UPDATE: As we all know my spouse's CXR came back with a scar, that too towards the end of the DV year. We have to undergo Sputum Cultures for my husband which will return results on 19th October 2015. That's even longer than the requisite 56 days. First Sputum was taken on 11/8/15. The process involves going for 3 days continuously at 7am and spitting phlegm. I thought it was the normal spit, but no. My husband tells me you need to cough up stuff from your chest and it is difficult and painful. Coughing a little before trying to spit helps loosen the stuff. For the 3 days they went, there were always around 6 new cases around for Sputum meaning it is not a rare occurrence.
Initially, we were against Sputum testing because the results would have been out after DV deadline, but we are glad we went through. Firstly, we will have peace of mind when the results are out and if not at least we will have detected his TB early enough. Secondly, the rest of the family is no longer considered "contacts" especially since the Sputum smears (results after 3 days) have come back negative.
Initially, IOM refused to split the files and send just My results along with my daughter's until my husband's results were out at which point the results were useless as the DV year would be over. I wrote to the Embassy on
ImmigrationVisaNairobi@state.gov and the IOM on
iomnbomedical@iom.int. I found the US Embassy to be extremely responsive and my emails were always answered the same day or next day if I sent the emails at night. The IOM on the other hand never responded to emails and all my communication was through phone and personal visits just to get answers, which were usually very inconsistent. I would be told one thing one day and something totally different the next day. I also live about 30 Kms from the Health Centre and in peak Nairobi traffic that meant 4-6 hours of travel daily. Then to be told there was no way my result would be sent seemed rather harsh. I am not sure if it was my email or correspondence between my father (a senior government official) and the US Embassy Protocol that resolved the issue. As of today I have met the Chief Medical Officer who agreed to release the file with my husband's result as incomplete after we signed for the same. Initially, they told us it will lead to outright rejection and they will no longer treat him IF TB is discovered and I would not get my sputum results at all. The CMO however told me I would get my results regardless of the immigrant case action as I paid for the sputum tests which sounds about right. Another advantage is that when I file for his spousal petition, the medical history of the particular scar discovered will already be with IOM so we may not need to repeat sputum.
So as it stands, I am still going to be interviewed on 8th September and will let you guys know what happens from there. It was a hard fight and one that I only took because this so called policy seems unjust. IOM justifies their stand by arguing that this is their interpretation of the instructions, but a part of me feels it is just a bureaucratic red tape that should be re-evaluated and proper procedure followed. I hope my case experience and resolution will help others coming to look at this forum for details should they be in such an unfortunate situation themselves. I am not fighting this for me, because God knows I have already made it here, I am doing this for the person who had all their hopes tied to a certain confirmation number and was left behind because of a teeny tiny scar.[/QUOTE
All the best. I love your courage and determination. May all go well with you and your family.
