Change of status: F-1 student marrying a USC

[Nga&John 12]

NancyNguyen - I am rather offended by your post. I will always go to the USCIS website and research the latest information and will consider the latest updates as I proceed with my case. While I value the input of each person here, and have, and plan to continue to, ask questions as they come up, I am an intelligent professional with the research skills to verify or refute what is provided here. VJ is a wonderful place that has proven itself very valuable in my journey this far, but let's be realistic, you are all internet strangers and I have no way of truly knowing how accurate your advice is. So I have, and plan to, ask questions, and then continue my own research to verify the advice I've received. I don't follow internet strangers blindly nor do I expect others to do so also. Thus I will provide references if my advice is anything other than relaying my personal experiences (which again, I'm an internet stranger so take it with a grain of salt). The strongest weight of evidence for me comes from the source - USCIS.

As I said in my post "That being said I personally would still submit it all at once, the chances of this taking a year seem slim and if necessary i will redo the medical. I'd rather not risk any RFEs...". Perhaps I should have been more blunt to ensure everyone got that I was not advising that the poster wait.

I did however want to make it clear that there is information on the USCIS' website to support what Lumia was saying, even if I wouldn't proceed as s/he was suggesting.

While that policy manual information is not in the instructions at present, it is publicly available and was provided in the recent policy update.

Again, I'm not advocating withholding the medical, I am advocating each person should read and review for themselves and make their own decision.

Nancy didn't tell you to do anything. All you have to do is to read and follow forms' instructions, not looking into some manuals, which are not for applicants.

[Nga&John 12]

NancyNguyen - I am rather offended by your post. I will always go to the USCIS website and research the latest information and will consider the latest updates as I proceed with my case. While I value the input of each person here, and have, and plan to continue to, ask questions as they come up, I am an intelligent professional with the research skills to verify or refute what is provided here. VJ is a wonderful place that has proven itself very valuable in my journey this far, but let's be realistic, you are all internet strangers and I have no way of truly knowing how accurate your advice is. So I have, and plan to, ask questions, and then continue my own research to verify the advice I've received. I don't follow internet strangers blindly nor do I expect others to do so also. Thus I will provide references if my advice is anything other than relaying my personal experiences (which again, I'm an internet stranger so take it with a grain of salt). The strongest weight of evidence for me comes from the source - USCIS.

As I said in my post "That being said I personally would still submit it all at once, the chances of this taking a year seem slim and if necessary i will redo the medical. I'd rather not risk any RFEs...". Perhaps I should have been more blunt to ensure everyone got that I was not advising that the poster wait.

I did however want to make it clear that there is information on the USCIS' website to support what Lumia was saying, even if I wouldn't proceed as s/he was suggesting.

While that policy manual information is not in the instructions at present, it is publicly available and was provided in the recent policy update.

Again, I'm not advocating withholding the medical, I am advocating each person should read and review for themselves and make their own decision.

Nancy didn't tell you to do anything. All you have to do is to read and follow forms' instructions, not looking into some manuals, which are not for applicants.

[CdnRN 40]

Nga&John - I agree, follow the instructions. 100%.

BUT, I must ask - who says the policy manual isn't for the applicant to read? The information page itself says "The USCIS Policy Manual provides transparency to our customers, including outlining policies that are easy to understand, while also furthering consistency, quality, and efficiency in our adjudications and customer service. The USCIS Policy Manual contains the official policies of USCIS and must be followed by all USCIS officers in the performance of their duties." (Last paragraph on this page: http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual.html ).

As far as I am concerned I AM a customer, and since they themselves have stated the above, I'd say it's for me to read if I choose to, particularly since it is easily available.

[fullglass 5]

okay people, let's stop with the pissing contest.

I'm not sure which websites you are getting your info. from, but as of today, 9/8/2014, if you go the uscis.gov and search for the Instructions for form I485, it will state at the top right "Expires 6/30/2015". I'm not sure where you got that manual from, but read these instructions. On Page 4 of the instructions, it clearly states "7. Medical examination" as "Initial Evidence". Also, on Page 4 regarding "7. Medical examination", it states, "A. General: When filing your Form I-485, include your medical examination report with the application, unless you are a refugee." Be sure to read the entire "7. Medical examination" section.

So yes, when applying for AOS, send your SEALED I693 along with your I485, unless you meet the criteria of not being required to send one.

[fullglass 5]

Also, aside from following instructions per USCIS, wouldn't it be common sense and logical just to send the I693 with the I485? The service center probably gets hundreds, if not thousands of applications, on top of the hundreds and thousands of application already at the service center, so if you send them separately, it could get lost and/or confuse whoever receives it and/or delay the entire process.