Natalija

Hi, everybody!
I came to the US on K-1 visa. Then we got married in the
US. Then we applied for AOS and were told that I would need Medical
exam performed by civi surgeon appointed by government. Then opn the
other board I was told that when K-1 apply for AOS, they do need
medical exam, becuase they had an exam before they got to the US in
their own country. But they will need some vaccinations, signed by this
Civil surgeon.
I called to the clinic of this Civil Surgeon to ask
about it. They said, that I do need the medical exam anyway. I passed
this exam, paid them 165 $. And I also have to make vaccinations, which
will cost us 100$ more.
Then I saw on the Government site, that really
K-1 holders do NOT need this exam because they had one in their
country, and it is valid for 1 year.
But the Civil surgeon stuff was
not informed about it at all, and they gave me wrong information.
Is
there any way for me to get my money back for the medical exam?
Has
anybody got some real knowlege about this? Or personal experience?
Any
help would be appreciated.
Natalija

207lonsdale

Originally posted by natalija
    > Hi, everybody!
    > I came
to the US on K-1 visa. Then we got married in the US. Then we applied
for AOS and were told that I would need Medical exam performed by civi
surgeon appointed by government. Then opn the other board I was told
that when K-1 apply for AOS, they do need medical exam, becuase they had
an exam before they got to the US in their own country. But they will
need some vaccinations, signed by this Civil surgeon.
    > I called to the
clinic of this Civil Surgeon to ask about it. They said, that I do need
the medical exam anyway. I passed this exam, paid them 165 $. And I also
have to make vaccinations, which will cost us 100$ more.
    > Then I saw
on the Government site, that really K-1 holders do NOT need this exam
because they had one in their country, and it is valid for 1 year.
But the Civil surgeon stuff was not informed about it at all, and they
gave me wrong information.
    > Is there any way for me to get my money
back for the medical exam?
    > Has anybody got some real knowlege about
this? Or personal experience?
    > Any help would be appreciated.
Natalija

I don't really have any advice for you, other than
to suggest that you could write to the civil surgeon concerned,
explaining the circumstances of your situation, etc. You might prefer
to visit him/her in person to discuss the same, I just prefer to deal
with certain situations in writing which would then ensure that there
could not be any confusion as to what was or was not said!

I just
wonder whether the civil surgeons really do not know that a K1 visa
holder only needs the vaccination supplement, unless more than one year
has passed since the original medical exam? Or is it simply a case of
them being able to increase their profit margins with easy work? As I
understand it, you have to go to a civil surgeon specifically approved
by the USCIS, this being the case then I think it reasonable to expect
that they must be aware of the correct requirements?

Jenney & Mark

Originally posted by 207lonsdale
    > As I understand it,
you have to go to a civil surgeon specifically approved by the USCIS,
this being the case then I think it reasonable to expect that they must
be aware of the correct requirements?

The USCIS itself isn't
even consistent on this issue, so it's pretty hopeless to expect the
civil surgeons to know USCIS regulations and requirements.

Here's what
we've encountered so far, and are trying to get sorted out now before
our interview in June:

1) The USCIS website says that a K1 recipient
does NOT need a medical exam for AOS, as long as they apply for AOS
within one year of the medical exam completed for their original K1
visa. It does NOT say the AOS interview has to take place within one
year of the K1 visa medical exam, just that AOS must be APPLIED FOR
within one year of the K1 visa medical exam.

You can read it directly
on the USCIS website here (see #2): ]http://uscis.gov/graphics/i-
693faq.htm#exam[/url]

2) The cover letter from the Norfolk USCIS office
included in our original I-485 application packet states, "If you
entered the United States as a K1 fiance(e), no medical examination is
required." Doesn't get much clearer than that, right? Well, keep
reading...

3) On the checklist of items REQUIRED for our AOS interview
sent to us by Norfolk, it lists, "Medical Exam results, Form I-693.
Appear even if not completed." As you can see, this completely
contradicts the cover letter sent to us by the SAME OFFICE (Norfolk)
with our AOS application packet.

So we have two documents saying NO,
it's not required, and one document (perhaps the most important: our AOS
interview notice) saying YES, it is required. To add to our confusion,
neither document from Norfolk makes any mention of the vaccination
supplement.

We're sending a letter (today, in fact) to Norfolk asking
for clarification. We're including copies of each document and
highlighting the areas so they see the contradiction right away.
Hopefully we'll get a response within a few weeks. If we don't hear
anything, then we're going to take copies with us to Mark's
fingerprinting appointment in April and ask them in person.

My advice
to the original poster is: Check with your USCIS office directly about
the requirements. Do not rely on the civil surgeons for this
clarification. Ultimately it is your USCIS office that has the final
say, not the civil surgeon. And I hate to say it, but I think you can
pretty much kiss that money goodbye. The civil surgeon DID provide the
exam and vaccinations, regardless of whether you actually needed both.
    :(

~ Jenney

Sunflwrgrl13

Hey J&M, form I-693 is the form that the foreign fiance gets from the dr
on the day of the medical. I believe it's basically the Vaccination
Supplement form stating which vaccinations have been done.

