After weeks of an awful cough, my wife (a Taiwanese citizen) finally found someone who took it seriously and ordered a chest x-ray. It came back with white areas that could be TB. We’re still waiting on sputum tests, because she’s otherwise asymptomatic (no fever, etc.).
Besides my obvious concern for my wife’s health, I am also concerned about the possibility of being deported if I’ve been infected. I know that as of 2005 TB was still a deportable “offense.” Does anyone know if it is still? And do they make a distinction for latent TB? I have no symptoms, so at this point I am not infectious (as I understand it) even if I have contracted the disease.
I don’t want to avoid testing and potentially develop a full-blown case of the disease or endanger public health, but I don’t want to be deported. We have insurance here but not in the the US, so it would be financially tough for us both to go back, but we have a new baby so being apart for a long period isn’t really an option either.
Any hope here besides the chance that a) it’s not TB after all or b) I haven’t contracted it?
I vaguely remember reading somewhere that if you can prove you contracted it here, they won’t deport you. If it was contracted elsewhere, then you might have problems.
I’d want to check carefully that such a deportation clause includes people staying here on joining family visas, especially those married to Taiwanese citizens and especially those with children. They usually seem to try to avoid splitting up families like that, don’t they?
Also, would the US authorities let your wife into the US if she has TB?
Hopefully it’s different. I did notice that the Tealit thread on this refers specifically to foreign workers. I am not here on a work visa, but I didn’t get a family visa either. I have a residence visa secured through the ministry of education for research purposes.
As for my wife being able to return to the US, that’s yet another issue to worry about. She has a valid green card, but I don’t know what the US rules are on this.
One of the ironies is that we’re actually here for my benefit so I can pursue my research. Now there’s a chance that I’ll get sent back and my wife and baby will have to stay. I’m trying not to get too freaked about that before even her test results are back let alone mine, but I always feel a little better when I know what the possibilities are ahead of time…
[quote=“Rui Daxia”]Hopefully it’s different. I did notice that the Tealit thread on this refers specifically to foreign workers. I am not here on a work visa, but I didn’t get a family visa either. I have a residence visa secured through the ministry of education for research purposes.
As for my wife being able to return to the US, that’s yet another issue to worry about. She has a valid green card, but I don’t know what the US rules are on this.
One of the ironies is that we’re actually here for my benefit so I can pursue my research. Now there’s a chance that I’ll get sent back and my wife and baby will have to stay. I’m trying not to get too freaked about that before even her test results are back let alone mine, but I always feel a little better when I know what the possibilities are ahead of time…[/quote]
Maybe this would be a good time to switch over to a JFRV.
Like Sandman said, the rules are more in our favor, deportation wise.
My friend had TB a few years ago and his school tried cancelling his contract, ARC and NHI which in effect would have forced him to leave.
We paid a visit to the Department of Infectious Diseases to see if they could intervene and stop the unfair cancellation. They didn’t seem to care about it anymore than the Labor department.
We than asked them if it was legal to fly when knowingly having an infectious disease. Furthermore I pointed out a recent documented case of a Taiwanese passenger spreading TB on a flight to the U.S. and how they thought it would look if such a story hit the papers again—this seemed to get a little more attention.
The next day his school called him and said they decided not to cancel his contract and ARC.
I suspect what happened is the government realized if they had allowed the cancellation and this guy couldn’t fly out than they would be the ones having to deal with the complications.
Try calling a few airlines and making a reservation after telling them you have TB.
Transmission rates for TB are about 20%, and this is for people with frequent contact, so there is only a 1 in 5 chance you can contract it. Also I would have assumed the BCG (not 100% effective and only last for a limited time period) injection would have been common place in Taiwan. I have heard/read of only one TB case here in Taiwan, and for younger people its more difficult to contract.
Two years ago my daughter got what is called walking pneumonia. She had a cough for about a month. We took her to several doctors, who blamed allergies, the weather, the last doctor etc. Finally we told them to give her an X-ray, and they found white spots and after elinintating TB and the such, concluded it was walking pneumonia. We paid for anti-bioties (the good ones). She stayed in the hospital three days, never had a temperature, never appeared sick, but coughed a lot. The whole thing scared the shit out of me, especially as she was only 1.5 years old at the time, and I remember my brother had pneumonia when he was young, and some other neighbor died from it. At that time there was a big fear associated with it. Now though that they have better drugs and treatment, and do not see it as such a life threatening illness.
As said even if you did contract TB, Taiwan authorities are reluctant to break up families, and would not like to be seen as irresponsible in dumping infected people on planes out of Taiwan
I cannot believe the irresponsibility and insanity of sticking people who are infected with TB on an airplane to deport them. That is positively scandalous. :fume:
I suggest that if you were to get deported, you notify the airline as well as the media of your condition before boarding a plane as well as your situation of being split up from your family because you contracted an infectious disease in Taiwan. I am sure the authorities would change their tune rather quickly.
Yes, and then I would do the same again at the airport check-in and, in the unlikely event that I was allowed on the plane, I would stand up and proclaim in a loud but hoarse voice, “Hello, fellow passengers. My name is Juba and I have tuberculosis,” and then double up in a fit of nasty coughing.
Someone told me few days ago that they had a foreigner friend who got dignosed with TB in a Taiwanese hospital.
Next thing - the police arrived in hospital and he is asked where he went in last few days and all those people are checked for TB.
He is kept in house arrest at his home, for two months, until his reports came back normal. He was crying to be allowed to go home-country but they did not allow him to go (to prevent spread of the disease). The government paid for his treatment and everything. The whole floor on his building was evacuated.
It seems that you are doubting the anecdote I heard. I’m not sure too, would love if someone with direct knowledge weighs in here. But it seems plausible …
