Back in October 2018, we applied for Permanent Residence (Green Card) in the USA. We initially did not include the medical examination (Form I-693). The form said that we can submit it at a later time, which, I thought, made sense.
So in June 2019, I sent our Forms I-693 to the USCIS. It had a cover letter and included the receipt numbers for our application, as well as our A numbers.
As it turned out, we should not have done that.
August 2019 is the tenth month since we applied for the Adjustment of Status to become Permanent Residents. Last week, a letter arrived in relation to our application.
The USCIS sent a “Request for Evidence.” They are asking us to submit Forms I-693.
I was surprised. We already submitted those months ago. So I called the customer service of USCIS.
Let me tell you–calling the USCIS can be a painful experience. You have to sit down and press several buttons as you navigate their phone system. And when you finally arrive at the option to speak to a customer service agent, you have to wait for 20-30 minutes.
After what felt like forever, I finally talked with a guy named James. I told him our situation. And he said that USCIS will only accept documents that they requested for.
In short, we should have waited for the “Request for Evidence” before sending our Forms I-693.
Lesson learned.
Meanwhile, we will need to go back to the doctor who processed our medical exams so they can help us fill out the information again and then I will send it to the USCIS a second time.
This is the gist of this lesson: After sending the initial application forms, don’t send any other documents unless they request for it! In short, wait for the “Request for Evidence” letter!
