Marocco

The US Embassy website says

"Immigrant Visa applicants, regardless of age, require a medical examination and certain vaccinations prior to the issuance of an immigrant visa."

and

"The medical examination consists of a chest X-ray and blood test"

It's not completely harmless: it can result in a lifetime bar from immigrating to the US, and other countries.

Rete

The Wine

I'm not looking down on you and don't think anyone in this thread is either. We are stunned by your stupidity. And you must admit it was stupid. Who in their right mind smokes a few joints because they are under stress or just for the fun of it when they know they are going to a medical for an immigration visa and knows that drug useage is a cause for denial for said visa?

Smoking pot has been a debate for decades and whether it is just a bit of harmless fun (which actually it isn't if smoked before driving or during driving for instance) is not the issue.

The issue is that you did the deed and your bit of fun might well come back to bite you in the arse.

If the question is asked, it is up to you how you choose to answer it. AFAIK, yes they test for drugs and reports are that marijuana stays in your system for quite a while.

Sally Redux

I am always amazed how people on this part of the forum continue to give good and helpful advice to irritating, ungrateful people.

XYZ123

If they are only going to do urine and blood tests, you have nothing to worry about. Just abstain for a week before the testing and the tests will come up clear.

The problem comes only if they test the hair follicles. It can be detected in the hair follicles upto two years after the last usage. So long as they don't test your hair you have nothing to worry about.

It may not be wise to volunteer any information which is not specifically requested.

Noorah101

We are giving you the worst case scenario so you'll be prepared either way.

Rene

PepsiChic

I dont know what kind of visa you are trying to obtain, but when you either get told you can book your medical or you get a letter stating the date and time of your medical you must go.

They WILL do a blood test. As far as im aware this is compulsory for anyone obtaining a non-immigrant or immigrant visa. I do know the blood test is used to check for multiple things, HIV, drugs, alcohol level amongst others. (I know because I was curious enough to ask)

If you tell them you have not used drugs and they find traces in your blood you pretty much have sealed yourself a fate of never returning to the USA.

The best advice i can give you is the same everyone else has already said. STOP taking any kind of drug, limit any alcohol usage and be 110% honest when anwsering any questions.

As pointed out, you have done a pretty stupid thing, that has put your future in the USA in jepoardy. Take time to reflect on your mistake and make sure it doesnt happen again.

Good Luck!

fatbrit

I'm thinking an Ungrateful Noobs Hall Of Shame and nominate this as the first candidate.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I for one have not "looked down" at you. You asked a question and I answered it -- no moral judgments added. BTW, we have had a recent thread involving a different recreational drug and the medical exam, see We're in the News..

BTW, even though there was a visa denial involved, there was an insistence that the Phil, the applicant, had "no problem." Hence my comment that you would have "no problem." I think that a visa denial is a "big problem" but I encountered violent opposition to that.

Good luck my friend.

md95065

If, by being "110% honest", you are advising the OP to volunteer information that may not have been specifically asked for then I do not think that this is good advice ...

PepsiChic

better?

fatbrit

Not really. It's the honesty that finishes you off on this one.

YouWantFriesWithThat

Hi Elvino,

I don't know how old you are but you have indicated you're not that old through phrases used in your posts. So I'll put your notion that it's 'just a bit of harmless fun' down to youthful ignorance and naivety. I'm not sitting here judging you but I can tell you that I know several people who have turned into paranoid deluded fools through years of smoking da weed. Imo, you are equally foolish for believing it doesn't have consequences. It's a strange old place this learning planet they call Earth - full of ironies where where a great deal of what human's enjoy turn out to be bad for them. Most of the time we can substitute the term 'enjoy' for 'become addicted to'.

Anyway - a bit of background about yourself and what visa you're applying for is always helpful to those wanting to help you. Don't be paranoid that giving away too many details might cause Uncle Sam to come a searchin for ya, he's got far bigger pieces of chicken to fry

Let's get a few facts on the table. The active constituent part of da weed is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. THC is what shows up in tests. How long after a person has last weed and how regular that person smokes it will determine the length of time that the THC will remain in that person's system. Reports vary widlely but up to 3 months has been reported. Reports also say that hair folicle testing will show THC for up to 3 years.

So that's THC. The next facts are that urine testing and hair folicle testing are not done routinely by the panel physician appointed by the US embassy aka the embassy doctor. Blood testing is done and for everybody.

If someone had smoked weed it might only come to the embassy doctor's attention if the person admitted that they had or if the THC showed up in a test, perhaps because the person hadn't allowed suffiecient time to elapse. That of course is from a hpotheticall standpoint and used to illustrate an example.

That same person decides when they take their medical. To clarify points that were made earlier in this thread, a person applying for the visa (aka the applicant) decides when to have their medical. The 'where', 'who' and 'how much' are set by Uncle Sam but the 'when' is down to the applicant and is their choice .

Medicals can be rearranged for all sorts of reasons, none of which have to be justifed to the doctors or the embassy. As far as the doctors and embassy are concerned, if someone is fool enough to allow so much time to elapse between the approval of the petition and the medical that the petition then gets canecelled, then more fool them. If more than four months had elapsed between the date of the petition approval and interview then an updated letter of intent from the two fiances is required. This is all assuming the person is applying for a k1 visa.

Medicals don't even have to be taken before the visa interview. It is preferable but not a necessity. Even if a medical has already been arranged it can be rearranged so long as the required notice is given to the doctors.

So a person worried about the sort of issues that you mention does have a few options open to them and it is their call as to which option to take. Of course, just the same as someone worrying about testing positive for something like HIV before a medical, a person can arrange to have their own tests done privately before any medical. This would perhaps allow the person to make a more informed decision and ease any concerns that they may have about their later embassy medical.

Good luck.

BritishGuy36

Actually I think you were stoned when you typed that post.

We DO know, because most of us have been for said medical, and had the blood extracted for a test. We didn't imagine it.

Stop being a smackhead and listen to what people are telling you.

jeffreyhy

Some USC woman is in for trouble ....

Cheers, JEff

Elvira

I see Mo is flexing her muscles...