So if none
had been done, you would need to get the vacs done here and get the
civil surgeon to fill out that form as proof. My fiance rec'd one with
the brown envelope & visa the day of interview. If vacs were done before
the medical, it would be stated on there, and would not require you to
have more done, you would just send USCIS that supplement form.

Someone
please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cheers,
Jamie

Originally
posted by Jenney & Mark
    > The USCIS itself isn't even consistent on
this issue, so it's pretty hopeless to expect the civil surgeons to know
USCIS regulations and requirements.
    >
    > Here's what we've encountered
so far, and are trying to get sorted out now before our interview in
June:
    >
    > 1) The USCIS website says that a K1 recipient does NOT need a
medical exam for AOS, as long as they apply for AOS within one year of
the medical exam completed for their original K1 visa. It does NOT say
the AOS interview has to take place within one year of the K1 visa
medical exam, just that AOS must be APPLIED FOR within one year of the
K1 visa medical exam.
    >
    > You can read it directly on the USCIS website
here (see #2): http://uscis.gov/graphics/i-693faq.htm#exam

    > 2) The cover letter from the Norfolk USCIS office included in our
original I-485 application packet states, "If you entered the United
States as a K1 fiance(e), no medical examination is required." Doesn't
get much clearer than that, right? Well, keep reading...
    >
    > 3) On the
checklist of items REQUIRED for our AOS interview sent to us by Norfolk,
it lists, "Medical Exam results, Form I-693. Appear even if not
completed." As you can see, this completely contradicts the cover letter
sent to us by the SAME OFFICE (Norfolk) with our AOS application packet.

    >
    > So we have two documents saying NO, it's not required, and one
document (perhaps the most important: our AOS interview notice) saying
YES, it is required. To add to our confusion, neither document from
Norfolk makes any mention of the vaccination supplement.
    >
    > We're
sending a letter (today, in fact) to Norfolk asking for clarification.
We're including copies of each document and highlighting the areas so
they see the contradiction right away. Hopefully we'll get a response
within a few weeks. If we don't hear anything, then we're going to take
copies with us to Mark's fingerprinting appointment in April and ask
them in person.
    >
    > My advice to the original poster is: Check with
your USCIS office directly about the requirements. Do not rely on the
civil surgeons for this clarification. Ultimately it is your USCIS
office that has the final say, not the civil surgeon. And I hate to say
it, but I think you can pretty much kiss that money goodbye. The civil
surgeon DID provide the exam and vaccinations, regardless of whether you
actually needed both. :(
    >
~ Jenney

207lonsdale

Originally posted by Jenney & Mark
    >
    > The USCIS itself
isn't even consistent on this issue, so it's pretty hopeless to expect
the civil surgeons to know USCIS regulations and requirements.
    >
    > My
advice to the original poster is: Check with your USCIS office directly
about the requirements. Do not rely on the civil surgeons for this
clarification. Ultimately it is your USCIS office that has the final
say, not the civil surgeon. And I hate to say it, but I think you can
pretty much kiss that money goodbye. The civil surgeon DID provide the
exam and vaccinations, regardless of whether you actually needed both.
    :(
    >
    > ~ Jenney


From reading the initial post I got the
impression that Natalija thought that she did not need another medical,
but that the designated civil surgeon advised her that she did need to
have one and so accepted his advice as accurate.

She has paid out
$165 for a medical, which according to the USCIS website was not needed
if she filed for AOS within one year of the original medical.

Sorry
Jenney, but I would not simply *kiss that money goodbye*, and would most
certainly make an issue of it with the civil surgeon concerned. If the
civil surgeon was incorrect in the advice he gave to Natalija, he just
might feel that she is entitled to some form of redress, if not a
complete refund. Regardless, IMHO I think that we should be able to
expect that all designated civil surgeons do in fact know what the
requirements are!

Whether or not Natalija obtains any form of
redress, her enquiries may result in that particular civil surgeon
taking steps to ensure that he/she is better informed, if as you
suggest, it may just be a case of him/her not knowing the requirements.

Katesuiter1

Originally posted by Jenney & Mark
    > We're sending a
letter (today, in fact) to Norfolk asking for clarification. We're
including copies of each document and highlighting the areas so they see
the contradiction right away. Hopefully we'll get a response within a
few weeks. If we don't hear anything, then we're going to take copies
with us to Mark's fingerprinting appointment in April and ask them in
person.
    > ~ Jenney

Aaaaaaaahh, Jenney.......you don't
reeeeaaaallly expect them to pick up on something so obvious, do ya? ;)
Hehehehe!!

I'll be looking out for your response from them about this,
if you'd be so kind as to post it when you hear? I'm sure this question
has been asked a million times before. :( Many thanks!!

