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ResourcesVisa & Immigration LawUS Immigration LawHow Does Prior Tuberculosis Infection Impact the US Visa Process?

How Does Prior Tuberculosis Infection Impact the US Visa Process?

Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Tuberculosis and how it impacts those who are applying for a visa to the United States.  

Out here in Thailand, it seems like about every 18 months I get a case where an individual will have had Tuberculosis at some point in their life and as a result it can have, I would call it a detrimental impact on the visa process but it's not a deal-killer for lack of a better word.  In my experience, it is simply a matter of delay as the qualified Civil Surgeon who undertakes the medical examination associated with the issuance of a US Visa, needs to go ahead and undertake a more prolonged examination on those who have had tuberculosis in the past in order to ascertain whether or not that individual still is a communicable carrier of that disease.  This usually takes a number of extra weeks in comparison to most medical examinations and for this reason, those who have had tuberculosis in the past could see their visa application slow down relative to those who have never been infected with that particular illness and as a result are not slowed down by the extra exams that are needed to go ahead and confirm that that individual is not in fact going to raise concerns regarding a communicable disease in the United States.  

So the thing to take away from this video is, Yes, it can pose a problem.  It can cause some delays but it is mostly a matter of medical due diligence in the form of the Civil Surgeon making certain that the individual in question is no longer a threat to basically spreading the disease and therefore can be admitted to the United States in whatever Visa status they are seeking.