Medical exam vaccinations for parents
I am considering filing I130/485 for my parents and had a question on the medical exams. They are from India and as such have no vaccination records. Both are above 60. I live in MA and called a couple of designated civil surgeons. Thier exam fees + cost of 2 vaccines was ~240. However both mentioned the likelihood of my parents needing the Zoster vaccince because of their age. The cost is $275 pp!
The docs offices will not list what other vaccines may end up being required up front.
Are the costs in line with what others are seeing?
Are there cheaper sources to get these vaccines (especially the zoster vaccine)?
We are weighing the costs of AOS vs CP. As such it appears AOS costs twice as much as COP but with lesser hassles. Add to this cost differences for the medical exam
I am considering filing I130/485 for my parents and had a question on the medical exams. They are from India and as such have no vaccination records. Both are above 60. I live in MA and called a couple of designated civil surgeons. Thier exam fees + cost of 2 vaccines was ~240. However both mentioned the likelihood of my parents needing the Zoster vaccince because of their age. The cost is $275 pp!
The docs offices will not list what other vaccines may end up being required up front.
Are the costs in line with what others are seeing?
Are there cheaper sources to get these vaccines (especially the zoster vaccine)?
We are weighing the costs of AOS vs CP. As such it appears AOS costs twice as much as COP but with lesser hassles. Add to this cost differences for the medical exam
Thier exam fees + cost of 2 vaccines was ~240. However both mentioned the likelihood of my parents needing the Zoster vaccince because of their age. The cost is $275 pp! My exam was $180, which included the blood test and TB. I had to pay $80 extra for a tetanus shot (it has expired) and HPV vaccine (Im female and under age 26 - but isnt relevant in your case).
The docs offices will not list what other vaccines may end up being required up front. Go to the USCIS form and look over the requirements for I-693 forms. That will list all of the required vaccines. I dont know why that particular doctors office wont disclose ahead of time. Seems strange to me.
Are there cheaper sources to get these vaccines? Depending on the vaccines, sometimes the County Health Department in your city should be able to offer cheaper vaccines. Thats where I obtained my tetanus shot.
I would shop around on the USCIS website for another civil surgeon in your area. The price differences can vary greatly.
Thanks for the reply. The main issue is that the list of vaccines is "age-specific" and "patient specific". A lot of doctors in my area are only accepting current patients apparently. Just puzzled by this...they offer the service for would be immigrants. How can they even have anyone in this category as "current patients" given most either dont have insurance or carry travel insurance which does not allow selection of a PCP