I-693 Medical Exam Prior to Marriage?

[kgund77 4]

Hi all, my fiancé and I are getting married next Sunday and want to send in our I-130 and adjustment of status application as soon as possible after that. Most of our paperwork is already ready.  Is there any problem with having his I-693 medical exam done prior to his actually being married? We’re hoping to schedule the first appointment for this week prior to the wedding, since it will need to be done in two appointments. I’m assuming it’s going to be fine, but I thought I’d check anyway.

 

Relatedly, it seems like the rule requiring the medical exam be done within 60 days of filing for the actual immigration benefit is waived through the end of this month. Assuming that is not extended, does that apply to *medical exams* conducted prior to September 30th, or to *immigration applications* filed prior to September 30th? As in, would the 60 day rule still be waived for us if we had his medical exam done in September, but didn’t file the immigration app til October or later? We don’t expect to have any issues getting in the application well within 60 days of his medical exam, but it would be helpful to know if we have that extra leeway or not.

Thank you very much! 

[Verrou 1,899]

if i were you, i will wait until you have marriage certificate in hand before doing the medical. in NYC is super easy to get medical appointment, many2 civic surgeon that you can even make appointment within 1-2 days top. to avoid 60 days rule, i will do the medical as the last step

Edited September 9, 2022 by Misscloud

[kgund77 4]

46 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

if i were you, i will wait until you have marriage certificate in hand before doing the medical. in NYC is super easy to get medical appointment, many2 civic surgeon that you can even make appointment within 1-2 days top. to avoid 60 days rule, i will do the medical as the last step

Unfortunately as we are getting married outside of City Hall, our marriage certificate will need to be mailed to us and can take a while to arrive. Is there an actual need to have the marriage certificate for the medical exam? We can wait til the week after the wedding if necessary, but waiting for the marriage certificate itself could end up taking longer than we would like (we will be out of town in early Oct and want to do the medical before then). 

[Mike E 11,723]

1 minute ago, kgund77 said:

Unfortunately as we are getting married outside of City Hall, our marriage certificate will need to be mailed to us and can take a while to arrive. Is there an actual need to have the marriage certificate for the medical exam? We can wait til the week after the wedding if necessary, but waiting for the marriage certificate itself could end up taking longer than we would like (we will be out of town in early Oct and want to do the medical before then). 

Get married online using Utah remote appearance. 
 

https://www.utahcounty.gov/dept/clerkaud/PassMarr/RemoteAppearanceFAQ.asp

 

[Verrou 1,899]

2 minutes ago, kgund77 said:

Unfortunately as we are getting married outside of City Hall, our marriage certificate will need to be mailed to us and can take a while to arrive. Is there an actual need to have the marriage certificate for the medical exam? We can wait til the week after the wedding if necessary, but waiting for the marriage certificate itself could end up taking longer than we would like (we will be out of town in early Oct and want to do the medical before then). 

U need the marriage certificate to send the whole package. Exactly what u said about the marriage certificate, if u do medical first, what happened if it take a while for marriage certificate to arrive ? U can’t send the whole package. 

[kgund77 4]

35 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

U need the marriage certificate to send the whole package. Exactly what u said about the marriage certificate, if u do medical first, what happened if it take a while for marriage certificate to arrive ? U can’t send the whole package. 

Thank you, I’m aware I need the marriage certificate for the whole package. We are not going to send in the package until the marriage certificate arrives. We would like, however, to have the medical exam over with as soon as possible, particularly since the 60 day requirement is waived through the end of September. I am asking if anyone has had to bring and show their marriage certificate to the medical exam? 

[kgund77 4]

50 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

U need the marriage certificate to send the whole package. Exactly what u said about the marriage certificate, if u do medical first, what happened if it take a while for marriage certificate to arrive ? U can’t send the whole package. 

Ah wait, reading your messages again it sounds like you aren’t saying to wait for the marriage certificate because we need it at the exam, but because of the 60 days rule. I understand now, my bad. It sounds like I may be able to go to the NYC City Clerk’s office to get the marriage certificate in person if it is taking too long in the mail, so we should be good on that front, as long as we don’t need to actually show the certificate at the medical exam.
 

Still wondering if the 60 day rule waiver applies to medical exams conducted before sept 30th, or immigration applications filed before sept 30th. 

[Verrou 1,899]

I will say that 60 days is following the day when the surgeon sign the medical. 

[arken 4,197]

32 minutes ago, kgund77 said:

Still wondering if the 60 day rule waiver applies to medical exams conducted before sept 30th, or immigration applications filed before sept 30th. 

For applications filed before Sep 30th.

[Family 3,508]

38 minutes ago, arken said:

1 hour ago, kgund77 said:

Still wondering if the 60 day rule waiver applies to medical exams conducted before sept 30th, or immigration applications filed before sept 30th. 

For applications filed before Sep 30th.

You should wait for the ink to dry on the marriage certificate before rushing to file AOS…and check that NOTHING in your filings reflect they were done before marriage. …especially the medical. 
 

[kgund77 4]

56 minutes ago, Family said:

You should wait for the ink to dry on the marriage certificate before rushing to file AOS…and check that NOTHING in your filings reflect they were done before marriage. …especially the medical. 
 

