The US Immigration Medical Exam is mandatory as demanded by the USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services as a part of the US immigration process for obtaining a green card or for refugee asylum states or for certain non immigrant visas.
The medical examination is done to ascertain whether the individual is inadmissible to the United States on the grounds of public health and safety or not.
It is conducted by a USCIS approved civil surgeon in the US in the United States. For those applying outside the US, the exam is conducted by a physician on the panel of USCIS called Panel Physician.
The green card aspirant needs to fill the i693 form part of which he needs to fill out himself and the remaining part needs to be filled in the by the civil surgeon during the medical examination.
The cost of the medical examination is not covered by medical insurance. It needs to be borne by the aspirant himself. However, it is advisable to check on it with the insurance provider and the civil surgeon prior to going for the medical exam.
There are 4 stages of the green card medical exam
Stage 1
The first stage includes a check for Tuberculosis. A tuberculin skin test or IGRA test followed by a chest x ray will be done if the applicant tests positive for exposure to tuberculosis in the past.
Stage 2
The next step includes getting tested for Syphilis. Once the test is completed, you will be screened for Gonorrhea and other communicable diseases.
In the second stage, the civil surgeon will check you for any physical or mental disorders that may lead to harmful behavior. This includes checking the aspirant for alcohol abuse and carefully examining the aspirant’s medical history to check for a history of physical disorders that lead to harmful behavior or currently persisting disorders that may lead to harmful behavior in the future.
Stage 3
Stage 3 is where presence of drug abuse or drug addiction is checked. This includes any therapy, rehabilitation or referrals that may have been given to the aspirant in the past.
Stage 4
Finally in the fourth stage, the aspirant is administered a series of vaccines as specified by the CDC, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. The vaccines administered are age appropriate. If you have taken any of these vaccines in the past, you need to obtain a certification from your health care provider to present to the civil surgeon during the examination confirming the same. Flu vaccine is given only during the flu season which lasts from October to March.
Following vaccines are administered:
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza
- Influenza type b (Hib)
- Measles
- Meningococcal
- Mumps
- Penumococcal
- Pertussis
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Rubella
- Tetanus and diphtheria toxoids
- Varicella
The civil surgeon charges separately for vaccination. Each civil surgeon charges differently for the medical examination since the CDC does not have any regulations over the charges. The charges vary depending on the geographical location. The immigration medical exam can cost you anywhere between $200 and $700 depending on where you live.
The tests usually take up 4 to 5 hours easily so it is advisable to take a day off for the medical examination. Some procedures especially the vaccination may need a follow up. You can either take the follow up dose from your civil surgeon or from your usual health care provider.
Once the tests are done, the civil surgeon will fill the i693 form, draft the results and hand them over to you in a sealed envelope. Before the results and the form are sealed, make sure that your name and other details are spelled correctly otherwise the USCIS will instantly reject the results. Make sure the seal is intact and is not tampered with or else it will not be accepted. Deliver the results within a week’s time.
Once you have delivered the results, the USCIS will take time to go through the findings since they have a huge backlog of such results to clear. So, patiently wait for their call.
All the best clearing your Immigration Medical Exam!
October 9: Democratic Reps. Joe Crowley and Charlie Rangel of New York, Luis Gutierrez-Illinois, Raul Grijalva-Arizona, Jan Schakowsky-Illinois, Keith Ellison-Minnesota and Al Green-Texas and John Lewis-Georgia were arrested in blocking the streets near the National Mall to bring attention to their efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration reform yesterday.
More than a dozen Congressional Democrats and four House Republicans came before the crowd to urge the house to take up the immigration reform bill for a vote.
Thousands of activists waved and cheered displaying the signs that said “No Human is Illegal”. Children too were a part of this rally called “Camino Americano” and wore T shirts that read “Don’t Deport My Dad”.
According to an event spokeswoman, the National Park Service allowed the event to proceed because it fell under a First Amendment category which was closed due to the federal government shutdown.
“Camino Americano” followed events in more than 100 cities in 36 states across the nation on Saturday to make a similar push for comprehensive immigration reform.
The event was designed to pressure Congress and the House GOP to act on immigration reform this year.
Other efforts included key faith leaders gathering on Capitol Hill to speak out for immigration reform and to try and meet with House offices to engage in prayer for immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s more than 11 million undocumented immigrants.
easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Civil Surgeon and schedule their immigration medical exam online. Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.
October 8: Setting a precedent for the nation, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill on Saturday that will allow undocumented immigrants practice law in the state of California. This law forms a part of a series of 8 bills that expand the rights of immigrants in the Democrat majority state.
The California Supreme Court is now authorized to approve the requests of undocumented immigrants who desire to practice law in the state just like it approves the requests of other applicants who qualify to practice law.
There are other new laws in the state including the ending of the Secure Communities Partnership, which lets law enforcement detain immigrants for the immigration authorities, if they have committed crimes, for 48 hours past their release date so the immigration authorities can make arrangements for their deportation.
The series of bills also expands the rights of immigrant workers and makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against workers based on their citizenship status. In addition, unlike conservative states such as Arizona and Nebraska, California has also passed a law that will let nearly 38 percent of its total undocumented immigrant population apply for drivers’ licenses in the state. This will make the state a part of at least 9 states where the law will be implemented in 2015.
As Reuters reported, the California law “allows illegal immigrants to practice law grew out of a case of an undocumented Mexican immigrant, Sergio Garcia, who was brought to the United States as a baby and later graduated from a California law school. He has received the support of the State Bar of California and the state attorney general”.
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a brief in the Supreme Court last year to oppose Garcia’s bid to gain admission in the California Department. Although, Garcia can now be admitted to the California bar, other immigrants in Florida and New York are trying their hands at the same
easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Physician and schedule their immigration medical exam online. Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.
October 4: House Democrats came up with a new immigration unveiled on Wednesday that includes a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants. These immigrants need to satisfy strict criteria to secure legal status. The bill also includes the provision for tighter border security along the US Mexico border to get Republican support.
It is uncertain whether the bill will be taken up for debate or not since the Congress is held up due to the budget standoff. Democrats are still not giving up hope that Republicans would come together to discuss the new immigration bill.
The Immigration Bill cleared in the Senate could not clear in the house since Republicans had objections for the pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants and border security.
The current bill omits the provision of 700 miles of fencing and 20,000 agents’ employment along the US Mexico border. However, another provision approved by the House Homeland Security Committee was added which requires the department of homeland security to establish a strategy where 90 percent of those who attempt to illegally cross the border can be arrested.
Critics feel that the diversity visa program and the sibling category from family reunification petitions should not have been excluded from the bill. However, many immigration reform advocates feel the bill will build momentum for advancing the efforts toward immigration reform in the House. Most republicans are said to prefer a piecemeal approach toward immigration reform as opposed to one bill dealing with all aspects.
The release of the bill is timed to be Oct. 5, National Day of Action, when immigrant rights, faith and labor groups plan to hold more than 100 rallies, vigils and other actions to press Congress to work on immigration legislation.
Analysts believe that the new bill is only symbolic and is not likely to pass in the House since there are only a few legislative days left this year and the GOP is not ready to budge. However, that does not prevent immigration reform advocates from building pressure on the Congress to act on the issue.
easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Physician and schedule their immigration medical exam online. Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.
