RFE Received Requesting I-693

[quinnscribe 121]

Hi folks,

 

In a bit of confusion here. My partner got his medical done for the K-1 in December 2021. He had an interview first because of timing (Melbourne actually told him to take any medical slot he would get and if it was after, that was fine.) They did not give him anything, they said they'd send it to the consulate. He received an approval before February 2022, and a sealed packet later with instructions to give it to the CBP person at point of entry. Presumably this held the medical info inside of it. When we applied for AOS, we double-checked the form that stated as long as that overseas medical AOS application had been done a year before the AOS submission, it would count. When it was December 2022, I called USCIS and spoke to an agent saying, "hi, it says 1 year validity, but we're at the 1 year mark now and our case hasn't been seen, what do we do?" and the agent told us that they would be seen as valid for 2 years, so we didn't need to give them the I-693.  We took them at their word for this.

 

Now we have the RFE request for the I-693. The problem is, we don't have one to give them. The envelope from the medical went straight to the embassy, he was not given anything outside of it (like the CD or apparently the photocopy of the vax record / the I-693). He was sent the sealed packet to supply at POE, but when he arrived in April 2022, the CBP person took the sealed envelope and kept it; he didn't get anything from inside it back. So we assumed that that meant they have all the data on file already. So we don't have a DS-3025 form, because the medical center in Melbourne didn't give him one, and he wasn't given back the sealed packet at POE which might have had it.

 

Do we need to do a full I-693 again? We have a copy of his Australian vaccination records, and we know they had done the medical and can approve him, so can we call the civil surgeon and get them to just fill out the vax paperwork? Per the I-693 instructions,

 

Quote

Even if a new medical examination is not required, you still must show proof that you complied with the vaccination requirements. If the vaccination record was not properly completed and included as part of the original medical examination report, you will need to have the Part 10. Vaccination Record completed by a designated civil surgeon. In this case, you must submit Parts 1. - 5., 7., and 10. of Form I-693

And we're pretty sure he falls under that. OTOH, the RFE doesn't specify vaccination, it just says,

 

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 that the civil surgeon signed and the medical exam results; we will NOT accept photocopied Form I-693 and medical exam results. Civil surgeons must use the current Edition of Form I-693. You can find the current edition of Form I-693 on USCIS’s website at www.uscis.gov. In addition, the civil surgeon must ensure that all parts of Form I-693 were properly completed.

Quote

 

 

So that makes it sound like they want a whole new one, which feels crazy to us because he had one 13 months ago. Is it better to be safe and get the whole new exam ? We considered calling Melbourne to see if they have a copy on hand of the old exam but then it would be on the wrong form. And why did they not provide a copy of the vaccine record and the CD?

 

Also, was it standard for the CBP officer at entry to take the whole packet and give us nothing back? If so, what happened to all the evidence in that packet, shouldn't it have gotten scanned in somewhere? Should it have been given back to us so we could use the medical from inside it?

[powerpuff 6,744]

38 minutes ago, quinnscribe said:

Is it better to be safe and get the whole new exam ?

Yes. 
 

I strongly advise you to take the path of least resistance with USCIS.

 

FYI, I-693 is only used by civil surgeons in the US. Overseas panel physicians use different forms (DS forms). 
 

40 minutes ago, quinnscribe said:

Also, was it standard for the CBP officer at entry to take the whole packet and give us nothing back?

Yes

 

40 minutes ago, quinnscribe said:

Should it have been given back to us so we could use the medical from inside it?

No. It gets sent to USCIS. Sometimes it gets lost. Which is probably what happened

 

41 minutes ago, quinnscribe said:

And why did they not provide a copy of the vaccine record and the CD?

They should have (CD is of no use btw, it’s still collecting dust in my documents). But you had you known that you’re gonna need a copy of DS-3025, you’d have asked for it, you could have emailed them before submitting AOS and most likely they’d have sent it to you but it’s too late to dwell on that now 

[Crazy Cat 41,984]

17 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

Yes. 
 

I strongly advise you to take the path of least resistance with USCIS.

Agree.  Once an RFE has been issued, I would do whatever they ask for...... asap.