Thursday, April 14, 2011

My K1 Fiance Visa Medical Exam

My K1 Fiance Visa Medical Exam

This is an account of my personal experience of the K1 Fiance Visa medical exam.  It’s not an official guide but does tell you what I went through on my way to getting my K1 fiance visa.  The medical examination is compulsory if you want a K1 Fiance Visa, as far as I know.  As I am British, my medical exam took place in London, my understanding is that the medical exam is the essentially the same wherever you take it, however.


Booking the K1 Fiance Visa Medical Exam

The K1 Fiance Visa medical exam comes near the end of the K1 Fiance Visa process.  When the US Embassy in London contacted me to tell me the date for K1 Fiance Visa interview, they also informed me that I should book a medical before the interview.  I had to telephone the medics and book a place.  Generally you need to give the medics a few days to pass on your medical examination documents to the embassy or consulate after your fiancé visa medical exam has taken place.  As far as I’m aware, as long as you’ve booked the fiancé visa medical exam beforehand, you can still attend your K1 fiance visa interview, even if the date of the actual medical examination is after the date of the K1 fiancé visa interview.

This wasn’t the case with me, however, as my K1 Fiance visa medical exam took place about 10 days before the K1 Finance Visa interview. 


What did I take to the Fiance Visa medical exam?

I took my vaccination records.  I had my vaccinations done at my local health centre in advance.  That meant that I got them done by the NHS for free. If the fiancé visa medical exam doctor decides that you need vaccinations then you can end up paying thirty pounds per shot, so I wanted to avoid that!  I also took my passport as proof of ID, some passport style photos, and my bank card so that I could pay the fee for the medical examination.  I also had with me the questionnaire that I was instructed to fill out in advance.


What happens at the K1 Fiance Visa medical exam?

There were two parts to the medical.  The first part was just a chest x-ray and was pretty straightforward really.  I think they were mainly searching for signs of tuborculosis but I could be wrong.  The second part was the k1 fiance visa medical exam proper and involved a full physical medical examination by a doctor followed by the doctor asking me questions.  They did make me drop my trousers at one point, which was a bit embarrassing!


What Questions did they ask you at the Fiance Visa Medical Exam?

The questions were pretty much a repeat of half a dozen or so ones from the questionnaire that I’d written answers to previously.  My impression was that the main thrust of the K1 Fiance Visa medical exam was to find out if I was bringing infectious diseases into the USA, rather than concern about personal ailments or health problems.  They were also interested in whether I had ever taken recreational drugs (I hadn’t!)  I am guessing that was as much to do with assessing the quality of my character and whether I’d been involved with criminality in the past, as my physical health, but I could be wrong.


Aftermath

The doctor told me that as far as the K1 Fiance visa medical exam went, no news was good news, and indeed I heard nothing more about it subsequently.  At the K1 Fiance Visa interview they mentioned in passing that they had received my K1 Fiance Visa medical examination documents and that was it.

36 comments:

  1. Can you please let me know how you received your interview appointment. I received a letter from the embassy that my petition was approved, and I should pay a fee,do medical and send some document before I can get an interview date. I have done all this but still waiting for the date. Do I have to call the embassy to to schedule the interview date or will I get it through the post automatically.

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  2. I was contacted by the embassy and given a visa interview date and told that I should arrange my own medical exam before the visa interview, if possible, in the same letter.

    That didn't happen until after they had processed my K1 fiance visa forms, however (which I was instructed to send in after the petition was approved).

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  3. Hi Paul,

    I'm in Yorkshire and applying for a K1 Visa.

    Thanks for your website as it's given me valuable information that will help me sort it all out.

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  4. Did you have to provide copies of medical records at any point in the process?

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  5. I took a record of my vaccinations with me to show the visa doctor. I got my vaccinations records from my own local GP's surgery. It makes things easier that way, but that is the only medical docs that I provided and I don't think that I had to do even that, as my impression was that the doc would have taken my word, if I was sure which shots I'd had. You would need professional advice if you wanted a fuller answer than mine, as I'm no expert, I can only say what I experienced.

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  6. I am bit worried for my K1 medical. I had met with a car accident last year and since then i am disabled. I can run and walk but i limp. Is it gonna be a reason to reject me? Can you help?

