U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced an extension to its waiver of the civil surgeon signature validity requirement for Form I-693. Form I-693 is the Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record which must be submitted with an Application for Adjustment of Status to Lawful Permanent Residency. The report is completed by a civil surgeon to confirm a foreign national is not inadmissible (and therefore ineligible to receive a Green Card) based on health and/or vaccination grounds.

The immigration regulations generally require Form I-693 to be filed with an Adjustment of Status Application within 60 days of obtaining a physician’s signature. USCIS originally waived the timing requirement in August 2021 due to COVID-related delays in processing. The waiver means USCIS will continue to accept physician signatures older than 60 days at the time of submission. According to USCIS, the wavier “applies to all Forms I-693 associated with applications for underlying immigration benefits that have not been adjudicated, regardless of when the application was submitted to USCIS or when a civil surgeon signed the Form I-693.” The waiver is now set to expire March 23, 2023.

The waiver extension is the latest action by USCIS aimed at decreasing processing times for Legal Permanent Residency Applications. In August 2021, USCIS also increased Form I-693’s validity period from two years to four years, which decreased otherwise unnecessary requests for updated medical exams.

The recent changes are aimed specifically at hastening adjudication of employment-based Green Card applications. In a recent FAQ, USCIS noted the number of employment-based Green Cards approvals in the last fiscal year was 52% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

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