If you are a foreign national and seeking immigration to the United States, either while applying for a visa or if you are seeking to adjust status to that of permanent residence you shall be required to go in for the Immigration Medical Exam. During the course of taking this exam you shall also be required to take some mandatory vaccinations, like Mumps, Polio, Tetanus etc.
HEPATITIS B – VACCINATION IS MANDATORY FOR THE MEDICAL EXAM
The USCIS approved Civil Surgeon will go through all your vaccination records at the time of your medical examination, to see whether you have already been vaccinated in the past, against vaccination-preventable diseases that are relevant for your age category. As part of the exam, you shall be required to take vaccinations for a disease called Hepatitis B too.
WHAT EXACTLY IS HEPATITIS B?
Hepatitis B is an infectious disease affecting the liver. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV) – this virus affects apes, including human beings. This disease is spread through contact of the blood and body fluids from an infected person.
HOW CAN ONE CONTRACT HEPATITIS B?
You can get the disease if you:
- Have sex with an infected person, especially without using a condom.
- Share needles with an infected person
- Share personal items, like razors, or even toothbrushes.
- Get tattoos without getting the needles sterilized.
A mother can pass on the virus to her baby when she delivers. So it is very important for all pregnant women to get tested for this disease.
HOW CAN YOU NOT CATCH THE VIRUS?
You cannot catch the disease through:
- Sneezing
- Coughing
- Hugging
- Kissing
- Sharing foods or drinks.
SYMPTOMS OF HEPATITIS B:
This disease does not show up with symptoms most of the time, and even if it does, you will usually feel that you have the flu. Some of them are:
- Lack of appetite
- Running temperature
- Tummy ache or headache
- Vomiting
- Joint pain
- Skin rash
Yellowish eyes and skin. (This is a sign of jaundice and this usually occurs after other symptoms have started to disappear.
Diarrhoea or constipation
As a part of the Medical Immigration exam your Civil Surgeon will take a blood sample to test you for Hepatitis B. Your doctor will even be able to tell if you have had the vaccine before.
A CARRIER OF THE DISEASE WITH NO SYMPTOMS
In most cases the disease causes limited infection, and many people successfully fight off the infection within some months. But if you remain infected with the virus for more than 6 months then you are considered a carrier. You could remain a carrier even if you have no symptoms. This implies that you could transmit the disease to others, through unprotected sex, or through sharing needles.
Hepatitis B is part of the Vaccination list of the US Green Card Medical Exam – it is mandatory to get yourself vaccinated from this dangerous disease.
Top States & Cities To Find USCIS Authorised Civil Surgeon for Immigration Medical Exam
California
Florida
Illinois
New York
- New York
- Buffalo
- Astoria
- Every year, more than 100,000 appointments are made from New York with green card doctors. Find affordable USCIS Doctors nearby you in NY, such as:
Texas
- Dallas
- Houston
- Austin
- USCIS designated Immigration Medical Doctors are located across Texas and neighbourhood, such as in:
Click here to Find Green Card Medical Exam Doctors Near you via Zipcode/City/Area
What Information do I need to submit to see the location of the Doctors’ office? and why ?
The Doctor office requires to know who is enquiring for an appointment. By submitting your Name, Contact info and Date of Birth, the Doctor office is able to better manage appointments, track bookings, provide necessary information to the doctors’ office and guide on the vaccinations that you need based on your age.
By sharing this information, you gain knowledge of how to get your Immigration Medical Exam done in the shortest possible time and visits. It streamlines the process and ensures a smooth experience for both the user and the medical facility.
If you have concerns about providing personal information, you can review the easyIME’s privacy policy to understand how your data is handled and protected.
The recent report by the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality weekly has stated that there are nearly 129 cases of measles this year, the highest number as compared with the last 18 years. The data is alarming- this year saw the highest rise of measles outbreaks with California being the state with the highest number to witness this outbreak. .
