Immigrants applying for a U.S. visa must schedule and attended medical examinations before their interview dates. The medical examination services should be provided by a physician who is authorized by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to conduct such examination tests (https://www.uscis.gov/). The completion of medical examinations after the visa interviews may lead to delayed processing of the visa until the medical examinations are received by the U.S. Embassy. For that reason, applicants who need their visa to be completed within the shortest time possible are required and encouraged to complete their Immigration medical examinations before attending the visa interviews.
There are various examinationns that are done as part of the visa application process. Medical examinations involve reviewing the medical history of the applicant for any potential complications (U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). The tests also involve a physical examination of the applicant’s well-being. Physical examination includes the inspection of diverse body parts such as the eyes, nose, external genitalia, skin, ears and the throat. Internal organs like the heart, lymph nodes, and the abdomen are also examined. Blood tests and X-rays are also part of the examination process. Once the process is done, the physician hand over the results to the applicant in hard copy to present them during the visa interview. The physician can also decide to send the results directly to the Consulate or the U.S. Embassy.
The tests conducted for applicants vary with age. The requirements set for applicants who need to visit the U.S. are that they need to be in a good health, and they should not have any medical conditions or illnesses that may expose the other citizens to danger (U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). Again, for an applicant to get admission, they should not possess any condition that might be too expensive to treat in the U.S. For this reason, a person may be denied admission if their medical condition poses a danger to the people or to public safety. They can also be denied admission if the condition poses an excessive demand on health services. A condition is ruled to pose an excessive demand on health services if, by average, the cost of treating the condition surpasses the caring costs of an average U.S. citizen. A condition also falls under this category is it is likely to interfere with the provision of services to U.S. citizens.
It is important to note that medical examination results conducted by unauthorized medics are not accepted. An applicant cannot choose their family doctor to conduct the examination if they are not listed in the authorized doctor’s list (U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). However, panel physicians are not located in a particular part of the world and applicants can choose any physician from any location, even if they do not come from the applicant’s country of residence. Provided that they have been authorized by USCIS, any physician can conduct medical examinations. The medical examinations are not provided for free. The fee varies from one-panel physician to the other and from one location to the other. It is always important for applicants to do a pre-research to confirm the fee and documents that are needed during the immigration medical examination by making clarifications from the physician when booking the appointment.
When deciding on going for the examination, the first step should involve locating the doctor who would perform the medical examination for the immigration purpose. Doctors that are authorized to conduct such examinations are listed under the U.S. Embassy and Consulate websites and interested applicants can download the lists and locate the panel physicians who are within their reach. The list also contains information on the requirements for the medical examinations. While confirming with the physician on what is required of the applicant when coming for the examination, the information on the U.S. Embassy and Consulate provides comprehensive information on the same. The content has been made simple and categorized to enable a faster location of authorized physicians by applicants in different areas
For easier location, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate provides a four easy step that applicants should follow. First, an applicant should choose their three letter case number from a dropdown list from the website. These letters are abbreviations for the Consulate where the applicant will be interviewed. Second, the applicant should click on the medical examination section so that they can get complete information on the specifics of the medical examination procedure. While the procedure and requirements might be similar for almost all states, there are some specifics that might differ and the applicant need to be keen on these differences in requirements. For applicants to view the downloaded pdf version of the medical examination instructions, they need to have the latest version of Adobe Reader (U.S. Department of State-Bureau of Consular Affairs, 2016). In case the applicant is using an old version, the file may bring a popup of a “file corrupted” error and the applicant might not be in a position to view it.
Once the applicant has completed the procedures above, they can locate the physician who is near their locality and who they are comfortable with to conduct their examination. It is important to note that, as earlier said, the physician has to be on the authorized list by USCIS. The applicant can now contact the panel physician and book an appointment for the medical examination. As they make the contact, they should categorically state to the medical physician that the test is for the purposes of immigration visa application. Together with the physician, the applicant can set a date for the process. It is important to confirm the cost of the medical examination because they differ with physicians, location and the tests that should be carried out. After the examination, the applicant should have a number of tests already done and ready to be presented for the interview.
For a guidance checklist, the following records should be obtained. The first record is the vaccination immunization records. According to the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, immigrant visa applicants are required to obtain certain vaccinations before they are allowed to get their visa (Consultorios de Visa, 2014). While vaccines for K or V visa applicants may be optional, it is always convenient to make sure that all vaccination requirement are met. In addition to the immunization records, applicants are required to present records on any chest x-rays done and copies of records for their medical history. Lastly, they need to present their travel documents such as laissez-passer, passport or their identity cards.
Author:
Nathan Bradshaw is an expert marketer who specializes in promoting and growing physician practices. He currently works with UrgentWay to help improve their online footprint and garner interest in their Urgent Care, Occupational Health and Health Services.