Moxie

MODERATOR NOTE: these posts were selected from a long-running thread that was no longer current. The remaining posts are still true until one of you says they are not.


I just wanted to make a few comments on the medical and AOS in the US. You don't need any immunizations to get a visa. The Knightsbridge doctor will simply document what you have on a DS3025 form and give you a copy of it. Your visa won't be denied because of immunizations. It's the AOS that requires everything to be completed (or HPV started.)

My opinion is there is an advantage of completing all shots (or starting the series) by the time you go to Knightsbridge for your visa medical exam. My husband (K1) did that so his DS3025 was totally complete for the AOS requirements. He did not send in an I-693 medical form with AOS. Many people say you have to get a Civil Surgeon to transcribe your DS3025 record to an I-693, even if they are only copying a completed record. Many charge a lot of money or refuse to do it unless you pay $$$ and do the whole medical over again. Many Civil Surgeons are an expensive lot to deal with and they can charge what they want. It's a big hassle people seem to face in the US doing their AOS...finding a CS who understands the rules and doesn't rob you blind. My husband only submitted a photocopy of his DS3025 and he received his green card in April without any RFE and without having an interview. I know a dozen or so others who filed recently who did the same thing and got their green card, so it wasn't just one case that slipped through. It's a savings of time and money to not chase down another form.

If you have to get more shots in the US, then you do have to submit an I-693 with the immunization part filled out. Your Knightsbridge medical is good for 1 year.

meauxna

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-693instr.pdf

NOTE: If you are applying for adjustment of status at least one year after your first admission to the United States as a refugee or as a "K" or "V" nonimmigrant visa holder, see Questions 1-3 in Section III, Frequently Asked Questions, before proceeding any further.

2. What if I am a K nonimmigrant visa holder and already had a medical exam overseas?

If you were admitted as a:
A. K-1 fiancé(e) or a K-2 child of a K-1 fiancé(e), or as a
B. K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen or a K-4 child of a K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen, and
C. You received a medical examination prior to admission, then-

a. You are not required to have another medical examination as long as your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is filed within one year of your overseas medical examination.

b. You will, however, be required to complete Part 1, Information about you, and submit the vaccination section of Part 2 with your adjustment of status application. A designated civil surgeon must complete the vaccination section and Part 5, the Civil Surgeon's Certification.

penguinbar

I would submit the I 693. Why take the risk of getting an RFE? Also 13 people is a very small amount compared to the thousands of people who apply for K1 visas. A TB test is now also required and not just the xray that is given by Knightsbridge doctors. You and your friends might have gotten lucky but in my opinion it is bad advice to tell people that they don't need to submit the form.

meauxna

I've made another stab at reading around about this (if there was ever an item for the Ombudsman this has got to be it) and all I can tell you is what I've been reading from other K-1 AOSers.

For I-485 after a K-1 visa + overseas medical (required for the visa):
Some people send in a completed I-693, having paid a US Civil Surgeon to complete the required sections (vaccines).

Some people have used Dr Arnold's 'cheepo transcription service' for I-693.

Some people send in only the DS-3025 vaccine sheet from the overseas medical.

Some people have filed I-485 with none of the above.

There have been RFEs on all of the above, and all of the above have been approved without issue.
There appears to be NO guarantee of what will happen.

However, the instructions on uscis.gov say:
Application Procedures: Becoming a Permanent Resident While in the United States
If you would like to become a lawful permanent resident in the United States, you must file the following items with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services:
Form I-693 Medical Examination Sheet (not required if you are applying based on continuous residence since before 1972, or if you have had a medical exam based on a fiancé visa)

Varicella is usually waived for UKCs because the vaccine is unavailable there for children. I think it is contraindicated for adults. (if you have had chicken pox the vaccine would not do you any good, so it's waived).
Vaccines that come in a series must only be started for an AOS application; AOS may be approved if the series is not completed.

I'm sorry there is no clear answer to this. I've read through dozens of people's experience posts to try to get clarity on this and have arrived only at confusion. I've limited my results to just 2009.

It's a choice you'll each have to make, being prepared to deal with whatever strange fallout may occur. NONE of it is going to get you deported; you may simply have to accept an RFE on the matter depending on what happens with your own case.
IMO, a K-1 has had her medical for the visa and should be 'done'. USCIS hasn't called me lately to ask my opinion however.

seanandvicki

I strongly recommend anyone having a medical in London that came or is coming over on a K1 as i did get copies of the medical report as for mine seemed to of gone missing, trying to locate it or get copies after the fact is impossible. I had to retake the same medical in the US and pay another $225.

