RFE for I-693

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

Hello, first off, a huge thank you to this site as it has provided my wife and me with a wealth of information and support through what is a convoluted, opaque, and often frustrating process.

 

Today, we received an RFE for a form I-693.  My wife submitted her i-485 in February 2022.  She entered the country in October 2021 on a K-1 Visa and her medical exam was completed in June 2021.  We were married in November 2021.

 

I am confused by the RFE for a few reasons.  First, my wife already did an IME for the K-1 visa, since it was less than a year old when we submitted the I-485, we should not have needed a new IME.  Second, we submitted a form DS-3025 with the I-485.  That DS-3025 clearly states that "K Visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirements."  She does not have a Class A medical condition.  Third, I understood that she would bring her sealed I-693 to her interview.  Finally, I understand that several people are obtaining green cards without an interview and this may be USCIS's way of obtaining the I-693 without my wife going to an interview and handing it to someone.  However, the RFE letter is ambiguous as to whether USCIS is asking us to submit the I-693 that we already have or a new I-693.

 

Some specifics from the letter for background:

 

1. The letter is clearly a "Request for Evidence" as it is titled as such.
2. The letter advises us to:

Quote

Submit a completed Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. A USCIS civil surgeon must complete and sign the form, and you must also sign the form.  If the civil surgeon refers you to a specialist, the specialist must include his or her medical exam results and complete the proper sections of the Form I-693 before the civil surgeon may sign the form.  Once everyone has signed, the civil surgeon will place the completed Form I-693 in a sealed envelope and give it to you.  You must submit the sealed envelope containing the original Form I-693 and medical exam results; we will NOT accept photocopied Form I-693 and medical exam results.

 

...

 

Please Note: All Forms I-693 signed by the civil surgeons on or after October 5, 2022 must use the 07/19/2022 edition of Form I-693.  USCIS will not accept the 09/13/2021 version (or any previous editions) if the civil surgeon signed the Form I-693 after October 4, 2022.  Therefore, the civil surgeon administering your immigration medical examination must complete and sign the 07/19/2022 edition of the Form I-693

We are leaning towards just getting a new IME as some of the language of this letter seems to suggest that a new IME is required.  Specifically, the letter states that an original I-693 must be submitted and that a photocopy will not be accepted.  We do have our I-693 sealed white envelope from the IME in June 2021. I don't know what's in it but when I hold it up to the light, it looks like it's just a CD.  Thus, no "original" I-693 form (I'm guessing this was in the packet that was submitted at POE but may have been lost(?) by USCIS).  In addition, the letter pretty clearly states that "the civil surgeon administering your immigration medical examination must complete and sign the 07/19/2022 edition of the Form I-693," which suggests to me that a new form needs to be completed.

 

However, can someone give us a sanity check?  Are we overreacting and we just need to submit our sealed envelope or do we need to do a whole new IME?  Should we call USCIS?

Edited December 27, 2022 by jiggy_jarjar

[Mike E 11,739]

I would do a new medical versus risking I-485 being denied and going through the appeal thing. 
 

Since this is an RFE and not notice of deficiency, it means your interview likely to be waived. 

[powerpuff 6,697]

I-693 is a form specifically for civil surgeons in the US. Panel physicians abroad do not use I-693.

 

17 minutes ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

We do have our I-693 sealed white envelope from the IME in June 2021.

That wouldn’t be possible as a) I-693 are only for civil surgeons in the US and b) you later stated you gave the envelope to cbp. That’s the original medical. The envelope you still have is probably just a cd, you won’t ever need that again 

 

21 minutes ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

However, can someone give us a sanity check?  Are we overreacting and we just need to submit our sealed envelope or do we need to do a whole new IME?

You definitely need to do a whole new medical exam with a USCIS approved civil surgeon. They either lost the one done overseas or the IO just decided to have you get a new one. Arguing with USCIS would be futile so just get a new one 

 

22 minutes ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

Should we call USCIS?

calling USICS would be the last thing I would do.

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

1 minute ago, powerpuff said:

I-693 is a form specifically for civil surgeons in the US. Panel physicians abroad do not use I-693.

 

That wouldn’t be possible as a) I-693 are only for civil surgeons in the US and b) you later stated you gave the envelope to cbp. That’s the original medical. The envelope you still have is probably just a cd, you won’t ever need that again 

 

You definitely need to do a whole new medical exam with a USCIS approved civil surgeon. They either lost the one done overseas or the IO just decided to have you get a new one. Arguing with USCIS would be futile so just get a new one 

 

calling USICS would be the last thing I would do.

Thank you for the clarification and additional information.  It is incredibly helpful.  Sounds like we definitely need a new IME.  We'll schedule it ASAP.

9 minutes ago, Mike E said:

I would do a new medical versus risking I-485 being denied and going through the appeal thing. 
 

Since this is an RFE and not notice of deficiency, it means your interview likely to be waived. 

Agreed.  Thanks!

[iwannaplay54 985]

1 hour ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

Thank you for the clarification and additional information.  It is incredibly helpful.  Sounds like we definitely need a new IME.  We'll schedule it ASAP.

Agreed.  Thanks!

We had to get one after entering on K3.  We had a copy from overseas, the doctor pretty much just copied the copy 😡 then charged us for the whole puppet show.  
It’s a racket, hate to see this happen.  As advised, schedule a new one soonest.

[Polly3 18]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:35 PM, jiggy_jarjar said:

Hello, first off, a huge thank you to this site as it has provided my wife and me with a wealth of information and support through what is a convoluted, opaque, and often frustrating process.

 

Today, we received an RFE for a form I-693.  My wife submitted her i-485 in February 2022.  She entered the country in October 2021 on a K-1 Visa and her medical exam was completed in June 2021.  We were married in November 2021.

