Ask the Consul
I am applying for an immigrant visa and need to go for my medical examination. What should I expect at the medical examination? Can I have my personal doctor perform the medical exam?
The medical examination may not be done by your family doctor or any doctor other than the approved panel physician.
On the day of the medical appointment, you must bring your passport (or other photo identification) and appointment letter to the doctor's office. The medical examination will include a medical history, physical examination, chest X-ray and blood tests for syphilis and HIV. The physical examination will include, at a minimum: examinations of the eyes, ears, nose and throat, extremities, heart, lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, skin and external genitalia.
The panel physician will provide you with your medical exam results in a sealed envelope. You need to bring the unopened medical report to your interview. Under certain situations the clinic will send the results directly to the consular section.
Please note, the medical examination is not a full and complete physical examination. Its purpose is to screen only for certain medical conditions relevant to U.S. immigration law. Although in the course of the examination, the panel physician might uncover other matters related to your health, the physician is not required to examine you for any conditions except those the U.S. Public Health Service specifies for U.S. immigration purposes, nor is the physician required to provide you with any diagnosis or treatment. You should not consider this examination to be a substitute for a full physical examination, consultation, diagnosis, or treatment by your primary health care provider.