United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that effective October 1, 2021, COVID-19 vaccinations are required for immigration medical examinations which are a part of the green card application process. The Service has updated its policy guidelines to require that “applicants subject to the immigration medical examination must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the civil surgeon can complete an immigration medical examination and sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.”

This decision is in accordance with The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s recent requirements issued to civil surgeons, the doctors authorized by USCIS to conduct medical examinations in connection with green card applications, stating that foreign nationals submitting green card applications will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As a result, USCIS is working on updating Form I-693 and the form instructions to include this new requirement.

Under the new policy guidelines, USCIS may grant blanket waivers to the COVID-19 vaccination requirement in certain circumstances if the applicant is not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine because of age or other medical conditions, as well as those who live in areas where vaccines are not readily available, or where vaccines are in limited supply and waiting for the vaccine “would cause a significant delay.” Additionally, individuals may also apply for individual waivers based on religious beliefs or moral convictions by submitting Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility. As we previously reported, an applicants’ refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, should they be unable to provide documented proof for a waiver, may result in denial of a green card based on a Class A medical inadmissibility according to Section 212(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.