The Immigration Medical Examination is an important step in the entire immigration process in the United States of America. When one applies for a Green Card or when one wishes to go in for permanent residence the Immigration Medical Exam has to be taken, by the applicant and his family members. Two tests in this are very important and are mandatory. One is the test for tuberculosis; the other is a serological test.
Let us study what the Tuberculin test or TST is all about.
TUBERCULIN TEST:
All applicants who are of 2 years and above are required to go in for the tuberculin test in the Immigration Medical Examination. Even if the applicant is below 2 years but is suspected of the disease he or she could be asked to go in for a TB test. This is possible when the applicant comes with a history of contact, so the applicant may be asked to go in for a tuberculin test to rule out any doubts. Applicants are usually asked to go in for a tuberculin skin test, or what is called as TST.
Once the skin test is conducted the applicant will be asked to return to the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon with the results, within 2 or 3 days. The USCIS Civil Surgeon is a physician specially appointed by USCIS, or the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services who is authorized to conduct the Immigration Medical Exam. The applicant will have to visit the Civil Surgeon to have the results read.
If the reaction is 4 mm or less no further tests will be required for TB, unless the applicant displays signs or symptoms of TB or immuno-supression. A chest X-ray is required to be conducted for all applicants, including pregnant women, if the reaction to the TST is 5 mm or more.
If the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon thinks that the applicant is infected with TB he or she will be required to visit the local health department and more visits will have to be done.
Over the years immigration to the United States of America is increasingly becoming a tough process. But in spite of all the heartaches, difficult paper work and innumerable legal hurdles millions have been making the difficult journey through immigration! Reports predict a whopping increase in the country’s population – from a 281 million in 2000 to 397 million in 2050, thanks to immigrants entering the country!
Immigration reform is currently in the process of being implemented by the Obama administration, and though there are many obstacles and scores of bottlenecks confronting the government the executive actions, if passed into law could bring relief to hundreds and thousands of immigrants, almost 11 million currently.
If you are an applicant and have recently applied for a green card or are in line for immigration with a view to settling down permanently in the country, you will be required to go through what is called the Immigration Medical Examination. Comprising of several tests, the medical examination can be conducted only by USCIS-approved Civil Surgeons. These tests cannot be conducted by family doctors as the surgeons appointed by USCIS are trained specially.
www.easyIME.com is a portal that helps you go through the Immigration Medical examination process for immigration easily!
By arranging for a free listing of USCIS-approved Surgeons and Immigration lawyers who are dedicated to the Immigration process, easyIME also efficiently coordinates by helping you find the best-priced Civil Surgeon located in your area. easyIME thus provides applicants with quality and efficient, 24*7 services rendered to all immigrant applicants wishing to take the medical exam or wanting to find the right lawyer for their immigrant needs.
Here are some important facts that you need to know about the current vaccinations that are required to be taken as a part of the Immigration Medical Examination! Don’t miss out!
What are the new vaccination rules for the USCIS Immigration Medical Examination?
Vaccination requirements have been revised by CDC, USA from July 1, 2008 onwards. According to the new laws additional vaccinations are required for applicants in order to be eligible for adjustment of status.
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the vaccinations stated in the CDC schedule are not required to be taken by all age groups – they are restricted for certain age groups only. The Civil Surgeon will go through the medical history of the applicant and determine what vaccinations are needed to be taken. Some vaccinations may not be necessary or may not even be appropriate, so it is the USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon who will determine which vaccines are needed to be taken by the applicant.
Should all shots in the vaccine series be completed before the applicant applies for adjustment of status or for the Green Card?
It is the applicant’s responsibility to have received all the age-specific vaccinations that could be administered at the time of the Immigration Medical Examination. If the applicant had already started the series of vaccinations before the exam but has not been able to complete all the requisite shots due to the fact that the stipulated time interval between two shots has not elapsed he or she could still apply for adjustment of status. In such cases waiver becomes applicable as it is impossible for the applicant to get all shots administered due to the medical rules of maintaining time intervals between two shots.
Some days back immigrants across the country of the United States were asked by Homeland Security Chief Jeh Johnson to step forward and apply for President Obama’s deferred action program.
In a public function the Chief rolled out the benefits of the plan to the immigrants, in which he said, around 5 million immigrant-aspirants who were living in the country illegally would get an opportunity to live and work without the fear of getting deported back to their countries of origin.
From February 18, 2015 the government will start accepting applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, a program which grants deportation relief and work permits to a lot of people who arrived at the US before they were 16 years.
President Obama has changed the program from 2 years to 3 years and expanded the criteria so the program is open to anyone who entered the United States as a child, no matter their current age. The next phase of the program too will be implemented soon, which will offer the same protection for up to 4 million parents of U S citizens.
