Monday, May 2, 2011

US Vaccination Requirements for the medical exam

One thing that did cause me some stress for my fiance visa medical exam was trying to sort out my shots in advance, so that they fitted with the US vaccination requirements.  If you get them done at the time of your fiance visa medical exam then you will end up paying for them and the rates are pretty expensive.  However, as I am a Brit, my plan was to get most of them done for free on the NHS.  The immigration immunization requirement that cased most confusion was the Hep B shot, but I will come to that in due course.


Booking an appointment with my local health centre

I contacted my local health centre well in advance, before I had even received the date of my fiance visa medical exam in fact and booked an appointment.  I downloaded the US vaccination requirements from the USCIS website and took them along with me, this has on it the questionnaire that you are expected to fill out for your fiancé visa medical exam and also the list of vaccination requirements which the doctor fills out.  A nurse at the medical centre gave me a general medical exam, checking my blood pressure, weight, etc. and we discussed the US vaccination requirements.  I explained that I would need my vaccination and immunization shots brought up to date and then I would like her to create me some sort of print out that I could take down to show my doctor at the fiancé visa medical exam.


The list of US Vaccination Requirements

Most of the list of shots needed on the US vaccination requirements were the same as the shots that we have in the UK, and indeed when the health nurse found my old records, I had had most the shot on the list done when I was a kid at school.  I needed a boost for the tetanus and others that I’d had at school.   I got a DT, which turned out to be unnecessary for me.  I also got an MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) jab for free, as those weren’t around when I was a kid.

The problems came with the hepatitis, which are listed in the US vaccination requirements.  The nurse said that they weren’t appropriate and her explanation sounded good to me.  I did however have a hepatitis A jab as it was free and I saw no harm with getting it.  The hep B costs money, however, and it’s not simply just a single jab.  On top of that, the hep B is meant for people such as health professionals rather than ordinary people.  I therefore didn’t have any hep B shots.

In the end, the doctor at the fiance visa medical exam ticked both the hepatitis A and hep B shots as “not age appropriate”, ie they weren’t necessary for me (I am 44 years old).  I cannot guarantee that other people have or will experience the same thing as me with regard to the US vaccinations requirements, of course, if you have a different age, background, lifestyle etc. then you may well be treated differently, but in my experience the doctor took a common sense approach consistent with the advice that I received from my local health centre.

24 comments:

  1. Just found your blog and its very interesting and helpful for me- thank you in advance for taking the time to write all of this down to help others!
    M

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  2. how much it cost you the medical and vaccination exam?

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  3. @M - thank you for the positive feedback!

    @anon - The medical cost me £200 (they tell you which doctors to go to so you have no choice in the matter). As I was up to date with all my vaccinations and had what I needed done with the NHS beforehand, I didn't pay for any of those.

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  4. My fiance refused applying for GC after learning about vaccination requirements. We are now looking for ways to move to a country other than the United States. Somewhere and somehow I think she's right.

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  5. @Anon - Certainly for me, as a Brit, my vaccination requirements were already pretty much met, as I'd had the appropriate shots as a child etc. I did need a few boosters (eg tetanus) and extra shots, but I got them for free from the NHS in the UK.

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  6. hi Paul, I have no records, so in theory I could turn up to the medical and get them all done there and pay the 200GBP + the shots?
    Another point is forms that require educational in formation. What do they consider as elementary, should I include secondary school exam results? My problem is furnishing copies..
    Regards
    Steve

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  7. @Steve, I am not an immigration expert, just an ordinary immigrant who's also a blogger, so double-check anything I say with the USCIS or a professional.

    I don't know your background, normally a primary school in the UK will supply the NHS with medical records of shots, I believe, that's what happened in my case anyway. The doc at the medical will ask you what shots you've had, so you would have to discuss it with him or her. If you have had the shots but don't have the records, they may well just take your word on that, but I don't know that for sure. This is instructions and advice from Londond Embassy site on medical: http://photos.state.gov/libraries/unitedkingdom/164203/cons-visa/IV018a%20_IV%20medical%20letter_%20Aug%202011%20_1_.pdf

    US 'Elementary' is the equivalent of UK "primary" I believe - but I am reluctant to give advice on filling forms, firstly because I could well give wrong advice and mess things up for someone, and secondly, it can be very time-consuming for me.

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  8. me and my fiance are processing k1 visa and i need some money to pay for but I'm shy to ask him ...what should i do? please help me guys..thank you

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  9. As you plan to marry him, it might be a good thing to talk about finances in advance? Just saying. ;-)

    But seriously, I appreciate that the costs involved are high and it is not easy. Neither myself nor my wife are wealthy, so we had to plan carefully.

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  10. thanks for the response...i think my fiance is responsible for paying for all the processing fee of my Visa right?

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  11. Unless there's been some radical change since I did it, the US citizen member of the couple puts in the I-129 petition and the non-US citizen makes the application for the K1 visa. I don't think that the USCIS cares who pays the fees, as long as they are paid.

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  12. ohh okay.. I think i need the help of my fiance since i don't have money to pay for all the expenses . some women from my country they are married and their fiance paid for all the expenses..so i think i will ask help from him...

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  13. hello paul, I dont have any records of my vaccinations and I dont remember also that I got them or not ..so should I get them all done ? or how will I come to know which of those vaccinations I need to take? I am 25 yr old girl.

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    1. If you're British, your NHS records, which includes vaccinations you got at school, should all be available, at least in theory? I got all the free vaccinations done. The nurse at the health centre should advise you what's appropriate for your age and gender.

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  14. I had no record of my vaccinations despite me remembering being dragged to the school nurse. As a Brit my GP was happy to re- vaccinate me. I opted for the HEP B which is 3 painless jabs costing a total of £82.50. A small price to pay to speed up the application process. My fiancé & I missed out 23 years ago due military Red tape.

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    1. I didn't get the HEP B, as the nurse told me that they were more appropriate for health workers etc. I thought about paying for the jabs anyway, but decided against it in the end. It wasn't a problem for me at my visa medical, or when I got to the USA.

      I am pleased for you, getting to live together in the US after 23 years! :-)

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    2. Thanks for taking the time to reply. I've had most of the jabs now. Just don't want to risk missing anything out that will slow the process down. How long did it take you to get your visa?

      We filed the papers a month ago & have had the email notification & the official receipt but I've heard so many stories about it taking between 6-9 months to process.

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    3. Yes, the visa can take 6 months or more, certainly in my experience - although the last I heard, they were processing them faster!

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    4. Claire, I applied in early February and am only now doing my medical exam tomorrow in my home country. My interview date is in mid December. So, all going well it will have taken about 10 months to get my visa

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  15. where can I get a completed sample form of DS-156 for fiance?

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  16. If you go onto www.myimmihelp.com they have samples of all the relevant forms. It's a really useful website.

    Good luck

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  17. OMG, I find it hard to believe... not only the vaccines are poisonous, should we also pay for them? I would like to avoid vaccines altogether, I did not have them in 30 years and I am fine. There is so much information about vaccines now, that they are not safe, contaminating your blood...

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  18. If I got Hap B positive , it's gonna be problem to get fiance visa to USA? AS right my fiance running the fiance visa for me , and I so worried with my Hap B when I got medical examination , Please help to advise me.
    Thanks!

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  19. Hey there! Nice stuff, please keep us posted when you post again something like that! Really Man, I really enjoyed reading this message. You have convinced me to subscribe to your blog, but where can I find the RSS feed?

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