Kate.
xxxx:D:D:D

Jenney & Mark

Originally posted by sunflwrgrl13
    > Hey J&M, form I-693
is the form that the foreign fiance gets from the dr on the day of the
medical. I believe it's basically the Vaccination Supplement form
stating which vaccinations have been done.
    >
    > So if none had been
done, you would need to get the vacs done here and get the civil surgeon
to fill out that form as proof. My fiance rec'd one with the brown
envelope & visa the day of interview. If vacs were done before the
medical, it would be stated on there, and would not require you to have
more done, you would just send USCIS that supplement form.
    >
    > Someone
please correct me if I'm wrong.
    >
    > Cheers,
    > Jamie

Mark did
not receive anything from the doctor after completing his K1 medical
exam. He simply did the medical, then went directly to the London
consulate for his visa interview. At the end of the interview he was
handed the brown envelope, and only then did he get back his chest x-
rays. He was given no form, I-693 or otherwise. Others on the NG who
came from the UK on K1 visas have had this same experience.

Before his
K1 visa medical exam, Mark had all his vaccinations updated. If my
memory serves me, I don't think he needed any additional vaccinations at
the actual exam itself, because they were all completed beforehand. The
only required vaccination Mark has not had is Varicella (chicken pox),
but only because it is unavailable in the UK; that is simple enough to
get done.

We don't really have a problem with getting a civil surgeon
to fill out a form confirming that Mark's vaccinations are already up-to-
date. But we don't see the point in him having an entire medical exam
done all over again unnecessarily, especially when it involves an extra
expense that we'd rather avoid.

~ Jenney

Sunflwrgrl13

Ok, then I guess we were very lucky that my fiance did get the I-693 day
of interview. I totally understand why you don't want to pay for
something that you may not need! If they tell us that he needs anything
in addition to the I-693, we in trouble, cuz the nearest surgeon to me
is 300+ miles away.

Is there any other way to prove one has had
chicken pox already, either by immunization or actually having it?
Without having to pay for the varicella shot? Esp since we'd have to
travel so far just for a damn shot. This portion of the process is
really starting to piss me off.

Originally posted by Jenney &
Mark
    > Mark did not receive anything from the doctor after
completing his K1 medical exam. He simply did the medical, then went
directly to the London consulate for his visa interview. At the end of
the interview he was handed the brown envelope, and only then did he get
back his chest x-rays. He was given no form, I-693 or otherwise. Others
on the NG who came from the UK on K1 visas have had this same
experience.
    >
    > Before his K1 visa medical exam, Mark had all his
vaccinations updated. If my memory serves me, I don't think he needed
any additional vaccinations at the actual exam itself, because they were
all completed beforehand. The only required vaccination Mark has not had
is Varicella (chicken pox), but only because it is unavailable in the
UK; that is simple enough to get done.
    >
    > We don't really have a
problem with getting a civil surgeon to fill out a form confirming that
Mark's vaccinations are already up-to-date. But we don't see the point
in him having an entire medical exam done all over again unnecessarily,
especially when it involves an extra expense that we'd rather avoid.

~ Jenney

207lonsdale

Originally posted by sunflwrgrl13
    >
    > Is there any other
way to prove one has had chicken pox already, either by immunization or
actually having it? Without having to pay for the varicella shot? Esp
since we'd have to travel so far just for a damn shot. This portion of
the process is really starting to piss me off.


You can have
a blood test to check immunity. Apparently, 70% to 90% of adults who do
not remember having chickenpox actually have protection in their blood
when tested!

Jenney & Mark

Originally posted by 207lonsdale
    > Sorry Jenney, but I
would not simply *kiss that money goodbye*, and would most certainly
make an issue of it with the civil surgeon concerned. If the civil
surgeon was incorrect in the advice he gave to Natalija, he just might
feel that she is entitled to some form of redress, if not a complete
refund.

I certainly did not mean to imply that the OP should
not try to get her money back. If she wants to try to get her money
back, more power to her. I'm just saying she shouldn't be too
optimistic.

    >
    > Regardless, IMHO I think that we should be able
to expect that all designated civil surgeons do in fact know what the
requirements are!

I disagree. The fact is that civil
surgeons are NOT employees of the USCIS, they are NOT immigration
officials, and thus cannot be expected to know or enforce immigration
regulations. That's the job of, among other people, the officials who
work at the USCIS district offices who process AOS applications.

All
the civil surgeons do is look at Form I-693 and, based on medical
records and/or discussion with the applicant, determine whether the
applicant meets all the requirements listed on the form. If the civil
surgeon cannot check off all the required boxes on the form, then they
perform a medical exam and/or vaccinations in order to do so.

Using my
previous post as an example - with all the conflicting information we're
getting from our own USCIS office (Norfolk) - it is unrealistic to hold
civil surgeons responsible for knowing immigration procedures and
requirements when the immigration officials don't even seem to have a
clue themselves.

It is truly unfortunate that the civil surgeon in the
OP's case did not advise her to contact her USCIS office to confirm what
was actually required - just the vaccination supplement or a complete
medical exam. But that doesn't negate the fact that they still provided
a service at the OP's request (misinformed as it was), and based on that
I would be very surprised if they issue a refund.

~ Jenney