Interview Today; IO insisted I-693 was expired.

[bcntrix]

I had my interview today on 09/27/2018 at Newark, NJ for adjustment of status based on marriage.

Our appointment was for 2:15pm. We arrived 30 minutes before at 1:45pm. Everyone in the building was really nice and friendly. There were a lot of people in the waiting room but we didn?t wait very long and was called in by our IO at 2:30pm.

The IO was professional but not what you would call friendly. He asked for our IDs, passports, social security cards, and my USC husband?s birth certificate. He asked very basic questions just going through the form. He started with my husband. He asked him:
- my name
- my DOB
- how did we meet?
- did he meet my parents?
- what are my parents names?
- what kind of business do we have?

Then he moved on to me. He asked very similar questions. He went through my immigration history and asked about my husband (his name, DOB, employment history, and his family). There was nothing out of the ordinary. I?ve never been out of status and was able to answer all the questions. For employment history, I answered the company?s ?doing business as? name instead of the corporate name that we listed on the application so he pressed me a little and my husband chimed in the answer because he understood what the IO wante to hear.

He asked to see our marriage certificate, our 2017 tax return, recent joint bank statements, and wedding pictures. We provided all except for the wedding pictures. We had included it in the initial application and didn?t think it was necessary to bring. He looked for it for a second but didn?t look very hard. He pulled out our wallet-sized prom picture (hubby and I have been dating since high school) saying that was the only picture we had submitted. We DEFINITELY submitted a lot of pictures. We were able to show him some pictures though of our recent trip abroad.

I?m in law school, and he asked me a bunch of questions about starting salaries and bar requirements. He quibbled with me a little on those insisting that I was wrong. I just conceded and said ?Oh I didn?t know that? and ?that?s good to know.? He mentioned that he was a lawyer in his country before coming to the US but it wasn?t clear if he actually became a lawyer in the US. He then proceeded to give me career advice for which I thanked him.

He concluded the interview by saying that everything looked good and that he just needed to make copies of our passports. I said that I had copies I could give him. He refused and began to stand up. Then, as an after thought, he said that my I-693 was expired. I protested saying that it was not.

Date of Interview: 09/27/2018
Date on I-693: 09/25/2017
Date of Submission: 11/30/2017

He did not listen and just began walking us out and said he would be sending an RFE. (I just received an email notice for an RFE).

We waited outside for a few minutes while he made copies. He gave us back the passports and said goodbye. I checked and he forgot to give back my husband?s passport so we waited again for the person at the front desk to contact him. He came back out to give it to us. He had left in the copy machine.

Am I totally wrong about the expiration? What can I do about this? When should we expect the RFE in the mail? We frontloaded our application and are very upset by this unnecessary and wrong delay.

Thank you!

[BayAreaCaliAOS]

I had my interview today on 09/27/2018 at Newark, NJ for adjustment of status based on marriage.

Our appointment was for 2:15pm. We arrived 30 minutes before at 1:45pm. Everyone in the building was really nice and friendly. There were a lot of people in the waiting room but we didn?t wait very long and was called in by our IO at 2:30pm.

The IO was professional but not what you would call friendly. He asked for our IDs, passports, social security cards, and my USC husband?s birth certificate. He asked very basic questions just going through the form. He started with my husband. He asked him:
- my name
- my DOB
- how did we meet?
- did he meet my parents?
- what are my parents names?
- what kind of business do we have?

Then he moved on to me. He asked very similar questions. He went through my immigration history and asked about my husband (his name, DOB, employment history, and his family). There was nothing out of the ordinary. I?ve never been out of status and was able to answer all the questions. For employment history, I answered the company?s ?doing business as? name instead of the corporate name that we listed on the application so he pressed me a little and my husband chimed in the answer because he understood what the IO wante to hear.

He asked to see our marriage certificate, our 2017 tax return, recent joint bank statements, and wedding pictures. We provided all except for the wedding pictures. We had included it in the initial application and didn?t think it was necessary to bring. He looked for it for a second but didn?t look very hard. He pulled out our wallet-sized prom picture (hubby and I have been dating since high school) saying that was the only picture we had submitted. We DEFINITELY submitted a lot of pictures. We were able to show him some pictures though of our recent trip abroad.