We are new to posting on this site but we having been coming here and you all have been helping us thru this K1 visa process for over a year now. you all have been great help!!

Moxie

It happens pretty often from other countries too, not just the UK. I read posts about it probably weekly so that's enough to know it's a continuing problem. The whole K1/K3 file along with the medical results (in the brown envelope) is turned in at POE by the intending immigrant. It goes to a central storage place from the various airports and border crossing. When you submit the AOS application, that brown envelope file is supposed to meet up with the AOS file. People have done so many things to try to retrieve that file but it rarely works. Is it behind somebody's desk at the airport? Did USCIS really order the A-file (I think they call it that)? Did they type in your name wrong, so it came up as "not found"? Who know? It's not your fault, but it's your problem to go take the entire medical over because they can not approve AOS without seeing the medical results that are in that file. They send you an RFE with maybe 30 days to take care of it. The easiest way to get on with your life is just pay the money and not fight the government. One person who had a very helpful congressman actually got the congressman to insist that the USCIS retrieve that file and it happened. But finding a congressional aide who will be that diligent and timely before your RFE runs out would be rare. That's why people just suck it up do pay the money to get their green card processed without holding up the case.

On another note about the immunizations, the I-693, civil surgeons, etc.--
I posted earlier that we sent only the DS-3025 sheet from Knightsbridge because it showed all of the shots needed for AOS with none required to be given in the US. We were testing out the system after the rule/immunization/form changes of the summer 2008. It worked, no RFE. I have studied this constantly reading hundreds of posts and keeping track of others who did the same and got green cards without a civil surgeon or the I-693 immunization section. I quit keeping the list and dates after it reached 30 people. I read every post about a medical RFE and those all turned out to be lost medicals. Some RFEs of people who did the DS3025 would even state, "we have your immunization record, but do not have your medical exam results." So that indicates USCIS was okay with the DS3025 they received from the applicant, but the brown envelope containing the medical results had been lost by the USCIS.

OK, (sorry so long winded) if you have noticed the USCIS website has been revamped. There is some new wording regarding medicals for K visa holders.

Medical Examination

If you received a medical examination prior to admission as a K nonimmigrant, then you are not required to have another medical examination at time of adjustment as long as:

Your Form I-485 is filed within 1 year of your overseas medical examination
The medical examination did not reveal a Class A medical condition
If you did have a Class A medical condition, you received a waiver of inadmissibility and you have complied with the terms and conditions of the waiver
Even if a new medical examination is not required, you still must show proof that you have complied with the vaccination requirements. If the vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed and included as part of the original, overseas medical examination report, you will have to have the vaccination report completed by a designated civil surgeon. In this case, you are required to submit Part 1, Information About You, Part 2, the vaccination chart, and Part 5, the Civil Surgeon's Certification, of Form I-693 (in an envelop sealed by the civil surgeon). Please see the instructions for Form I-693 for further information.

That's not spelling it out plainly but seems to indicate a completed DS-3025 is acceptable. By completed I think they need to elaborate that all the required shots should be completed. It's the closest they've come thus far.

Moxie

Yes, the original signed DS3025 is in the brown envelope. You get a copy for your personal records or in case you need to get more shots in the US. The civil surgeon can transcribe (copy) the records from the DS3025 and add on any more you got in the US to produce one document containing all the info.

Concerning the I-693, what I was explaining earlier....every shot needed for AOS was already done and dusted on the DS3025. We didn't want to pay a Civil Surgeon money to copy a list already filled out by US govt approved doctor (Panel Physician-Knightsbridge) with nothing new to add. So we sent the DS 3025 instead and got no RFE, no interview, and a green card. If you have shots to get in the US, then yes you need the Civil Surgeon to put everything on one form I-693.

meauxna

If you have a question about this topic, please start your own thread in the forum and reference/link to this thread.

S Folinsky

It is often mentioned in this forum that for AOS from a K-1 admission, the applicant needs only to have the US Civil Surgeon submit the portion of the I-693 for the adjustment. As often noted, this is often problematical because not all of the docs [and their staff] nor all USCIS personnel know of this little quirk in the law. However, do note that a clear full medical submitted with the AOS never expires. This is not true with the overseas medical which was conducted in conjunction with the visa issuance. Unless money is very tight, it might not be a bad idea to submit the full medical in the first instance.