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What is a green card medical examination? When should I submit my medical exam to USCIS?

By August 18, 2020March 16th, 2021Family Immigration, Immigration
Image courtesy of WikiCommons, labeled for reuse, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Southern_Arkansas_University_Biology_student_with_microscope.jpg

If you are currently in the U.S. on a non-immigrant visa and you want to apply for a green card while staying in the United States, you will go through a process called “Adjustment of Status.” As a first step, you will have to fit into one of the categories under which a person can apply for a green card (such as green card through family or green card through employment).

One of the USCIS forms you will have to submit when applying for a green card is an I-693 form, Report of Medical Examination.

Why do I have to submit a Medical Examination form?

When applying for a green card, you must demonstrate that you are not inadmissible based on health-related grounds. To prove that, you have to submit a completed medical examination form to USCIS. First, you will have to schedule an appointment with an authorized civil surgeon. You should bring your immunization record to the doctor’s appointment and the doctor will assess if you are missing any required vaccinations.

What vaccines must I have in order to qualify for a green card?

You must have vaccines for the following diseases:

  • Mumps
  • Measles
  • Rubella
  • Polio
  • Tetanus and diphtheria
  • Pertussis
  • Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib)
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Rotavirus
  • Meningococcal disease
  • Varicella
  • Pneumococcal disease
  • Seasonal influenza

 Will the civil surgeon give me a copy of the medical exam? Can I open the sealed envelope?

The civil surgeon will give you a completed medical exam in a sealed envelope. DO NOT OPEN THE SEALED ENVELOPE. USCIS will not accept the medical exam if the envelope is open or altered in any way. If you want a copy of the medical exam for your records, you should ask the civil surgeon for your own copy.

When should I submit the medical exam to USCIS?

Since the USCIS medical examination has a limited validity period, we usually recommend that our clients schedule the medical examination after they receive an interview notice from USCIS, and that they bring the completed medical examination to the interview.

How long is the medical examination valid for?

The medical examination cannot be signed more than 60 days before you file the Adjustment of Status application. For example, if you are filing your Adjustment of Status application on September 1, 2020, the medical examination should not be dated earlier than July 1, 2020.

Additionally, the medical exam is only valid for up to 2 years from the date the civil surgeon signed it.

Because sometimes it may take couple months (or years) for USCIS to adjudicate certain Adjustment of Status applications, we usually recommend to our clients that they wait to get the medical exam done until after their interview is actually scheduled. This way, you will avoid undergoing and paying for the medical exam twice (which would occur if your first medical examination expires by the time your green card application is adjudicated).

What happens if I submit my application without a medical exam?

If you submit your Adjustment of Status application without the medical exam, you will receive a courtesy letter from USCIS stating that you did not submit a medical examination with your application and that you should bring it to the green card interview. This is a standard form and nothing to worry about.

Please read our blog post on how to maintain your green card when you click here.

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