WASHINGTON – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated a key requirement to obtain a green card effective Nov. 1.

The policy changes announced this week will affect the medical and vaccination examination for immigration purposes, which makes sure there are no health issues that would deem the applicant inadmissible to the United States.

Previously, a doctor was not required to sign the exam’s results so close to the filing date of the application. This created a problem for many applicants because by the time their immigration benefit was adjudicated, the application, known as Form I-693, was no longer valid. To overcome this hurdle, the immigrant was required to obtain an updated medical report.

The goal of the new rule is to “enhance operational efficiencies and reduce the number of requests to applicants for an updated Form I-693,” the immigration agency said.

The revised policy maximizes “the period of time Form I-693 will be valid while the underlying application is under USCIS review,” the agency said, specifying that its officers will have leeway to request a new I-693 within the two-year period if they have “reason to believe an applicant may be inadmissible on health-related grounds.”