Once you turn up for your appointment for the Green Card Medical you will be asked for your medical history which will then be reviewed by the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon. You will be asked to notify the Surgeon as to the number of times that you have had to stay in hospital, or whether you have ever suffered or are suffering from a severe physical or mental condition, and also will be asked to state the number of times that you have fallen sick or stayed disabled.
The Surgeon will also ask you certain questions about your history – pertaining to drug, alcohol or psychoactive substances use, behavior that was harmful to society in the past, or any mental or psychiatric conditions not documented before.
The Surgeon will also go through chest X-Rays and other treatment documentation to see if there has been an instance of tuberculosis.
WHAT IF YOU ARE SICK AT THE TIME OF THE IMMIGRATION MEDICAL?
If it so happens that you have already fixed up an appointment for the medical exam and you suddenly fall sick then the Civil Surgeon could ask you to go back and only visit the doctor after you get better.
WHAT IF YOUR CASE IS UNUSUAL?
If the Civil Surgeon feels that you have a distinct case you could be referred to another medical doctor for a second opinion.
Q. Is there a “medical waiver” available for the Green Card Medical exam and if so how can one be eligible for it?
Ans A “medical waiver” can be granted by the USCIS , the immigration body in the USA if the applicant falls in the eligibility criteria. If the applicant is granted medical waiver then he or she is permitted to remain or reside in the U S in spite of having a medical condition that could have otherwise made the person inadmissible.
Eligibility for the medical waiver can come into effect if :
- The applicant is the spouse or unmarried son or daughter or the minor, unmarried adopted child of a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident; or
- The applicant has a son or daughter or lawfully adopted child who is a U.S. citizen or a legal permanent resident; or
- The applicant becomes eligible for classification as a self-petitioning spouse or child (including derivative children) because of abuse.
Q What does ‘medical grounds of inadmissibility’ mean?
Ans ‘Medical grounds of inadmissibility’ is effective when a health condition which is a public health concern to the United States occurs. Under the U.S. immigration laws, the medical grounds of inadmissibility are divided into four categories:
Here are some of the components of the Immigration Green Card Examination:
- Physical Examination: Irrespective of all ages or all groups a physical examination is required for all applicants. What does the examination entail?
- General check up
- Blood Pressure
- Ears,eyes etc.
- Check up by procedures such as hitting a hammer on the elbows and knees
Mental status of the applicant too is checked.
- Tuberculin TB Skin Test: All applicants who are of age 2 years old have to go in for the tuberculin skin test – those who are of 2 years or younger may be asked to take up the test if there are reasons to believe that there could be possibilities of the applicant child contracting the disease.
3. Serologic blood Test : Applicants who are 15 years or older are required to take the Serologic blood test for the HIV virus or for syphilis. The Civil Surgeon can ask for the Serologic blood test to be take for those under 15 years or under, if there is reason to believe that there could be the possibility of an infection. Pre-test counseling will have to be given to applicants who have to take the HIV test, and post-test counseling will have to be given if the applicant is found to have HIV.
4. Vaccinations: The prescribed vaccinations will have to be taken by the applicant as per the detailed guidelines.
For years the agents of I C E, or the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been asked to concentrate on sending back or deporting hardened criminals, not small-time offenders and those who pose little danger to society. But a deportation case that transpired in rural Louisiana proves the very opposite, suggesting that ICE does work with police departments to encourage racial profiling, unfair detention and other civil-right malpractices.
A case arose in a small town near the Texan state border in the month of May. Two Honduran men were arrested by police officers; the police demanded to see their papers. Although the men were not charged with any crimes they were still handed over to the Border Patrol and then to ICE. They were then detained as illegal immigrants who had been deported in the past. The men awaited deportation for more than 140 days, when a racial justice body filed a civil complaint on their behalf. The men seemed to have been arrested and then detained for a long period of time, without the cover of any local law-enforcement agencies charging them for a crime.
“It is imperative that the departments work to avoid becoming a conduit, or an incentive, for improper profiling by local law enforcement,” it was reported. “We would ask that you consider both releasing them from custody and seeking closure of their removal actions.”
But this was ignored – one of the immigrants was deported and deportation of the other was soon expected.
