Advice plz... send or wait for medical

F

fire101

Member
I now have everything nearly ready to be sent (all forms, ie I-485, I-130 etc.).

My current TN expires Dec. 17th, meaning I am already in the 90 day window for EAD.

My appointment for my medical is on Monday and they said it could take a week or more to get all the results.

Do I send in paperwork, expecting RFE for medical, or wait a week or two until I get it back?

Thanks for opinions!
 
PraetorianXI said:
It should not take more than 1 week.
Click to expand...

That just depends on the clinic/doctor you used. One of them here will not have the results and forms filled out in less than 3 weeks. Sounds silly I know, but they took 3 weeks to get mine back and they absolutely refused to allow me to get it from them any earlier.

But for the OP - I'd wait for the medical. If you send it in without one, they might send you an RFE for the medical and while they are waiting for the RFE back from you, your applications will be put on hold - thus delaying your EAD even longer. At least that's my opinion.
 
Ok, thanks for your thoughts. I will have everything ready for mailing by the time I get the medical back.

What is a typical fee for the medical from the 'civil surgeon'? This one is askng $195.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
fire101 said:
Ok, thanks for your thoughts. I will have everything ready for mailing by the time I get the medical back.

What is a typical fee for the medical from the 'civil surgeon'? This one is askng $195.
Click to expand...

Anywhere from $100 to $300 depending on what kind of vaccinations you might need.
 
hmmm, do I need to get some documents showing what vaccinations I've had in the past? Maybe they don't care and will give them to me again?
 
fire101 said:
hmmm, do I need to get some documents showing what vaccinations I've had in the past? Maybe they don't care and will give them to me again?
Click to expand...

If you don't have any documentation about what you have had before, they will probably make you get them again. They will not just take your word for it.

And the charge they quoted might not include the cost of any shots you will need - so if they give you some shots, it might cost you even more.
 
fire101 said:
Maybe they don't care and will give them to me again?
Click to expand...
If you don't have proof you've had them in the past, they will. Be advised that those can rack up quite the cost and are not included in the base fee for medical (usually). Also, if you need a bunch of them, they may not want to give all of them at the same time to avoid cross-reaction/complications. But since you'll have to go back to have your TB test read, they may be able to spread them over multiple days.
 
Ok, I will get clear costs for everything so I understand going in. Also, I will find what vac's I've had in the past.

Thanks for the assistance.
 
fire101 said:
hmmm, do I need to get some documents showing what vaccinations I've had in the past? Maybe they don't care and will give them to me again?
Click to expand...

If you can show some kinds of proofs to the doctor about having those vaccinations in the past (regardless of where you took those vaccinations) then you don't need to take those vaccinations again, which means saving a big chunck on money on those vaccinations. Besides, it's kinda risky (sometimes) to take some of those vaccinations again...as it has been reported on many immigration websites out there...
 
PraetorianXI said:
Send everything together, including the medical. It should not take more than 1 week.
Click to expand...

Correct. Send EVERYTHING together. Medical doesn't take more than 4-6 days unless you are living in a remote area wherein doctor sends those kinds of tests once in two weeks...
 
fire101 said:
Ok, I will get clear costs for everything so I understand going in. Also, I will find what vac's I've had in the past.

Thanks for the assistance.
Click to expand...

The cost of medical examination varies doctor-by-doctor...Some asks for too much, while others are reasonable. If you live in a big cities then you have enough options to shop around. Where do you live? Just say...for example, you live in NJ but close to NYC. You can take your medical examination in NYC if you get a good deal...Applicants can take medical examination ANYWHERE in the US regardless of where they live...so long doctors are approved by INS. There is another way to lower down the price which is to go to city or local govt. clinic or hospital to get those vaccinations and then show the proofs to the doctor. Many people have done this here to lower the cost.
 
I paid 480$. Ofcourse I have been vaccinated, I had no records and looking for some was going to be a hustle. I didn't even bother telling the doc anything. I just said yes to everything. But pple say you can go have the shots taken somewhere cheaply, then take yourself with the records to the recommended doc.
 
JohnnyCash said:
Besides, it's kinda risky (sometimes) to take some of those vaccinations again...as it has been reported on many immigration websites out there...
Click to expand...

No kidding. The doc I had charged $175 for the medical, I saw him for less than 10 minutes. Tested reflexes, did some palpations and that was it. Even though I had proof of vaccination for it think rubella, he wanted me to have another shot, but suggested to get it at the student health clinic. The doctors at the student health clinic were confused b/c I would have never been admitted to the university if my Rubella wasn't up to date, and they were reluctant to give it again.

Anyway, I was able to convince them to just give me the $5 shot, but frankly, I thought the USCIS doc was wrong, and too hasty drawing conclusions. O well, I'm still alive ;). But it goes to show that some doctors may be better than others.
 
Guys, shop around for those civil surgeons. Some of them are just crooks and can barely be called doctors. My wife went to one of this surgeons. She did not even talked to my wife; the nurse did everything. They charged $200 and gave the package back to us in just 2 days. The other thing is that some of this so called doctors will give you a vaccine without worrying about severe side effects. The morale of the story: shop around and be careful.
 
In my case, I know the shots I got, they are just regular shots that pple get, nothing strange. But again, my lab tests had to be sent out of town. It's a good idea to shop around but make sure they are USCIS recommended.
 
JohnnyCash said:
Believe it or not, $$$$$ is all they care about
Click to expand...
O, I had no illusions about it being different than that. Frankly, I didn't give a crap, all i cared about is getting it done, and this guy was the closest to me (still 60 minutes away, but the next closest would be 2h+ away). Also, I could get the TB test and shot done for nearly free at our university health clinic, so it wasn't too bad.
 
Mine was $100 for the exam + vacinnations. I brought proof of vacinations so I only needed one which was $60. All in all with the blood test, shot, tp, and exam I was only in there for like 10 min (though I waited 3 hours to go in). Results where back in 2 days.
 
woodenshoe101 said:
O, I had no illusions about it being different than that. Frankly, I didn't give a crap, all i cared about is getting it done, and this guy was the closest to me (still 60 minutes away, but the next closest would be 2h+ away). Also, I could get the TB test and shot done for nearly free at our university health clinic, so it wasn't too bad.
Click to expand...

Me, too! I didn't care too much about shopping around. USCIS services are far from me so shopping around is not an option. I had to drive 2 hrs away to another state to get my fp. The fp office in my state is 4hrs away. So even sthing like walkin fp is not an option. I will have to drive 5hrs for my interview!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top