That’s a good point and definitely convinces me to wait til the week after we marry to have the medical exam done, at least. I’ll go over the papers with a fine-toothed comb; I am an attorney myself (not an immigration specialist) and we’ve got one of those online legal services reviewing as extra backup, so we will hopefully be fine. I’m not at all concerned about being questioned about a bona fide marriage, though; we’ve been together for three years and have endless evidence that our relationship is very legitimate. We just need to get the ball rolling on AOS ASAP. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by kgund77

[Family 3,508]

1 minute ago, kgund77 said:

57 minutes ago, Family said:

You should wait for the ink to dry on the marriage certificate before rushing to file AOS…and check that NOTHING in your filings reflect they were done before marriage. …especially the medical. 
 

That’s a good point and definitely convinces me to wait til the week after we marry to have the medical exam done, at least. I’ll go over the papers with a fine-toothed comb; I am an attorney myself (not an immigration specialist) and we’ve got one of those online legal services reviewing as extra backup, so we will hopefully be fine. I’m not at all concerned about being questioned about a bona fide marriage, though; we’ve been together for three years and have endless evidence that our relationship is very legitimate. We just need to get the ball rolling on AOS ASAP. 

Edited just now by kgund77

Unfortunately those “online” services are not a reliable second pair of eyes…as we speak there is a couple stranded in a hotel room near UK consulate due to Rapidvisa .

 

So take a moment so you can package a solid submission that may even get through with an interview waiver. …
 

It’s not your past 3 years of relationship that carry the weight, more what is established AFTER marriage..so hopefully you have or can establish some “paper” joint life after marriage …and good rule of thumb is to take at least 30 days ( 60 preferred by most immigration attorneys)  to sign and submit. 
 

When did your wife enter the US and on what visa? Are rushing because you are concerned with her status? 

 

 

[kgund77 4]

17 minutes ago, Family said:

Unfortunately those “online” services are not a reliable second pair of eyes…as we speak there is a couple stranded in a hotel room near UK consulate due to Rapidvisa .

 

So take a moment so you can package a solid submission that may even get through with an interview waiver. …
 

It’s not your past 3 years of relationship that carry the weight, more what is established AFTER marriage..so hopefully you have or can establish some “paper” joint life after marriage …and good rule of thumb is to take at least 30 days ( 60 preferred by most immigration attorneys)  to sign and submit. 
 

When did your wife enter the US and on what visa? Are rushing because you are concerned with her status? 

 

 

I’m a woman and my fiancé is a man  

 

Yes, rushing the AOS due to ongoing status issues but I’ve got a handle on it, so not seeking advice on that front - just a few one-off questions that the quick answers of the VisaJourney forums are helpful for! He entered on a J-1 visa five years ago.

 

I did a lot of research before choosing SimpleCitizen and we’re very happy with the attorney assigned to review our file based on the consultation we had with her so far. I do enough immigration pro bono at my firm that I feel comfortable enough with putting things together on my own, but at the same time, I value the extra set of eyes of someone who does this for a living every day. SimpleCitizen was a happy medium for me, and worth the small amount of money we paid compared to hiring an independent immigration specialist.

 

We’ll definitely give it a couple weeks after marriage, though, so 30 days seems like a reasonable target. We live together, have a joint bank account, will eventually share health insurance, etc, so I’m really not concerned about amassing evidence. 

[Family 3,508]

5 minutes ago, kgund77 said:

I’m a woman and my fiancé is a man  

 

Yes, rushing the AOS due to ongoing status issues but I’ve got a handle on it, so not seeking advice on that front - just a few one-off questions that the quick answers of the VisaJourney forums are helpful for! He entered on a J-1 visa five years ago.

 

I did a lot of research before choosing SimpleCitizen and we’re very happy with the attorney assigned to review our file based on the consultation we had with her so far. I do enough immigration pro bono at my firm that I feel comfortable enough with putting things together on my own, but at the same time, I value the extra set of eyes of someone who does this for a living every day. SimpleCitizen was a happy medium for me, and worth the small amount of money we paid compared to hiring an independent immigration specialist.

 

We’ll definitely give it a couple weeks after marriage, though, so 30 days seems like a reasonable target. We live together, have a joint bank account, will eventually share health insurance, etc, so I’m really not concerned about amassing evidence. 

Sounds like you covered all the bases, and have in place everything needed …so if a speedy filing is needed and will benefit, you can break convention and file as soon as you have marriage certificate in hand. The waiting period is geared to those who enter on non immigrant and marry / file a week later..so no issue for you.

It’s looking like USCIS is really liking the split filing ( I-130 online and paper I-485) and they seem to move quick as lighting . 
 

Congratulations , sorry for role reversals and happy the service you used comes w an attorney review! 

[kgund77 4]

34 minutes ago, Family said:

Sounds like you covered all the bases, and have in place everything needed …so if a speedy filing is needed and will benefit, you can break convention and file as soon as you have marriage certificate in hand. The waiting period is geared to those who enter on non immigrant and marry / file a week later..so no issue for you.

It’s looking like USCIS is really liking the split filing ( I-130 online and paper I-485) and they seem to move quick as lighting . 
 

Congratulations , sorry for role reversals and happy the service you used comes w an attorney review! 

Thank you very much! Your point is well taken with regard to what it would look like to USCIS to do the medical exam before the wedding - we’ll wait til the week after we get married to schedule his first appointment.

 

Good to know about the split filing. I hadn’t looked into filing procedures yet since we’re still in the evidence-gathering phase. Is that what most people are doing, filing the I-130 online and the I-485 simultaneously by mail?