USCIS Will Require Covid-19 Vaccinations with Green Card Applications

Covid-19 vaccinations will now become part of the green card process. Applicants should make sure they have their official CDC cards ready before their green card interview.

If you are applying for a green card in the United States, the USCIS announced this week that they will now require applicants to now have their full Covid-19 vaccinations as an additional supplementary document (and safety precaution for legal residence). This policy, however, does not go into full effect until October 1st, 2021. When you apply for a green card, or adjustment of status, the USCIS makes all applicants complete a mandatory medical examination. Now, applicants will be asked to get a Covid-19 along with their medical examination.

If you are wondering how this process will work, the same procedure applies with seeing a USCIS approved physician for your medical examination. The only difference is that now you will be asked during the exam if you have received your first dose, second dose, or no doses at all of the Covid-19 vaccine.

If you have received the first dose, for example of the Pfizer vaccine, this will suffice for the medical examination, and you will be able to go forth with normal processing, assuming that you receive your second dose within a few weeks (there is a 3 week time period between the first and second dose).

If you haven’t received any of the Covid-19 doses, you should be able to get the first dose in your medical examination, granted that the medical provider is also vaccinating clients. Be sure to call and ask your medical provider before the appointment if this is the case.

Green Card Interview

When it is time to have your green card interview, it is important that all applicants now have both doses of their Covid-19 vaccine, if applicable. This is because with the addition of this policy, it will now become an admissibility issue if applicants have not completed their vaccination schedules. You might now be expected to present your vaccination card (CDC), as well as the receipt or confirmation that you received both doses from a licensed provider.

Overall, this adds another procedure that now needs to be completed by applicants pursuing a green card in the U.S., but should not be fairly difficult given the amount of vaccination sites at CVS, Walgreens, and other doctors offices around the country. If anything, green card applicants should simply go forth with their vaccination in advance of their medical exam to speed up the process. 

For the full announcement, please see the following link: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/covid-19-vaccine-added-to-requirements-green-card-processing-effective-oct-1

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