USCIS Extends Temporary Waiver of 60-Day Rule for Civil Surgeon Signatures on Form I-693

Link:
https://www.uscis.gov/newsroom/alerts/extension-of-temporary-waiver-of-60-day-rule-for-civil-surgeon-signatures-on-form-i-693

Pasricha & Patel

USCIS has announced that it is extending the previously announced temporary waiver of the requirement for the Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, that the USCIS-designated civil surgeon must sign the form no more than sixty (60) days before an applicant files an application for immigration benefit (such as filing the Form I-485 adjustment of status), through March 31, 2023.

USCIS explains that this temporary waiver was originally set to expire on September 30, 2022, but USCIS decided to extend the waiver further in order to help those applicants who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and any related processing delays, which have negatively impacted the applicants from completing their requisite medical examinations within the required timeframe. By allowing applicants temporarily to submit their underlying immigrant application (such as Form I-485 adjustment of status application) with a completed medical examination report, even if the doctor had signed the report more than 60 days ago, it would allow applicants to proceed to complete their immigrant application process without having to obtain a second medical examination. This waiver applies to ALL Form I-693 related with applications for underlying immigration benefits that have not been adjudicated, regardless of when the application was submitted to USCIS or when a civil surgeon signed the Form I-693.

USCIS points out that this temporary waiver will also continue to be helpful to Afghan nationals who have been evacuated from Afghanistan as part of Operation Allies Welcome and who may have completed their immigration medical examinations at government-run facilities but have not been able to timely file for their adjustment of status applications within sixty (60) days of completing the medical examination.

Even more so, this temporary waiver should also help those immigrants who may have completed their medical examination reports earlier, and were simply waiting for the visa filing date to become ‘available’ before submitting to USCIS their adjustment of status applications along with their completed medical examination reports that were completed outside the sixty (60) day window.

As USCIS continues to revise and update policies in order to face challenges in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic and related processing delays, we urge readers to check back regularly with our site for the latest information and news regarding USCIS policies and guidelines updates.

Should readers have specific questions or concerns about this policy change or any other questions regarding immigration filings, we suggest you contact our office to schedule a formal consultation.