The USCIS recently announced that effective August 12, 2021, medical examination and vaccination records required for residency cases will temporarily be extended from two years to four years.
This change is due to processing delays which have caused medical reports to expire due to long USCIS processing times. As such, medical reports (form I-693) in sealed envelopes will be considered to be valid as long as:
- The civil surgeon’s signature is dated no more than 60 days before the applicant filed Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status
- No more than four years have passed since the date of the civil surgeon’s signature
- A decision on the applicant’s Form I-485 is issued on or before September 30, 2021
The USCIS is also now encouraging immigrants to include medical examination reports with applications filed to adjust status (form I-485), to prevent delays caused by having to issue a request for evidence (RFE) for the I-693. The USCIS may extend the temporary validity of medical reports past September 30th in the coming months.
You can read medical report validity extension announcement by visiting our website at www.Immigratetoday.com and clicking on the Immigration Newsletter link in the upper left hand corner or by visiting our enewsletter site at: www.americanimmigrationcentral.com
** Contributions to this Column are made by Attorney Caroly Pedersen, Esq. of the American Immigration Law Center
