. No need to get offensive. I'm not sure why it bothers you so much that some of these vaccinations are an issue for me Ian, but it obviously is and I'm sorry you feel that way.

Sue

Let's just get back on track shall we.

Thanks all.

MsElui

when i had my green card medical - the doctor took each adult one at a time (nurse was a chaperone for mine) and then the kids one at time with a parent.

We had to undress beforehand into a gown. he did the listen to lungs, look in eyes and ears and mouth, took bp etc. The 'genitals' part was literally him lifting the gown up for about 5 seconds and looking. that was it.

re the vacx - i believe you only need to worry about age appropriate one - for example - they didn't want to even read my vaccs history from the 70s - they only wanted to see evidence of tetanus, mmr and dtap. I think i also had to have the TB test on my arm and come back a day later to see if it reacted before they gave me the envelope. id recently had tetnus so they gave me the DTAP on the spot and did not do the mmr as i was 7 months pregnant at the time and they dint give live vacs to pregos. I had to submit the sealed medical and whilst the husband ands kids were approved without issue- mine came back with an RFE and i had to prove i had the mmr done after giving birth - so i just went back to the same civil surgeon and he did that for me.

Tess4

thanks MsElui....my medical is tomorrow, so I'll post after that.

Owen778

So, I had my medical about a month ago in Houston.

I only had to have MMR and Tdap (includes Tetanus), both of which I had at my local doctor's office before the medical. I had my UK vaccination record, but had to have them done again, as it was more than 10 years since my last tetanus booster, and the UK didn't used to vaccinate males for rubella.

However, it's not necessarily that simple. You also need either a history of varicella (chicken pox and/or shingles), or varicella vaccination. Also, in flu season, you need a flu vaccination. If your problem with vaccinations is that you don't like needles, then you can take the flu vaccine orally, but your problem seems to be that you're scared of catching the disease, not that you're scared of needles.

If you are young or old, they may require other vaccinations. If you are 26 or under and female, the schedule requires vaccination for human papillomavirus, though the USCIS website seems to suggest this is not required. I'm not sure which is correct. Look at the schedule here: CDC - Vaccines - Adult Immunization Schedule, by Vaccine and Age Group

This is what happened to me, and I assume is as directed by the civil surgeon instructions:
- Nurse or assistant checks you have had vaccinations. I had, so on to next step.
- Nurse checks height, weight, blood pressure, pulse
- Nurse takes blood. This is tested for syphilis, and I think HIV and something else.
- Skin test applied for tuberculosis. This is quick but sharp prick. You have to return after a couple of days for this to be inspected. BCG vaccinations, as given in the UK can occasionally give false positives for this. If you have a positive reaction, you then need to take an x-ray for TB before you can pass the medical.
- Change into gown and down to underwear. Wait for doctor.
- Doctor inspection. Listens to breathing, inspects body, including quick look at genitals for STDs and maybe gender, I don't know.
- Doctor tells you to come back in a couple of days, or when blood test results are back.

Now, you may get to the first item and they tell you that they either give you the vaccinations required there, or they send you away. I don't know. Certainly, you will need to get a waiver if you refuse to have the necessary vaccinations.

I've never seen anyone refusing to take the injections and asking for a waiver, so I don't know how strict USCIS are about this.

Here are the requirements for a vaccination waiver:
Vaccination Requirements | USCIS

I am about to write something that may upset you, but I am not trying to start an argument. This is to make sure you understand the risk you are taking by not taking the vaccines and applying to adjust status. My personal take on your statements is that the effects of not having the vaccinations are much worse than the effects of having them, and further that your statements are based on medical ignorance, not on religious or moral grounds. It is not important to you that I personally think this. What is important is that if USCIS think the same way, then your waiver will be denied.

Tess4

Owen778, thanks for your input and the details of what happened at your medical. I certainly wasnt upset at your last comment; I appreciate that my personal concerns are not necessarily going to be those of others. I completely understand the risk i may be taking if i choose not to take the vaccinations. I've kept the statements i have very basic as it would be off topic to go into any details, but would like to point out that they arent based on medical ignorance. They are also not based on religion. I fully agree that what is important is that USCIS can and most likely will deny my application by potentially refusing to take the vaccines. There was someone on the forum who applied for a waiver and this was accepted, I cant remember what the grounds were though. I'll be there tomorrow and take it from there, I'll make my decisions wisely, thats all i can do at this point. I know already that a waiver is pretty much out of the question.

Sally Redux

Medical matters are a big money spinner in the US.

It's nothing to do with public health, as you can be living here for years on a visa spreading your germs around.

I sucked it up to get the green card. There is a slim chance you can get around the requirements, if not you'll have to weigh up your options from there.

Hope it goes well for you.

Owen778

Just something else to be aware of: if you choose to have the vaccinations after all, you are probably better off getting them somewhere else, beforehand.

If you have health insurance, the civil surgeon might not covered by it, and you will foot the bill for those vaccinations. Since many civil surgeons are doing immigration medicals as a money spinner, this could be a rip-off. If you don't have health insurance, it is still quite likely cheaper to get them elsewhere.

MsElui

they didnt force me to take the mmr as i was preggo - so it was sent in without that and i got an RFE later instead (when everyone else in the family was simply approved). So if you decline tomorrow - they may send on the form as is now and you may get an RFE at a later date and have to make your choice then (ie reply to the RFE with evidence of having them or reason why not etc and see what happens). so all i am trying to say is - the 'crunch point' may still be several months down the line and it may be based on a response to an RFE - so you may not have a chance to explain your position to a human.

Owen778

How did it go?

Pete H

I had a TB test which showed positive because I have been inoculated against it. I had to go and have my chest x-rayed which cost me another $500 to prove that I did not have TB.

augigi

You got ripped off - a CXR is usually about $40-50 cost to the patient. I had the quantiferon gold blood test which definitively rules out TB infection and thought that was expensive at $150.

Pete H

I thought I was being ripped off, wish I'd known about the quantiferon gold blood test.

london2usa

Can you please tell what are the - Injection need to take for the age group of 30-35. So that can take in advance from GP. Instead of waiting for the Medical and having all together on same day with larger amount.

Jerni

See Vaccination Requirements | USCIS

Also see http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeeh...ions.html#tbl1

For a 30-35 yr old - you need proof you are current/have had Td/Tdap (Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis - need to have had in the last 10 years), MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella), Varicella (Chickenpox), Influenza (if it's flu season).