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.”
Read moreCDC Adds Covid-19 Vaccine to List of Required Immunizations for Green Card Applicants
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that beginning October 1, 2021, foreign nationals submitting green card applications must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. The Covid-19 vaccination was added to the list of vaccinations already required for those seeking permanent residency in the U.S. either by applying for Adjustment of Status if the applicant is in the U.S. or Consular Processing abroad. According to the CDC, applicants “must complete the COVID-19 vaccine series and provide documentation of vaccination to the civil surgeon in person before completion of the medical examination.”
Read moreCato Institute: “An Explanation of the Public Charge Rule.”
Last week, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) finalized a regulation that bans so-called “public charges” from obtaining legal status in the United States. The finalized public charge rule, the Cato Institute argues, redefines the “historic meaning” of the term “public charge,” which will likely result in the denial of immigrant and nonimmigrant applications based on “a bureaucrat’s suspicions that they could use welfare.”
Read moreUSCIS: Revised Policy Guidance for the Validity Period of Form I-693, Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced they are revising their policy concerning the validity period of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record, which is used to determine whether an applicant for an immigration benefit is inadmissible under the health-related grounds of inadmissibility. The updated policy, effective November 1, 2018, will require applicants to submit a Form I-693 that is signed by a civil surgeon no more than sixty days before filing the underlying application for an immigration benefit.
Read moreAll about Visa Reciprocity
Reciprocity is a principle of international law stating that the benefits, privileges, and penalties granted by one country to citizens of another country should be returned in-kind when the reverse occurs. In immigration law, this means that when a foreign government imposes certain fees or conditions on US citizens for certain visa types, the US government will impose the same fees or conditions on nationals of that country for similar visa types.
Read moreAn Introduction to Medical Ineligibilities for Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas
Whether applying for immigrant (Green Card) or nonimmigrant (temporary) visas, foreign nationals must be found “admissible” to the US. There are many legal grounds of “inadmissibility” that make people inadmissible, including criminal and security grounds. A lesser-known basis of inadmissibility relates to health and medical issues, which is what we will focus on in this post.
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