USCIS Makes Changes to Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record

Effective November 1, 2018, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is revising policy guidance for the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.

The updated policy requires applicants to submit a Form I-693 that is signed by a civil surgeon no more than 60 days before filing the underlying application for an immigration benefit. Form I-693 would remain valid for a two-year period following the date the civil surgeon signed it.

As such, USCIS is retaining the current maximum two-year validity period of Form I-693, but calculating it in a different manner to both enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the number of requests to applicants for an updated Form I-693.

USCIS officers use Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, to determine whether an applicant for an immigration benefit in the United States is inadmissible under the health-related grounds of inadmissibility. By specifying that Form I-693 must be signed no more than 60 days before the applicant files the underlying application for which Form I-693 is required, the validity of the form is more closely tied to the timing of the underlying application.

Additionally, requiring submission of a Form I-693 that was signed no more than 60 days before the date the underlying application was filed may, in some cases, maximize the period of time Form I-693 will be valid while the underlying application is under USCIS review. Officers will still have the discretion to request a new Form I-693, if they have reason to believe an applicant may be inadmissible on the health-related grounds.

Delays in adjudicating the underlying application will also be reduced if fewer requests for updated Forms I-693 are necessary.

See the USCIS policy alert here.

Contact Murphy Desmond’s bilingual immigration lawyers for matters related to Form I-693 and other immigration needs by calling 608.270.5550 or emailing us at infoimmigration@murphydesmond.com.

Published October 18, 2018