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  7. @ Anon - My impression, when I went through the medical, was that their main concern was people bringing in serious diseases, such as TB. They don't make you do any physical endurance tests or anything.

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  8. i had tb last year, but now i am ok and clear. is it possible that they will rejected my visa?

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  9. Thanks, Paul!
    I was worried if they would take a endurance test.

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  10. @anon - They take an x-ray of your chest to look for TB. If you no longer have TB, I imagine that you are fine, but I am no expert on this. The doctor will probably want to discuss it with you?

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  11. in medical examination,are they gonna have blood test?

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    Replies
    1. I think they stopped the blood test. I didn't have one in London, anyway, as far as I remember.

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    2. I had my medical exam in London on 8 August 2012 and had to have a blood test.

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  12. How much did you pay for the medical?

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  13. Fees are always best checked on the official website as they keep changing.

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  14. Hi can you please let me know what vaccinations i need to have before i attend the Interview?

    Thank yous so much

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    Replies
    1. The vaccinations list is here:

      http://britishexpats.com/wiki/K1_London_Applications#Vaccination_Requirements

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  15. Did they make you re-take your exam to get a I-693 form signed off for your adjustment of status?

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    Replies
    1. No, see my Green Card post - I just paid an admin charge to a doctor, no second medical exam.

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  16. Hi there!

    I'm really confused over the questionnaire or what form I need to bring to my medical exam! Could you please advise!

    /Amanda

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    Replies
    1. I am no expert, so can't really give advice. You should be able to talk the form through with the doc at the exam, if that helps - that's what happened with me anyway.

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  17. Hey Paul great post really helpful see the part about your vaccinations was that easy to set up with your GP :-/ kind of a dumb question

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    1. It was easy, yes. They assigned me to a nurse, however, it wasn't deemed necessary for me to see a doc. She was very helpful. I hadn't had any vaccinations for some time, so it took two visits.

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  18. Paul your a legend. Of course we will follow the official guidance but your insights and practical insider knowledge will prove invaluable. Thank you from Dave

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  19. I'm having a kidney trouble, would you think they might reject my application?thanks

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  20. Hello everyone, I'm currently in the process of K1 fiancé visa and I call the US embassy call center and they said that once our petition was approved and we have a case number, I can be able to pay for my interview and have my medical exam. I'm the one who did my online appointment and it depends on their available dates

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  21. Hi Paul,
    Thank you so much for posting your blog. It's probably the most useful website I have come across! I'm based in the UK and just got my finance visa approved today! YAY! :) Now I'm going to start collecting documents for the interview, such as police certificate and vaccination records. I just want to ask your wife had to fill out an Affidavit of Support form for your finance visa?

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  22. my right eye is sightless is there any problem?

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  23. my att. told me to get a medical exam first before they sched. me for interview ..its ok to hve my med. exam even i dnt hve my interview appointment? tnx

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  24. Hi, I am from Belarus,K1 visa applicant, I live in Spain for 10 years now. I have no vaccinations records because they do not keep them when a person doesn't live in a country for so long. The only proof I have is the 2 scars on my right shoulder against smallpox, and my mom says that the main vaccines were done. I have not done any in more than 30 years and I am perfectly fine at the age of 38. I am personally opposed to vaccines as I had some allergic reaction a long time ago from a few of them. In Spain I was not seriously ill so I have no med history to look at. Will they oblige me to do the vaccines? Please, did anyone had a similar story?

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  25. Hi, does anyone know if they drug test and if so will you be denied the visa if you show signs of marijuana use?

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    Replies
    1. They didn't drug test me, as far as I am aware. The doc asked me if I had used recreational drugs at the medical, however.

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  26. Hi there! Can i ask the question what first do to take fiance visa?

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  27. I guess this process has changed a bit in the meantime. I couldn't arrange the interview before I had my medical... In the instructions I got I needed to submit the Notification of Applicant's Readiness Form online. One thing that was compulsory to fill in for that was the date you have your medical scheduled... So I have my medical in two days time, but it could be that I have to wait for my interview invitation letter another 5/6 weeks... (according to the current process...).

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  28. Can anyone tell me how long it took to receive an interview date at the London emabassy after the readiness form was completed? Regards

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