$175 USCIS Doctors / Civil Surgeons For Immigration

Difference Between a USCIS Civil Surgeon and a Panel Physician

Depending on the immigration benefit sought by the immigrant, he or she may be required to undergo a medical examination. All immigration medical examinations conducted for the purpose of immigration to the United States have to follow this process.

If the immigration applicant resides outside the US, they can go to a USCIS-designated civil surgeon inside their country. These USCIS-designated civil surgeons are called panel physicians. Panel physicians are designated by the Department of State.

If the immigration applicant resides inside the US, they have to go to a USCIS-designated civil surgeon in America. These USCIS-designated and approved immigration doctors are called civil surgeons. Civil surgeons are designated by the USCIS.

Responsibilities of USCIS Civil Surgeons

Civil surgeons have to perform the immigration medical examination according to the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examinations of Aliens in the United States (Technical Instructions or TIs), published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. These Technical Instructions as described on the USCIS website, include:

• The Technical Instructions for Medical Examinations of Aliens in the U.S. (1991);
• The Tuberculosis (TB) Component of the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examination of Aliens in the U.S. 2008 (effective May 1, 2008);
• Adjustment of Status for U.S. Permanent Residence Requirements: Technical Instructions for Vaccinations 2009 (effective Dec.14, 2009);
• 2010 Technical Instructions for Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse for Civil Surgeons (effective June 1, 2010);
• 2013 Technical Instructions for Syphilis and Hansen’s Disease (effective January 1, 2013); and
• Any updates to the documents listed above as published on CDC’s website. (Gonorrhea update effective August 01, 2016)

Each of these documents and updates to the USCIS civil surgeon’s responsibilities can be obtained from the CDC’s website.

Failure to comply with any of the Technical Instructions may result in USCIS revoking the civil surgeon’s designation.

Finding a Green Card Medical Doctor for Immigration Medical Exams

Medical examinations in the United States are typically required for adjustment of status cases and may also be required for requests for “V” non-immigrant status (Form I-539).

If you are in the United States currently, the immigration medical exam must be conducted by a physician designated by USCIS (also known as a civil surgeon). To find an approved Immigration doctor near you, visit the USCIS website.

If you are applying from outside the United States, the immigration medical exam must be conducted by a physician designated by the US Department of State (also known as a panel physician). Visit the Department of State website to find an approved immigration doctor near you in your country.

Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record

This is a federal form that has undergone many revisions recently and is still in the process of an update in October 2018. All immigration and naturalization applicants filing for adjustment of status to get a Green Card or a lawful permanent resident status must submit the valid versions of Form I-693 completed by a USCIS civil surgeon. USCIS doctors use Form I-693 to report the results of the immigration medical exam to USCIS.

As per the USCIS regulations, anyone who wishes to be a US citizen or long-term permanent resident must have the same level of immunization and protection from diseases that US citizens in America have. This means, even if you have had your vaccines in other countries, you’ll need to ensure that you have the vaccines required by the United States. The medical examination is required to establish that an applicant is not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds. A list of those health grounds can be found in section 212(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Statcare provides you with the most recent version of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. So you do not need to print or bring any Form I-693 to your Green Card medical exam appointment.

Once you arrive in our offices, you will be asked to fill out the top part of Form I-693. Do not sign until the USCIS civil surgeon asks you to. The USCIS doctors will use Form I-693 to document your medical history, your vaccination status, and the results of your medical exam.

They will then complete, sign, and seal Form I-693 and any supporting documents in an envelope. You are responsible for submitting the sealed envelope to USCIS as directed in the Form I-693 instructions — so don’t break the seal! Any unsealed envelope will not be accepted by USCIS.

To ensure the results of the medical examination are still valid at the time USCIS adjudicates the associated benefit application, applicants should schedule the medical examination as close as possible to the time they file for adjustment of status, respond to a Request for Evidence, or attend an interview (if applicable). Applicants should, however, also provide sufficient time for the performance of laboratory testing or additional testing required under CDC’s Technical Instructions.

USCIS Medical Examination Fee

Statcare offers the lowest fee for the medical exam in the tri-state area. With rates varying by city, state and physicians, the process can be confusing to navigate. At Statcare, we ensure you know exactly what costs to expect. Our USCIS doctors are here to keep everyone healthy, not charge outrageous fees. It is important to know, however, that the immigration medical examination may not be billed to your health insurance plan. You will have to plan ahead to cover the $175 charge.

