From LaserGlow's web site: "In the USA, lasers are regulated by the FDA. According to the Code of Federal Regulations (21CFR1040.10), lasers which are portable and battery-operated or those which are intended for alignment applications are defined as "surveying, levelling, or alignment lasers(s)" (SLA lasers), regardless of their intended purpose, and these are restricted to FDA Class IIIa/IEC Class 3R or lower."
Seems FDA no longer cares what it is promoted for SLA is SLA--- this from:
Surveying, Leveling, or Alignment Laser Products - Draft Guidance for Industry and Food and Drug Administration Staff
"Certain design features allow SLA lasers to be used in open spaces or in unrestricted environments to determine and delineate the form, extent, or position of a point, body, or area by taking angular measurement, position or adjust parts in proper relation to one another, or define a plane, level, elevation, or straight line. These design features include:
Compact size (i.e. small, lightweight)
Battery power
Ergonomic design to permit hand-held use
An aperture in the laser product's protective housing to transmit laser emission into open space
Portability to permit use in open spaces or in unrestricted environments
Features that utilize the laser’s straight line emission for surveying, leveling, or alignment
Generally, FDA will consider these design features as evidence that the laser product was designed for one or more of the uses listed in the SLA laser definition at 21 CFR 1040.10(b)(39). Therefore, FDA will generally consider laser products with these design features to fall under the definition of an SLA laser product and to be subject to the requirements identified in 21 CFR 1040.11(b) regardless of whether such laser products are promoted for SLA laser uses."
"The class limit in 21 CFR 1040.11(b) is intended to impose an upper exposure limit on accessible laser emission to ensure the safety of users and others. This limit takes into account the product’s intended uses and the generally unrestricted environments in which SLA laser products are used.
Note: 21 CFR 1040.11(b) establishes an upper class limit for all SLA laser products as Class IIIa, which has an accessible emission limit of 5 milliwatts."
To me it just sounds like Ultralasers was just politely declining the sale and shipping to USA. The "fix in 4-6 weeks" just part of politely telling you , no.
As mentioned before there is no indication the that the laws, rules, and regulations are going to change in a way that will allow SLA lasers greater than 5mW to be legally shipped or imported into the USA without a " variance".
See 12 March 2015 FDA Important Information for Laser Pointer Manufacturers specifically the "What Is a Laser Pointer" section and the "Does FDA have a mandatory limit on the power emitted by laser pointers?" here:
Important Information for Laser Pointer Manufacturers
