AOS Medical forms DS-2053 & I-693

[inlas 0]

My wife & I had an unfortunate but eye opening experience recently. When she arrived at Dulles Airport from Germany in February one of the TSA reps opened her sealed medical package which contained the results from her medical exam on form DS 2053.

Since USCIS does NOT accept ANY opened medical packages - they say so on the USCIS web site: [After completion of the medical examination, the civil surgeon is required to give you, the applicant, the completed Form I-693 in a sealed envelope. Do not accept it if it is not in a sealed envelope. USCIS will return the form to you if it is not in an envelope or if the envelope has been opened or altered.]

My wife HAD to have another medical exam here. She paid 200 Euros in Germany for her medical exam in order to get here on the K1 Visa, and we wound up paying and $305 USD yesterday for a medical exam here to get the I-693 form signed by a Civil Surgeon.

If you have a fiance coming here soon be sure to tell them to MAKE SURE that their medical envelope STAYS SEALED to avoid having to pay for another medical exam once they get here to the U.S.

[besaangel 17]

Why on earth did the TSA officer open the envelope? Were they not aware to leave it sealed?

[Nik+Heather 121]

How were you told to repeat the medical? Did you get an RFE or was it requested at the interview? I would think the medical results in the POE packet would have already been unsealed at the Embassy.

Answered my own question - you haven't filed yet.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[UnIqUe 4]

TSA reps have no authority to open the embassy-sealed envelope. You shouldn't have them opened yours. Otherwise you have to face unnecessary matters here in POE. Luck on your POE that nothing happened to enter US and just only you need to do another medical examination.

Edited April 7, 2010 by UnIqUe

[Nik+Heather 121]

TSA reps have no authority to open the embassy-sealed envelope. You shouldn't have them opened yours. Otherwise you have to face unnecessary matters here in POE. Luck on your POE that nothing happened to enter US and just only you need to do another medical examination.

Am I reading incorrectly? In the second sentence, he says that she has already entered the country (through Dulles) and that the envelope was opened there. I have read several POE reviews, and they all say that the do-not-open envelope gets opened there. I'm really just not seeing the reason for concern.

Yes, the I-693 is not to be opened, but that is not the same as the medical exam which goes through the embassy.

[UnIqUe 4]

Am I reading incorrectly? In the second sentence, he says that she has already entered the country (through Dulles) and that the envelope was opened there. I have read several POE reviews, and they all say that the do-not-open envelope gets opened there. I'm really just not seeing the reason for concern.

Yes, the I-693 is not to be opened, but that is not the same as the medical exam which goes through the embassy.

Yes, he says she has already entered the country with opened envelope. Technically, POE officer doesn't let them enter who have opened envelope. Plus for medical, DS-2053 for K-1 in their country and I-693 for here in US. Is it possible for entering with opened envelop?

[Nik+Heather 121]

Yes, he says she has already entered the country with opened envelope. Technically, POE officer doesn't let them enter who have opened envelope. Plus for medical, DS-2053 for K-1 in their country and I-693 for here in US. Is it possible for entering with opened envelop?

I think it's possible that they said a TSA officer opened the do-not-open envelope and they meant the CBP officer at the immigration desk opened it. Here's why I think that: they wouldn't encounter TSA until after they were in the US, so how could a TSA officer have ever seen it to begin with? It would have been turned in at POE.

Now, if the packet wasn't turned in at POE, then that is a completely different issue.

Anyway, it's all speculation until the OP comes back and clears it up. As I said in my first post, I haven't seen any reason for concern or need to repeat the medical.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Nik+Heather

[jimnlena 8]

I am confused here. If you have not filed AOS who said you needed new medical?? CS only charged us 35 dollars to do the sealed I-693 thing.

[UnIqUe 4]

According to OP's timeline, they have filed AOS/EAD on April 15, 2010. How come it should be? Wait until OP come back.

[inlas 0]

Per my wife it was a CBP agent not a TSA agent who opened the envelope. When she arrived at Dulles they took her large brown envelope she received from the German Embassy and opened it. Inside that envelope was a smaller brown envelope which reads on the outside DO NOT OPEN. This envelope contained her medical exam. My wife asked the agent if the agent needed everything that was in the large envelope. She said the agent looked at the smaller envelope, opened it and said "no that's your medical I don't need that", and he handed the envelope back to my wife.

We are getting ready to file the AOS and my wife called USCIS to ask about submitting the opened envelope. The USCIS rep she spoke with told her "Ma'am, we will NOT accept any open envelopes, they MUST be sealed." We cannot obtain another sealed envelope with the medical exam except by going to a Civil Surgeon here and paying for another exam, so that's what we did.

Now that we have our I-693 we are sending off our AOS package.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Ah yes, that is clearer. They removed the medical from the POE file and opened it and gave it to her instead of shipping it off with the rest of her file. It's true that they won't accept an opened medical from the APPLICANT, which wasn't clear from the first posting.

In this case, an I-693 full medical would probably be required, but I guess I still might have waited until after getting an RFE. But that's your decision, and I think it was probably a good one.