CONCERNED: 485 from 2007 approved without RFE for medicals

[manuj_402]

Through my new Employer, this year I ported my long pending EB3 case to EB2 (PD May 31st 2007).

I did an interfile for myself and submitted the new 485 for my wife in Aug 2015. My wife got an RFE in Nov to submit her work auth from 2013 onwards. We responded to that.

On Dec 2nd, the 485s for both my wife and I were approved. The thing that concerns me is that I did not get an RFE for a new set of medicals. The medicals I submitted in Aug 2007 are abt 8 years old.

1. Why would USCIS not ask for my medical exams again since the medical exam on file is very old?
2. Has anyone been in this scenario where a long pending 485 was approved without an RFE for a new set of medicals ?
3. Can USCIS revisit the case in a few days and decide that the 485 was approved in error and revoke the GC ?
4. Is there a way to check whether USCIS intended to approve the case or was the case approved in Error ?

Any inputs would be appreciated....!

[JoeF]

They don't always ask for re-doing the medicals.

You are fine.

[manuj_402]

Thank you JoeF. Sorry for the late response. I did not realize that my note had been posted on the forum. For some reason, I missed this post each time I have checked the forum since Dec 3rd.

[JoeF]

No problem.

[manuj_402]

Hi JoeF.

 

As I had feared, USCIS re-opened my case again after 1.5 months and sent an RFE for the medicals. I was also asked to send back the Green Card with the medicals. I responded to the RFE with medicals and the card about 2 weeks back but have not seen any update on the case yet.

 

Do you have any idea if the processing for such Case re-opening scenarios takes more time than normal to resolve ? I have to travlel outside the US in the coming weeks and I am concerned that getting an approval may take longer than I had anticipated.

[JoeF]

Hmm, that is rather unusual. Never heard of something like that.

You may want to discuss this with an immigration lawyer.

[manuj_402]

Thanks JoeF. I have set up an infopass next week. I am not sure how helpful that will be given that I went in last time and they said there is nothing they can do.

 

My wife's 485 which was approved as my dependent is still in approved status so I am guessing there isn't anything serious. But since this is taking longer than expected, I am not sure what to make of it.

[JoeF]

Infopass is a USCIS thing. You still should discuss your situation with an immigration lawyer.

[manuj_402]

Thanks JoeF.

 

I am not sure how an immigration lawyer would help at this point unless there is some communication from USCIS. I actually posted by query on avvo. Besides the expected answer to hire an attorney, most lawyers responded by asking to give USCIS more time to process the RFE.

 

I have an Infopass appointment next week where I will bring up the EAD application which is now pending over 150 days. I stopped following up on that after my GC was approved in Dec. While I am at the Infopass, I will also bring up the pending Green Card RFE.

 

I also plan to initiate a Congressman's inquiry early next week. At some point if there is no movement, I will have to hire an attorney. But I am not sure if I need someone right away.

[JoeF]

Forget avvo.

You need to consult with a lawyer one-on-one, not over the Internet.

Only with such a consultation can a lawyer determine what the issue is.

[manuj_402]

Thanks JoeF. I see your point. If I do not see an response from USCIS 30 days after the RFE response was received, I will talk to a lawyer.

 

Mine is a pretty straightforward Employment Based GC application. At this time, I have no reason to believe that there might be any issue with the case other than the expired Medicals which USCIS should have asked for a new set before approving the case in Dec.

[ajnabe1122]

Hi Manuj,

 

do you have any update on your case.my case is also appoved yesterday  with expired medicals and No RFE for medicals .is this a concern?

[JoeF]

Hi Manuj,

 

do you have any update on your case.my case is also appoved yesterday  with expired medicals and No RFE for medicals .is this a concern?

 

I have a friend who filed his I-485 way back in 2007 when the PD became current for a short time. His I-485 was approved over 4 years back, and he never got a request for new biometrics. In particular, once the i-485 is approved, there really should not be a request for this anymore. The USCIS examiner is supposed to have everything checked before approval.

If there is a request after approval, that would indicate a screwup by the examiner. I personally would fight such a thing.... If you encounter this kind of stuff, I suggest you discuss the details with a good immigration lawyer.

[manuj_402]

hey ajnabe1122 and JoeF,

 

Sorry....I was not following this thread in a while. My case did get approved eventually. It was a weird scenario. After all other avenues failed, I called up my Congresswoman's office and her representative helped get the RFE on my case processed. She was very helpful. I had to follow up twice. The second time I called her, USCIS approved the case again within 15-20 mins of my call.

 

What helped was the fact some IO at USCIS declined my EAD application because they though I was already a LPR. So I was able to make the case that USCIS had made a mistake twice. One was approving the 485 case without Medicals and the next was declining the EAD. My H1B is still valid so I was always in status.

 

Getting a case approved without Medicals is usually not an issue. But as it happened in my case, if they realize at a later point that they missed the medicals, they can re-open the case and send a RFE.  When my case was approved, I called Customer Support, Infopass and Service Request to ask them in Dec if they needed medicals. Basically none of the avenues came back with any results. They all said "We have no idea. If USCIS needs medicals, they will let you know."

 

The situation that scared me was what if one is out of the country and they re-open the case. What happens when you show your card at the port of entry and the status is "RFE is issued" or something like that. At that point you may not have any other status to enter the country.

 

As JoeF suggested, maybe talk to a lawyer to see how that scenario would play out. It is extremely frustrating that even after getting a Green Card, we have to worry about all this ****.