21-year old Kim Surino, who stays in Phoenix, Arizona does not have a driver’s license, has not been able to qualify for in-state college tuition or avail of a host of other opportunities available to young people. She would have been able to do so if she had stayed in a different state, just a few hundred miles to the west.
With last week’s executive order on immigration reform coming out into the open, President Obama’s intentions seem to be – expand the deferred action program, by deferring the deportation of hundreds of parents of undocumented immigrants. But the harsher realities are that each state is adopting its own policies and many undocumented immigrants are therefore, facing a lot of impediments. Though the President of America is allowing them to remain in the USA for a longer time it doesn’t still mean that their state will allow them to drive a car, get into school or even enable them to obtain health insurance at affordable rates. There is a patchwork of rules that have formed in states – based more on political alignments, especially after the President allowed some young deportees to stay on in the country. There are states like Nebraska and Arizona that are very conservative, and do not allow these undocumented immigrants access to drivers’ licenses or affordable education. Sadly, states like Arizona are very strict when it comes to granting rights to undocumented aspirants.
In states like California, Democrats, immigration groups and health care advocates are trying to help illegal immigrants to receive health care under the state’s Medicaid program, although the president’s action excludes immigrants who came to the country illegally from qualifying for state health benefits.
Different policies adopted in different states are making it difficult for unauthorized immigrants to avail of basic amenities like driving licenses and health insurance.
We shall now look at Part 3 of the I-693 form,
Part 3 of the I-693 form should be completed by the Civil Surgeon. The Civil Surgeon is required to sign and date the form after the medical examination of the visa applicant is concluded, that is, after all follow-up evaluation and treatment is completed. The “testing age” is considered the age of the applicant on the date of the civil surgeon’s signature.
The Civil Surgeon should affix his signature in original in Part 3 on the form.
Note! New Additions to the top of Pages 2-5 of form I-693
Some new fields have been added to the top of the form. Here the visa applicant should fill in his or her name, along with the A-Number, if any. The Civil Surgeon should take care and check that these fields have been completed.
COMPLETING FORM I-693: THE CIVIL SURGEON WORKSHEET
The Civil Surgeon Worksheet (pages 2-5 of form I-693 encompasses the medical aspect of the Immigration Medical Examination.
The Worksheet is divided into 6 sections:
- Section 1: Communicable Diseases of Public Health Significance
- Section 2: Physical and Mental Disorders with Associated Harmful behaviour
- Section3 : Drug Abuse/ Drug Addiction
- Section 4: Other Medical Conditions
With some exceptions all the above sections should be completed by the Civil Surgeon.
- Section 5: Referral to Health Department or other Doctor.
- Section 6: Referral Evaluation.
The last 2 sections should detailed in only if a referral was made during the Immigration Medical examination.
COMPLETING THE FORM: A FINAL REVIEW
At the end of it all the Civil Surgeon must ensure that:
- All follow-up evaluation and treatment is completed
- All findings/results boxes are completed for each section
- Part 2 of the form (Summary of Medical Examination) is completed.
The Civil Surgeon should make two copies of the completed and signed form, and any supporting documentation that will be submitted to USCIS.
- The Civil Surgeon should keep 1 copy.
- The applicant will receive 1 copy.
This completes the filling up of the I-693 form!
Last time we looked at filling up Part 1 of the I-693 form. This has to be done by the applicant for the Immigration visa.
PART 1 OF THE I-693 FORM – CONTD..
VERIFYING IDENTITY:
When applicants visit the Civil Surgeon’s clinic for their Immigration Medical Examination they are required to carry along their government-issued photo ID as proof of identity.
This identity has to be verified by the Civil Surgeon to ensure that the individual undergoing the medical exam is the same individual who is listed in Part 1.
Note: A new feature that has been added is that the Civil Surgeon should note the form of applicant ID presented, along with the ID number in the form.
COMPLETING FORM I-693: PART 2
Part 2 of the I-693 form provides a summary of the results of the medical exam to the Immigration Officer.
Civil Surgeons will complete Part 2 at the conclusion of the Medical Examination, more importantly, after any follow up is completed.
It is also important to note that Civil Surgeons should only sign and date the I-693 form after the conclusion of the Medical Examination of the Immigration applicant. Only after all evaluation follow-up and treatment is completed should the Civil Surgeon sign and date the form.
We shall soon be looking at what Part 3 of the I-693 form comprises of. Stay with us!
Recent poll surveys across the United States of America shows a surge of strong support for the policy behind President Barack Obama’s executive action. What people are saying is – they commend his initiative on halting deportation for the undocumented parents of children born in the United States of America, but they feel that his method of implementing the same is not correct.
Very few – just around 26% of Americans think that the President’s plan for these immigrants goes too far, while more than half feel that the policy is just right – only around 22% of Americans felt that the policy on immigration is not justified. Which is why, more than 70% of the surveyed seem to be supporting the action; this shows that the American people want more and more protection for undocumented immigrants. What is going against the grain are the Republicans, who are still refusing to act and are still hooked up to their previous standpoint, thinking it’s a strong one.
What is very appealing is that 76 % of the American population feel that members of the Grand Old Party should spend more time in passing appropriate immigration reform legislation, policies that are in keeping with the requirements of undocumented immigrants. Only 21% of Americans did not go with this idea, saying instead that the party should focus more on overturning President Obama’s policies.
Over the coming weeks and months GOP leaders in the Congress will be going through all kinds of action to defer Obama’s plans and actions. They will focus on the nitty – gritty and do everything in their power to oppose the reform bill. Every trick in the book will be used to block the impending new immigration policy. What they do not fail to realize is that as much as this is about the President and his party it has much more to do with the undocumented immigrants and their families.