Completing Form I-693

Statcare provides you with the most recent version of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. So you do not need to print or bring any Form I-693 to your Green Card medical exam appointment.

Once you arrive in our offices, you will be asked to fill out the top part of Form I-693. Do not sign until the civil surgeon has seen you and asked you to. The USCIS civil surgeon will use Form I-693 to document your medical history, your vaccination status, and the results of your medical exam.

The USCIS civil surgeon will complete, sign, and seal Form I-693 and any supporting documents in an envelope. Do not break the seal on the envelope given by the civil surgeon. You must submit the sealed envelope to USCIS as directed in the Form I-693 instructions.

IMPORTANT: Do not break the seal or open this envelope containing a completed Form I-693. USCIS will not accept any Form I-693 if it is not in a sealed envelope or if the envelope is altered in any way. The Form I-693 is valid for 12 months and in the rare case that you need a renewal, Statcare offices keep a scanned copy for future use.

Where to File the Form I-693

After completion of the immigration medical examination, our civil surgeon will give you the completed Form I-693 in a sealed envelope for submission to USCIS. Do not alter it. USCIS will return the form to you if it is not in a sealed envelope or if the envelope has been opened or altered.

As per the USCIS, the applicant has to submit the Form I-693 to USCIS, not the civil surgeon.

As per the USCIS, if you are applying for adjustment of status, you may submit Form I-693 in one of the following ways:

• Submit Form I-693 by mail, together with your Form I-485, Application to Register for Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to the location specified for your Form I-485
• Submit Form I-693 by mail, after filing your Form I-485, to the location specified in your most recent communication with USCIS (for example, a Request for Evidence letter from USCIS)
• Submit Form I-693 in person, at an interview in a USCIS field office (if an interview is required)

Other applicants: Follow the instructions on or included with the application or the instructions given to you by the office requesting the medical examination.

Special Instructions

As per the USCIS, any Green Card medical exams completed on or after January 1, 2012, must be reported using a version of I-693 no older than 10/11/11. If a medical examination completed on or after January 1, 2012 is submitted using any version older than 10/11/11, USCIS will reject the form and require the applicant to return to the civil surgeon in order to complete and resubmit the current version of Form I-693. The USCIS released a new 9-page I-693 in 2016 and is currently completely revamping the entire application form on October 1, 2018. Stay tuned.

USCIS requires most applicants seeking to adjust to lawful permanent resident status to submit the results of a medical examination by a designated civil surgeon on Form I-693. This will indicate whether an applicant is or is not inadmissible to the United States on public health grounds.

If We Received Vaccines in Our Own Country, Will We Still Need Shots?

Most people have complete vaccination records from their countries. Others may be missing a flu shot for example. Every case is unique depending on the age and the country you come from. This takes time and expertise to figure out what exactly you may need. You will need to be seen before we can help you with this.

However, it would be fair to say that in America, children get more vaccinations than other countries. When a child gets rubella, it spreads to other kids and teachers and their families. It also helps prevent sick days lost to illnesses.

But vaccines are very expensive and a lot of other countries cannot afford to vaccinate their populations with all the vaccines available out there. Or their vaccination schedules may vary from the US.

For example, even today, many countries, including some eastern European nations, only give shots for measles in childhood. No rubella shots. No vaccines for mumps. And this is even after it has been known for a few decades that giving all three shots as an MMR shot actually yields better immunity to all three diseases.

In the US, we give MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccinations to all children so they have protection from all three diseases – not just one disease. Other countries may merely let the children get these diseases as they grow up since mass vaccination is an expensive proposition from a public health point of view.

It is your desire to become a US permanent resident or a Green Card holder or a US citizen. In that case, you need to follow these rules. If you refuse or lack any of these protections, your application may be denied or even terminated decades from today.

You must not take shortcuts with your immigration paperwork. When you plan to do your immigration and naturalization to the US, the USCIS requires you to catch up with all these vaccines so that your protections are at the same level as those already living in this country. You need to comply with these regulations. The USCIS civil surgeon, too, has to comply with these guidelines.