Update: Carla’s K-1 visa medical exam took place in 2012. It’s highly likely that some parts of the process will have changed since then – for example, we’ve recently read that they no longer check inside your underwear during the medical exam. For that reason, we recommend that you read Carla’s experience to give you a general idea of what might happen, or just out of interest to see what her medical exam was like – but also check some more up-to-date accounts, to give you a fuller picture. Remember also that internet reports are no substitute for expert advice from an immigration attorney or qualified professional.
For anyone who has read the horror stories about the K-1 visa medical exam, or is anticipating going through the same experience, or is just curious about the lengths people have to go to in order to get a U.S. visa – here is Carla’s experience:
All the gory details of the K-1 visa medical exam
My medical exam took place in London, on April 2nd, 2012, at the Knightsbridge Doctors’ office near Bond Street. I arrived in London by train, and had plenty of time to walk from Bond Street underground station and find Bentinck Street. It took longer than the five minutes the instructions from Knightsbridge Doctors had claimed. Thankfully, I’d allowed plenty of extra time and arrived with ages to spare. The area has plenty of coffee shops and cafés, so there are lots of places to sit and wait.
Eventually, about twenty minutes before the appointment time, I decided it was silly to spend any more time walking around outside the building. I decided to go in. The front doors of the building are locked. They release when you push the button to the right of the door.
Inside, there’s a hallway, and a lift/elevator, and a door to the right, marked “Knightsbridge Doctors – PLEASE ENTER”. So I went through, and a voice immediately said, “Window 2”. I walked to the second window along, and a smiling receptionist was there. She asked my name, then asked for all the documents I’d brought with me. I handed over my passport, another passport photo (which could be US size or UK size), my police certificate, vaccination records, and the medical questionnaire I’d completed beforehand. The receptionist then handed me a clipboard with another questionnaire on it, which was similar to the one I’d just handed in. I went to a waiting room, where there were armchairs and sofas, and a few anxious-looking people who didn’t seem to be talking to each other. I completed the questionnaire, took it back to the receptionist, then returned to the waiting room.
After about fifteen minutes, a nurse arrived in the room and called my name. I followed her down a corridor, and sat down in an office, where she asked me some questions about my vaccination records. This little chat only lasted about five minutes, then I went to a smaller waiting room. There were some toys for small children, and crayons… and some crayon scribbles on the wall.
After about ten minutes of waiting, a friendly man arrived. He told me it was time for my chest x-ray, and I followed him into another room. He asked me a few general questions: Was I feeling well? Any chest problems or previous chest injuries? Then he asked me to go behind a screen, undress from the waist up, and put on a blue cotton gown.
The chest x-ray was over very quickly. I kept the gown on for the procedure, and had to stand against a metal plate, with my chin resting on the top of it. Afterwards, I waited and watched with the x-ray man as the image appeared on a screen. It “unrolled” slowly from the top down, and I had an anxious few moments waiting for something scary-looking to appear. Fortunately, nothing did. The x-ray guy said that he wouldn’t be making the final decision. On first glance, though, he couldn’t see anything concerning.
After that, I went back to the small waiting room. I sat there, still in the gown, and waited for the doctor to call me.
After about fifteen minutes, I was called into another room by a serious-looking doctor. She introduced herself and said that there was a bit of paperwork to get through. The medical questionnaire from earlier was there, with my photo stapled in the corner. I had to sign the statement at the bottom of the questionnaire. I also had to put my signature half on the photo and half on the paper.
The physical exam and sight test
After that came the physical exam. First, I had to undress (keeping the robe and underwear on). Then I stood against the wall to have my (lack of) height measured. Then came the scary bit, as I stood on the scales. I’d given this a lot of thought in advance, anticipating some serious advice about the dangers of obesity. I stood on the scales and exclaimed, “Yay! It’s still going down!”, to which the doctor replied, “Great!” and said no more. Phew.
Then came the sight test. I had to stand against the wall and read some letters on a chart. I didn’t quite manage this completely, but the doctor said I’d done okay for the visa. She commented that I should probably book an eye test at some point soon!
After that, I had to sit on the edge of the bed/couch while the doctor checked my eyes, ears and mouth. Then I had to lie on the bed, with the gown still on, while my breathing, pulse, and blood pressure were checked. The doctor examined my breasts and abdomen, and yes, it’s true; they really do look inside your underwear (but only very quickly). After that, the doctor took a blood sample, and I asked what sort of things she was checking for. She told me, “Only syphilis. We used to check for HIV, but we don’t do that now.”
Then it was over, and I was able to get dressed.
It’s not as bad as some of the online comments say!
During the examination, the doctor was quite chatty, and we talked about some of the horror stories I’d read online. The doctor named a certain visa-related online community, and said that the doctors there do sometimes read it. They laugh at some of the stories, and try to identify each other from the descriptions given… although they usually fail!
When the exam was over, I returned to the first waiting room, which was pretty crowded. This would give the receptionist time to gather my documents together. Then I was called to the reception window to pay the fee for the examination. The receptionist told me that the results would go to the Embassy within the next four days. I would only hear from them again if there should turn out to be a problem with the blood or x-ray results. The whole thing had taken about 1 hour 30 minutes from start to finish.
All in all, the experience wasn’t as scary as I’d had been expecting. It wasn’t exactly fun, but everyone was friendly and cheerful, and did everything they could to put people at ease. Everyone called us by our first names and there was less waiting around than I had expected.
With that, one more stage of the visa process was complete. Onward to the next challenge!
Please remember that all information given is from our own personal experience only. We’re not immigration experts, and nothing on our website should be construed as legal advice, or relied upon for your own visa process. Every case is different – and for expert help and advice, we would always recommend that you contact an immigration attorney.
If you’d like to talk to us about your own visa experience, or your long-distance relationship, you’re welcome to get in touch with us on our Facebook page. We can’t give legal advice or financial help, but we’re always happy to hear from people in long-distance relationships, so if you’d like to talk anything through with us, please get in touch.
© Larry and Carla Sue