 

I am confused by the RFE for a few reasons.  First, my wife already did an IME for the K-1 visa, since it was less than a year old when we submitted the I-485, we should not have needed a new IME.  Second, we submitted a form DS-3025 with the I-485.  That DS-3025 clearly states that "K Visa applicant voluntarily completed vaccination requirements."  She does not have a Class A medical condition.  Third, I understood that she would bring her sealed I-693 to her interview.  Finally, I understand that several people are obtaining green cards without an interview and this may be USCIS's way of obtaining the I-693 without my wife going to an interview and handing it to someone.  However, the RFE letter is ambiguous as to whether USCIS is asking us to submit the I-693 that we already have or a new I-693.

 

Some specifics from the letter for background:

 

1. The letter is clearly a "Request for Evidence" as it is titled as such.
2. The letter advises us to:

We are leaning towards just getting a new IME as some of the language of this letter seems to suggest that a new IME is required.  Specifically, the letter states that an original I-693 must be submitted and that a photocopy will not be accepted.  We do have our I-693 sealed white envelope from the IME in June 2021. I don't know what's in it but when I hold it up to the light, it looks like it's just a CD.  Thus, no "original" I-693 form (I'm guessing this was in the packet that was submitted at POE but may have been lost(?) by USCIS).  In addition, the letter pretty clearly states that "the civil surgeon administering your immigration medical examination must complete and sign the 07/19/2022 edition of the Form I-693," which suggests to me that a new form needs to be completed.

 

However, can someone give us a sanity check?  Are we overreacting and we just need to submit our sealed envelope or do we need to do a whole new IME?  Should we call USCIS?

Same thing happened to us! 
We sent the sealed I 693 form and did everything they requested with the I 485 and still got an RFE for I 693. This is so ridiculous. 
Did you hear back from them yet?

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

3 minutes ago, Polly3 said:

Same thing happened to us! 
We sent the sealed I 693 form and did everything they requested with the I 485 and still got an RFE for I 693. This is so ridiculous. 
Did you hear back from them yet?

We just mailed the response to the RFE early last week. We needed a flu vax and updated blood labs, which delayed things a little. We ended up paying $220 for a new medical exam. 

 

I'll post when we get a response. 

[Polly3 18]

1 minute ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

We just mailed the response to the RFE early last week. We needed a flu vax and updated blood labs, which delayed things a little. We ended up paying $220 for a new medical exam. 

 

I'll post when we get a response. 

How did you know that the flu shot was the only thing that was missing since the letter is not specifying anything? We got the same exact letter

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

1 minute ago, Polly3 said:

How did you know that the flu shot was the only thing that was missing since the letter is not specifying anything? We got the same exact letter

The letter asked for a I-693, so we did the whole thing. 

 

The Civil Surgeon copied over the vaccinations from our DS-3025 since that was sufficient proof for him that those vaxes were done (my understanding is that not all Civil Surgeons will do this and some may require independent documentation for vax). The main vaxes for stuff like MMR were still current. But, the flu vax was no longer current under the Civil Surgeon instructions (which makes sense since it's seasonal). 

 

We were told we couldn't use the antibody labs for TB and Syphilis we did for our K-1 (again, I think it's a Civil Surgeon instructions thing), so we did those again. 

[Polly3 18]

13 minutes ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

The letter asked for a I-693, so we did the whole thing. 

 

The Civil Surgeon copied over the vaccinations from our DS-3025 since that was sufficient proof for him that those vaxes were done (my understanding is that not all Civil Surgeons will do this and some may require independent documentation for vax). The main vaxes for stuff like MMR were still current. But, the flu vax was no longer current under the Civil Surgeon instructions (which makes sense since it's seasonal). 

 

We were told we couldn't use the antibody labs for TB and Syphilis we did for our K-1 (again, I think it's a Civil Surgeon instructions thing), so we did those again. 

The only difference is that we had already submitted the I 693 along with I 485. So this means they either lost it or misplaced which is very unfortunate. 

[quinnscribe 121]

We just got the same request 😕 He had his medical exam done as a K-1 before his interview and we were told as long as we filed the AOS immediately they wouldn't ask for this. The RFE isn't asking for only the vaccination page... do we really need a full appt, again? we'd included a scan of the vax page with it.

Edited January 25, 2023 by quinnscribe

[OldUser 6,663]

3 hours ago, quinnscribe said:

We just got the same request 😕 He had his medical exam done as a K-1 before his interview and we were told as long as we filed the AOS immediately they wouldn't ask for this. The RFE isn't asking for only the vaccination page... do we really need a full appt, again? we'd included a scan of the vax page with it.

Just go with a path of least resistance which is a whole new medical exam. Not many doctors will do just the vaccination page + you don't want to play games with USCIS.

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

Quick update:  We got notification of approval for our EAD and travel document today.  We submitted the I-693 about 10 days ago.  I'm not sure if the two are connected at all but this is a positive development nonetheless. 

[jiggy_jarjar 20]

On 1/24/2023 at 1:58 PM, Polly3 said:

Same thing happened to us! 
We sent the sealed I 693 form and did everything they requested with the I 485 and still got an RFE for I 693. This is so ridiculous. 
Did you hear back from them yet?

I promised you an update and here it is!

 

This morning, the day after our EAD combo card was approved, our green card was approved without an interview.  We sent in the I-693 about a week and a half ago.

[Polly3 18]

4 minutes ago, jiggy_jarjar said:

I promised you an update and here it is!

 

This morning, the day after our EAD combo card was approved, our green card was approved without an interview.  We sent in the I-693 about a week and a half ago.

This is great news! 
Which office did you send your RFE to?