On December 9, 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) published a policy alert temporarily waiving the requirement for civil surgeons to sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, no more than sixty days before an applicant files an application for the underlying immigration benefit (including Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status). This rule will remain in effect until September 30, 2022. This measure allows foreign nationals, with otherwise valid I-693s, to complete the application process without having to submit to further immigration medical examinations, even if the civil surgeon signed their I-693 more than sixty days before they file their application with USCIS.

This temporary waiver represents an effort to aid applicants who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and other processing delays, which in turn have caused delays in the completion of their immigration medical examination. This measure will specifically help Afghan nationals who were evacuated under “Operation Allies Welcome who have completed immigration medical examinations at government-run facilities” but were unable to complete their adjustment of status applications within the sixty-day validity window of their signed I-693s.