US Immigration from Australia

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,

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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,

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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.

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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?

Hello All,

My Perm was was filed in 2007 and my priority date is September 2007. I have an approved I-140 which wasn't revoked by my employer. I had to leave US in 2016 due to personal reasons. I quit my job and left the country in November of 2016. Just wanted to understand how long can I continue to use my approved I-140 and my priority date? My I-140 was approved in June 2008 and I am 100% sure that it hasn't been revoked by my employer. I worked for the same employer for the entire 10 years. Any information will be helpful. I am not sure if I want to go back to US but if I did I would like to understand if I would be cap exempt and if I can use my 2007 priority date.

Thanks,

Giri

Every number I try I get the automated machine which can t help me with my unique problem. Is there a specific phone number I need to talk to a real person?

Thanks for you help

Ximena

Hi everyone,

My fianc and I are waiting for NOA 2 but I ve had to move and may have to move again since first receiving NOA1 over a year ago. I ve put a redirection notice for my mail but Australia Post has only sent me 50% of my redirected mail in practice.

Ive noticed online if someone makes an account then a petitioner can change their address or anyone who resides in the US can change their address but there s no place for an Australian beneficiary like me to change their address on their application.

So I rang up their international number this morning: +1 (212) 620-3418 and got a robot.

I said that I m a beneficiary of an I29F form and the robot said said that since I m in America I should make an account to change my address. 5 times we went back and forth where I was like like no I m Australian I live in Australia I need to talk to a person and then the robot was like oh you re an alien here in America would you like me to send you our website information via sms or email? And eventually the robot said if you keep requesting to speak to a live person, I will hang up the phone so I just hung up

Is there anything else I can do? I m worried that I won t receive the packet when we finally get NOA2 because of how slack the postal redirection is over here.

Hi all,

I am just looking for some guidance on this. I understand the general rule of thumb is that you cannot be out of the US greater than 6 months if you wish to naturalize. Is this correct?

What I would like to know is if there is any leniency with this? And if this is a hard and fast rule?

A brief history:

I married my US husband in March 2020 and have my conditional permanent residency now. This expires in March 2023.

In August 2022 we went to Australia for an extended trip. We are still here now. We intend to return to the US in a couple months, but at that point I would have been out of the country greater than 180 days (but not by much). For context I have filed all taxes since becoming a PR and I own my home in the US, so I do have significant ties.

I appreciate any guidance and to hear from anyone who has been able to naturalize despite being out of the US greater than 6 months at a time.

Thank you.