Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

Reluctantly (on my part) we are now having to go through the process of applying for Green Cards and I've just arranged for us to see one of the locally USCIS approved doctors later this week to have our medicals.

He asked me to bring copies of our immunisation records. Well, other than those I've had in the tropical medicine travel clinicfor things like yellow fever, rabies, tetanus booster (for when I went to India) and when my husband had similar when he did the tsunami relief work in Sri Lanka last Summer, we don't have anything else.....as far as I know our childhood records are most likely still with the NHS doctors we used to have in England. We left 12 years ago!

Does anyone know if NHS local surgeries will fax or mail out immunisation records overseas?

The surgeries are all closed for the day so I can't phone now. I know that we weren't able to take them with us (jealously guarded by the GP) when we moved from England to Singapore and didn't even have any copies/extracts with us (good job we were healthy then eh?).

Has the law changed in the UK so they *have* to provide us with copies of our medical records?

What happens if they can't be located...do we have to have vaccinations all over again?

I also understand that there is some kind of issue where you have to have X-rays if you have ever had the BCG jab for tuberculosis?....both my husband and I had them when we were about 13 years old, I remember lining up at school for the 'heath' (sp?) test and then going back for the jab a week or so later.

What do they actually do during the medical - does it take a long time?

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

With all that aggro... just show them what you have ..
I was lucky I aged out out of a lot of them ...
They will always stick an extra something ..to bump
up the bill

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

I couldn't get hold of my records and had to have MMR and one other... Diptheria? Once I was over here.

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

I had my daughter's records as it is a requirement for admittance to NJ schools. We didn't have ours but said we'd had everything and the doctor just took our word for it. We had to have the TB test even though we had been immunised and my husband and I had to have tetanus shots.

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

They take no time. He just 'stethescoped' us, took blood, did the skin test on us, even though we'd had the TB boosters and were from Africa, and asked us to call a few days later if there had been a reaction, and sent us on our way. I know that many times they don't x-ray you unless you have a dodgy skin reading.

They give you a tetanus and MMR if you don't have your records with you, and that's basically it.

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

Diptheria, Polio and Tetanus? Is that the one?
Although I thought they assumed all people of a certain age had had it :rolleyes:

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

But you need boosters for these....tho some argue that once you've had 5 (Ithink) tetanus jabs, u r covered for life.

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

Our local surgeon wore a gator stethoscope around his neck....I got a huge case of the giggles when I saw it (nervousness, as one of my kids is needlephobic and literally faints and goes into spasms whenever he receives a shot).

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

Cheers Doc, as you can probaly tell, I'm not big on paperwork :)

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

lol....no worries :)

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

When I went through basic training one of the MANY needles they stuck in my arm was for a TB test. I was the only one in my flight who had a positive test. I then had to go on a 6 month INH regime (no alcohol for the entire time! :scared: ). Once I was done with the entire course of drugs they figured out that my test would always be positive no matter what because of a shot British folk get that Americans don't when they are kids (I can't remember which one). Anyway, the moral of the story is, if someone had bothered to do their research then I would never have had to take the meds in the first place! Now I've been told that I can never have another TB test as my arm would swell up like a balloon because of the meds they make you take. :(

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

BCG



Heaf test/Mantoux test

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

EM, the doc's going to make his own mind up (medical opinion :rolleyes: ) regardless of whether you have your records. So I wouldn't worry about it. I had no records other than a measles shot (I must have had about six of those in the US by now), and he just gave me another measles jab and a tetanus booster. TB test positive (BCG), so an x-ray too. Do not let them give you the TB meds unless the x-ray comes back positive (and then get another opinion). They test you for AIDS and a couple of other things and that's about it. Good luck!

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

We didn't have a test for AIDS. I think the medical varies from state to state, maybe even doctor to doctor.

Re: Immunisation Records (for Green Card)
 

Doctors hate being told what to do. EM, you can download the form the doctor gets from USCIS - that'll show you what USCIS wants, but a lot of it is up to the doc (and as someone mentioned, they love giving shots to rack up the bill).