What does the U S Immigration Medical Examination include?
The US Immigration Medical Examination verifies the applicant’s status of good health and whether he can be admitted into the USA on citizenship or not, on medical grounds. The examination will also verify and monitor medical conditions that need adequate follow up after the applicant takes up permanent residence.
What all are included in the US Medical Examination?
The Immigration Medical includes the following kinds of tests:
PHYSICAL: Every applicant is required to go through a complete physical examination (this includes complete disrobing) and an evaluation of the applicant’s mental health.
TUBERCULOSIS CHECK: All applicants, who are of two years of age and more are required to go through a test that checks for the presence of tuberculosis. This is done through conducting a Tuberculin skin test, or TST.
SEROLOGIC (BLOOD) TEST: Every applicant, who is of 15 years of more has to go through a serological blood test, which checks for HIV and for syphilis. If the Civil Surgeon suspects the possibility of any infection in an applicant who is less than 15 years he can instruct him or her to go in for the serological blood test too. It is required by Civil Surgeons and Panel Doctors to walk the applicant through an HIV pre-test counseling session before the test is administrated. If the applicant is found to have HIV infection then he or she must be given post-test counseling by the Civil Surgeon.
VACCINATION CHECK: Every applicant has to declare that they are up to speed with all that is required in vaccinations for Immigration reasons. The list of vaccinations is determined by USA Public Health officials.
In our next post we shall take a look at who needs to go through a medical examination. Keep watching this space!
People who are living as permanent residents in the United States have to be issued a green card – a green card is valid proof that these residents are authorized to live and work in the country. It is mandatory for a permanent resident 18 years or older to have a valid green card in possession at all times.
FOR HOW LONG IS A GREEN CARD VALID?
Currently the green card is valid for 10 years. The green card is valid for 2 years for a conditional resident. All green cards must be renewed before it expires.
WHEN CAN A GREEN CARD BE USED?
A green card can be used to prove eligibility for the employee to be engaged in employment, especially for forms like the Form I-9, that contains details about Employment Eligibility Verification. The resident can also use the Green Card to apply for a Social Security Card and for applying for a driver’s licence, that is issued by the state. The resident can apply for readmission to the United States after a trip abroad, if the stay abroad is less than 1 year. In case the trip lasts longer than 1 year then a re-entry permit will be needed.
RENEWAL OF THE GREEN CARD
A permanent resident whose green card of 10 years has expired or will expire within the upcoming 6 months may initiate the process for renewing the card, by:
Online E-Filing Form I-90: Filling up an application to Replace Permanent Resident Card.
Filing a hard copy of Form I-90: Filling up an application to Replace Permanent Resident Card. This can be sent by mail.
If an immigrant applicant wishes to request for either the initial or the renewal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), then he or she needs to submit Form I-765 or the Application for Employment Authorization, along with the required fees. Care has to be taken that the Form I-765 is duly submitted, else the applicant’s request will be rejected. Along with this form the required filing fee, Form I-765 Worksheet, and Form I-821D (Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) need to be submitted.
To renew DACA renewals, it is strongly encouraged by USCIS to submit the renewal request between 150 days and 120 days, before the expiration date mentioned on the current Form I-797 DACA approval notice and Employment Authorization Document. If the renewal request is filed during this window the possibility stands relatively minimized that the applicant’s current period of DACA will expire before a decision on the renewal request is received.
The current goal at USCIS has been to process DACA renewal requests within 120 days of their expiration and an inquiry may be submitted by the applicant, in order to find out the status of the renewal request if the time period is exceeded.
There are many surveys taking place in the United States of America on a regular basis. Here is the general perspective on immigration reform:
On the whole there is a positive approach towards immigrants.
A majority of Americans feel that the growing number of immigrants will help to strengthen American society, while only a few believe that newcomers will undermine traditional American customs and values.
A large majority of Americans believe that immigrants will blend in with the American community, much like the immigrants from previous eras, while a small number disagrees.
There are some concerns about the economic impact of immigrants on the general community. Many Americans believe that immigrants coming to the country took jobs that Americans did not want, while a majority of Americans felt that illegal immigrants hurt the economy by working for lower wages and bringing down the wage levels in general.
Although deportations of illegal immigrants have increased in recent times very few Americans could correctly state the number of deportations.
There is broad agreement about a set of values that should guide immigration policy.
5 values are rated as extremely important guides to immigration reform by a majority of Americans : Promoting national security, keeping families together, protecting the dignity of people, ensuring fairness to taxpayers and enforcing the rule of law.