I?m in law school, and he asked me a bunch of questions about starting salaries and bar requirements. He quibbled with me a little on those insisting that I was wrong. I just conceded and said ?Oh I didn?t know that? and ?that?s good to know.? He mentioned that he was a lawyer in his country before coming to the US but it wasn?t clear if he actually became a lawyer in the US. He then proceeded to give me career advice for which I thanked him.

He concluded the interview by saying that everything looked good and that he just needed to make copies of our passports. I said that I had copies I could give him. He refused and began to stand up. Then, as an after thought, he said that my I-693 was expired. I protested saying that it was not.

Date of Interview: 09/27/2018
Date on I-693: 09/25/2017
Date of Submission: 11/30/2017

He did not listen and just began walking us out and said he would be sending an RFE. (I just received an email notice for an RFE).

We waited outside for a few minutes while he made copies. He gave us back the passports and said goodbye. I checked and he forgot to give back my husband?s passport so we waited again for the person at the front desk to contact him. He came back out to give it to us. He had left in the copy machine.

Am I totally wrong about the expiration? What can I do about this? When should we expect the RFE in the mail? We frontloaded our application and are very upset by this unnecessary and wrong delay.

Thank you!

I think you did a wonderful job with the interview.
In my own humble opinion, theres pretty much nothing we can do. Just submit another i693 to end
the whole case. No point of arguing to be honest. Unless if someone with a similar experience was able to
find a solution to this.

Goodluck and congratulations!

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Am I totally wrong about the expiration? What can I do about this? When should we expect the RFE in the mail? We frontloaded our application and are very upset by this unnecessary and wrong delay.

Thank you!

Congratulations on getting through your interview! I was reading it in awe. I would have asked for a supervisor. All the career advice - he also wasn't sure if he is a lawyer in the US but he is one for sure in his country? Well, I can tell him why. He can't read or comprehend what he reads. How could he ever pass the bar exam? Seriously. I would go straight to your Senator and your Ombudsman. That ISO needs a wrist slap and clearly some additional training.

Your I-693 is not expired. I am not a lawyer. You are a future lawyer. You read USCIS policy. So did I, and we both understood the same thing. I think you need to escalate it. That way he will learn AND will also make a decision promptly if a Senator and Ombudsman are watching.

All the best,

USCFFS

- - - Updated - - -

I think you did a wonderful job with the interview.
In my own humble opinion, theres pretty much nothing we can do. Just submit another i693 to end
the whole case. No point of arguing to be honest. Unless if someone with a similar experience was able to
find a solution to this.

Goodluck and congratulations!

I respectfully disagree. If he does not learn, he will keep doing it.

[seattle2903]

Someone correct me if I?m wrong, but doesn?t the I-693 expire after 12 months since it was completed/signed off by the doctor? Since the exam was done 09/25/17 and the interview was 09/27/18, doesn?t that mean the I-693 has expired 2 days before the interview, on 09/25/18?

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Someone correct me if I?m wrong, but doesn?t the I-693 expire after 12 months since it was completed/signed off by the doctor? Since the exam was done 09/25/17 and the interview was 09/27/18, doesn?t that mean the I-693 has expired 2 days before the interview, on 09/25/18?

Here you go.

[Mallvi22]

I had my interview few days ago , I did my medical exam 2 or 3 weeks ago and in the upper right corner it says that will expire in 6 months.

[NYFilingforHusband]

I had my interview few days ago , I did my medical exam 2 or 3 weeks ago and in the upper right corner it says that will expire in 6 months.

Same issue. My husband just had his done and afterwards we realized the form says Expires 02/28/2019. We did not submit this with the original application and we do not know if we will have our interview scheduled before February. Will this still be valid to submit to USCIS for a year?

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

I had my interview few days ago , I did my medical exam 2 or 3 weeks ago and in the upper right corner it says that will expire in 6 months.

I think I know what you meant. That's not the expiration of your exam but the expiration of the form. If you look at the bottom, you will also see an edition date. Those two tell you whether the form itself is outdated or not.

If timed astutely, you may stretch the validity of the I-693 up to a max of 2 years. You have 1 year to submit it from the date that it was completed. Then, it remains valid for one year from the date that USCIS receives it. If you send it right away with your AOS applications, then you are using up that initial one year window.