As per CDC, the infection set in from the Philippines, which saw a large outbreak of measles cases, and a large number of people who visited the country been infected with the disease. Nearly 20,000 cases have been suspected in the Asian nation.
What is Measles?
The measles virus, known as Paramyxovirus infects the human body’s respiratory system. Morbilli or rubeloa are the other names for measles. The virus attacks the respiratory system, immune system and the skin.
Symptoms of Measles
Measles is a highly contagious disease that occurs in the tiny droplets spewed out, when an infected person coughs, sneezes or exhales.
- The virus multiplies without any symptoms, usually within 1 or 2 weeks after the entry of the virus into the body.
- The infected person starts to cough, usually develops fever, a runny nose, red eyes, and tears from the eyes.
- Rashes appear usually on the forehead, behind the ears, trunk, arms and legs, etc.. These usually disappear within 5 to 6 days.
- The infection usually lasts for about 10 days.
- In worst cases, measles can affect the brain. Usually, this is the last stage of the disease and survival of the patient is put to risk.
Cure for Measles
As it is a viral infection, it will last for a maximum of 5-7 days and will gradually go. There are no specific medications to kill the virus. In order to relive the body pain and fever medicines like acetaminophen or ibuprofen are advised by the doctors.
A dosage of Vitamin A tablets is generally prescribed by doctors for the children who are suffering severely.
Vaccination for Measles
Nearly 95% of children are being fully vaccinated against modern measles. The measles vaccines are given along with mumps and rubella vaccine, which is known as the MMR vaccine. This is a lifelong protection.
USA is strict with law and order; and it strives to take utmost care of their citizens by looking into minute details. Vaccination is one among them. The people who were infected are the ones who were not old enough to take vaccinations like small kids or some who have gone without vaccination.
This has led to a lot of pressure imposed on the immigrant community, as immigrants are required to undergo a green card medical exam and all the vaccines details has to be submitted to the US Civil Surgeon in order for them to apply for the green card. easyIME makes the entire green card medical examination process easy, by helping to arrange and set up appointments with USCIS doctors.
Every day there is a heated rhetoric happening that builds mental and physical stress in the minds of the people staying in the US- the fear of being deported, and this largely concerns the Immigration issue.
We see thousands of immigrants passing through the US border illegally; most of them get into unskilled labour jobs, like truck drivers, house cleaners, farming, manufacturing sectors and cab drivers. Some of them even take to begging, stretching their hands for alms. These are very serious concerns as they are working without any legal documents. At the same time, it is these very immigrants who are making significant contributions to society.
American industrialization was epoch-making, as it brought in thousands of immigrants from Europe, who swamped the cities of the East and Midwest. They were highly skilled laborers, who were hard working and with their skills in machines, automobiles and factories brought about rapid changes in the society by introducing innovative machines and tools that helped the economy to grow.
The Pew Hispanic reports that nearly 57% of the immigrants residing in the US illegally are from Mexico. In order to minimize the illegal border crossing so that more opportunity are given to legal immigrants, a group of representatives and US senators has proposed legislation – Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act of 2005. The main purpose of the bill being to strengthen border protections, while also giving permission for them to work legally for six years. In the course of time these illegal immigrants can go through immigration medical test and get criminal background checks done, with the help of an immigrant lawyer who can help them to apply for their green card and move toward citizenship.
The need of the hour today is to bring more high-skilled legal immigrants who are experts in research, along with doctors, engineers, well-trained teachers, scientists etc, who will contribute significantly, as there will more baby boomers in the county who need to be replaced and the age gap of the American youngsters seems to vary. To fill these spaces more high- skilled personnel and well-versed immigrants are in demand in order for the country to grow economically.
As Senator John McCain rightly said, the aim of the bill is to “address the labor needs of this country” while improving enforcement of the borders and laws, for all its citizens.
Once the follow up is done, your Immigration medical exam is complete and the doctor will sign the i693 form and give the results in a sealed envelope to you that you can present at the consulate. It’s very easy to find a USCIS approved civil surgeon or doctor near to you through this free online service called easyIME.
