So J needed a medical exam to file his application with the INS, and they have a list of doctors (or as they say, Civil Surgeons) that are qualified to conduct the exam. Dr. Jacobson was the most convenient to our place, since he's up at UCLA, and since the exam is basically a "check off that you don't have TB, leprosy, syphillis" exercise, he didn't particularly care about the doctor-patient experience. Just that the form was filled out. So he went to Dr. Jacobson, plunked down a pretty penny, proved that he didn't have any communicable diseases, got shot up with a bunch of immunizations, paid some more for said immunizations, and returned a few days, form in hand.
Now you have to submit your application with the form sealed by the doctor so there's no tampering, but they'll give you a photocopy. When J showed it to me, I pointed out to him that the doctor hadn't checked off the "No" box to a few of the questions on the 3rd page. Wanting to stay on the safe side, since the INS wouldn't even open the medical exam until his interview, he called Dr. Jacobson's office to ask for those boxes to be checked "No." They told him that he didn't need to have them checked because Dr. Jacobson had already checked a catchall box on the first page. So J mailed in his application.
Fast forward to the interview. J is informed that the medical exam is incomplete because there are a few boxes on the 3rd page that were never checked. He's given two options: mail in a new exam form (which will hold up the process by 6 months) or return to the INS in downtown no later than the following morning. Needless to say, J is pissed as balls.
J calls Dr. Jacobson's office and says that they f***ed up and he needs a new form that day, so that he can return it the following morning. The receptionist says that Dr. J usually leaves around 3:15 (it's now 2:30/2:45) so he better get there fast, and doesn't guarantee that he'll be there. Even though this is completely his fault AND will cause some major problemos if it's not taken care of quickly. After some harsh words and light traffic, J sprints to the UCLA Medical Center and Dr. J is still in the office.
Here's the thing: mistakes happen. And despite J asking about this whole not-checked boxes beforehand only to be told it was unnecessary, apparently the INS used to not care about those boxes not being checked. But when we came to their office, his receptionist said that other patients have also been returning recently with the same exact problem.
That's just messed up. They know there's a problem with all the forms they filled out. They know that their patients are going to have to return. And they don't CALL them?!? Knowing that this problem was going to arise, what Dr. J's office SHOULD have done was called J (and other patients) and mentioned that he'd need to submit a new form. J could have brought said form the the interview and this would have solved any problems before they arose. But no, because of the office's laziness and utter lack of caring for their patients, they instead are having their patients return, frazzled because their applications can't be processed and in a tight bind to get a new form on the other side of town. And what kills us is that Dr. J never even came out of his office to apologize - rather he stayed behind closed doors and made his receptionist do all the paperwork and all (which, btw, the INS doesn't approve of) and never showed his face. Coward.
Dr. Jacobson is making a lot of money filling out medical exam forms as an approved civil surgeon. These exams are not intensive, insurance sure as hell doesn't cover it, and his patients are people filing to stay in this country and among those with few rights. Dr. Jacobson is completely taking advantage of them. A mistake, okay. But it's his duty to know about updates to the medical forms, and really, it would have been 3 more seconds of work to check those boxes in the first place. Knowing that people are now getting their forms rejected on that basis, though, it is his practice's responsibility to alert his patients about the fact that they'll need to resubmit their medical paperwork and take care of it BEFORE they go for their interview, to avoid this harried confrontation with a ticking clock.
You can check out the USCIS (INS) website for a list of Civil Surgeons. DO NOT go to Dr. Jacobson, because he only cares about your money, not about alerting you when things go wrong. You don't need to find a physician who will care about you, but you don't want to be running around like a banshee after a frazzling interview just so that your case isn't held up. And if you have gone to Dr. Jacobson and have an interview coming up, check your copy of your medical exam. If you don't see EVERY category box checked (esp. page 3) then go to him immediately and demand a new form to bring to your interview. read more