[Mallvi22]

Same issue. My husband just had his done and afterwards we realized the form says Expires 02/28/2019. We did not submit this with the original application and we do not know if we will have our interview scheduled before February. Will this still be valid to submit to USCIS for a year?

i got a courtesy letter for I 693 and it said that I should not sent it untill they ask, I guess they send ypu the same letter.I was asked to bring I 693 at Aos interview, which I did.As it was posted the medical is valid for 1 year, the form expires in february.

[cali2018]

There is a gray area around the i693 and the uscis field office. While it states that you can see the two sentences dont match. Because some people consider the first sentence to be where the doctor in the case of a k1 or border exam gives uscis the medicsl right away. While sentence two, is when you submit it. This IO and field office seem to be going by sentence two here and there is not much you can do.

[Denver1982]

You can submit new medical exam at the interview of your old one is expired. You should get it done and bring with you to interview, if not , take more time to send to USCIS and delay your process

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

Here's what the policy manual states. https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/H...pter4.html#S-C

[S_R_E]

Here's what the policy manual states. https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/H...pter4.html#S-C

If you look at the notes at the bottom it states...

Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical at any time if he or she has...


Although technically I believe you are correct, there are some arguments that you probably aren't going to win against USCIS and this I would personally feel is one of them. In my opinion, sometimes it's just better to bite the bullet so to speak and get on with the task at hand. Of course I could be wrong and you do win your argument, but what happens then? They say well you were right and it wasn't expired then, but hey it is now so just go ahead and get a new medical done now. Yeah, it's a pain and yeah it's an expense most of us would rather forgo but there is enough anxiety and stress during this process to sometimes just seek the path of least resistance if it ultimately gets you to where you want to be.

Not making any judgements here, just giving my honest opinion and perspective

[cali2018]

I agree, if you were a k visa, like k1 there is other verbage you can use to override it. Otherwise point 24, makes it a ?gray area? which the IO wins here, the IO being majorly anal unfortunately delays to an RFE.

[UScitizenFilingforspouse]

If you look at the notes at the bottom it states...

Although the medical examination report is generally valid for adjudicatory purposes up to one year after filing, the officer may order an additional immigration medical at any time if he or she has...


Although technically I believe you are correct, there are some arguments that you probably aren't going to win against USCIS and this I would personally feel is one of them. In my opinion, sometimes it's just better to bite the bullet so to speak and get on with the task at hand. Of course I could be wrong and you do win your argument, but what happens then? They say well you were right and it wasn't expired then, but hey it is now so just go ahead and get a new medical done now. Yeah, it's a pain and yeah it's an expense most of us would rather forgo but there is enough anxiety and stress during this process to sometimes just seek the path of least resistance if it ultimately gets you to where you want to be.

Not making any judgements here, just giving my honest opinion and perspective

The USCIS policy manual states:

"An officer may determine that the applicant has met the burden of proof required to establish that he or she is free from a medical condition that would render the applicant inadmissible if all of the following criteria are met:

- The medical exam was performed by a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in accordance with HHS regulations;

- The medical examination report was properly completed; [21]

- The medical examination report was submitted to USCIS less than one year after completion of the examination; [22]

- The benefit application [23] is adjudicated no more than one year after the date the medical examination report was submitted to USCIS; [24] and

- The medical examination report establishes that the applicant does not have a Class A medical condition and has complied with the vaccination requirements or is granted a waiver. [25]

In general, **** if any one of the above criteria is not met **** , the applicant has not met the burden of proof required to establish that he or she is free of a medical condition that would render him or her inadmissible to the United States. In this case, the officer should follow standard operating procedures regarding issuance of an RFE or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) to address the deficiency. "

HOWEVER, all that criteria was met. There are no deficiencies. Thus, the ISO can't turn around and fabricate a deficiency and claim that the I-693 is expired. While officers have ample discretion, they do not have discretion over the expiration date. The I-693 is either expired or not. In this case, it is not.

OP is a law student and future attorney, he/she will proceed as he/she sees fit. My goal in this forum is to always direct people to sources of information. I believe I have done that.

All the best,

USCFFS