Thursday, May 29, 2003

Called US VISIT (US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indication Technology) system, the program is designed to make it easier for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to determine the legitimate tourists, students and business travelers, while making it difficult to enter with fake documents or fraudulent intent.

The inclusion of the Philippines in the Security List is seen as a result of the continuing threat of terrorists and the country's links to al-Qaeda through southern Philippine rebel groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Countries included to the Special Registration List are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Bhutan, Brazil, Congo, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

This is bad news for Filipinos joining the list of countries whose citizens are subject to the special registration procedures. Glad I am not going to the US...

But there is a good news for Philippine medical clinics because both immigrants and non-immigrants alike -- such as holders of tourist, working, student and business visas -- are subject to medical examination before visas can be issued. Medical Examinations, however, is done by an authorized civil surgeon who must perform the exam according to the specific guidelines published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Going through medical examination was not easy. I had difficulty running on a treadmill just to pass my ECG, which I had tests twice. When I was diagnosed of pneumonia based on my x-ray result, I was really shocked. I never suffered from pneumonia in the past but the attending physician insisted that I must take at least one week medication of Inoflox 400 mg plus 1000 mg of vit C. I passed the second X-RAY test although I have not taken the Inoflox as prescribed, I hate taking medications, I feel ill more during treatment so I stopped it.
Posted on May 29, 2003 10:33 PM TrackBack