Published October 19, 2018
With few exceptions, individuals seeking to reside permanently in the U.S. and obtain lawful permanent resident or “green card” status, must document they are not subject to a medical basis of inadmissibility. Whether the applicant is undergoing the consular processing of their immigrant visa at a U.S. consular post outside the U.S. or is obtaining their residence by way of an I-485 “adjustment of status” application in the U.S., a sealed medical exam report prepared by an accredited physician must be presented in support of their application. The purpose of the exam is to screen the applicant for various medical conditions which could impact their legal eligibility to be approved for U.S. residence, including conditions such as tuberculosis, sexually transmitted diseases and other conditions, contagious or otherwise.
As of November 1, 2018, for individuals undergoing permanent resident processing in the U.S. by way of an I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status, sealed medical exam reports (on Form I-693) cannot be dated more than 60 days prior to the submission of the I-485 application, and their validity is limited to a 2 year period overall.
At present, with processing times for I-485 applications ranging from 10-24 months – depending on their basis eligibility, applicants are allowed to file their I-485 applications without a sealed medical exam, and later given the opportunity to supplement their filings by supplying their sealed medical exam report in response to a formal request for evidence. Given the unpredictability of DHS/CIS processing times these days, the practice of leaving out the sealed I-693 medical report from the initial I-485 submission may in fact be advisable.
PUBLISHED October 19, 2018– “IMMIGRATION LAW FORUM” Copyright © 2018, By Law Offices of Richard Hanus, Chicago, Illinois