Is an X-ray mandatory for a green card medical if born in China?

[mungbeans]

My wife has just been for the Green card medical first visit and the doctor told her she had to have an X-ray for TB - this is irrespective of the results of the skin test (she is due back tomorrow for the doctor to examine the skin test).

I went for a medical a few months ago with the same doctor and didn't have an X-ray and my wife asked the doctor why she needed to have one when I didn't. The doctor replied that she needed one because she has been in the US less than 5 years (she's been in the US for 2 years). However I have also been in the US for only two years and didn't have the X-ray.

When my wife said this to the doctor and she told the doctor she had been living in Canada for 10 years prior to moving to the US. The doctor said she must have the X-ray because she was born in China. (I was born in the UK).

I've been searching the internet but have been unable to find anything saying the X-ray is mandator for people born in China. Is this correct? My wife is suspicious of the doctor, thinking he has made her pay for an X-ray when one is not necessary.

What is the situation regarding the need for the X-ray?

[mai95]

China has a higher rate of TB than Uk and a few years ago they started a new campaign to redude the TB rate in the US. Even going as far as making recent immigrants redoing the x-rays in the US after arrival. The USCIS notifies the state health dept. of an immigrants TB classification and the health dept. makes the decision to retest or not ( and you have to pay for the test usually.) There is a write up on this on the CDC site.