COVID-19 vaccine requirements in effect for U.S. residency applications

Starting Oct. 1, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is now requiring all migrants applying for U.S. permanent residency to show proof that they are fully vaccinated for coronavirus. This is the form physicians must fill out. (USCIS website)

by: Sandra Sanchez

Posted: Oct 25, 2021 / 02:30 PM AST

Updated: Oct 25, 2021 / 02:11 PM AST

This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) — Beginning Oct. 1, all those applying for permanent residency in the United States must be vaccinated for coronavirus, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told Border Report on Monday that anyone who is applying for permanent residency in the United States must show proof of vaccination.

DHS officials in mid-September announced new rules relating to vaccination requirements as the Biden administration was making a push for more of the population to be inoculated for COVID-19.

Documentation must be presented before a civil surgeon can complete the required immigration medical examination that goes along with the application process.

According to new agency rules, vaccination proof must be presented “in-person” beginning next week.

USCIS continues to accept the prior version of the Form I-693 (07/15/19 version) if the medical exam was completed and signed before Oct. 1. For medical exams completed on or after Oct. 1, civil surgeons should use the 09/13/21 version of Form I-693. https://t.co/SJgLGicti6
— USCIS (@USCIS) October 7, 2021

“ALERT: Effective Oct. 1, 2021, applicants subject to the immigration medical examination must complete the COVID-19 vaccine series and provide documentation of vaccination to the civil surgeon in person before the civil surgeon can complete an immigration medical examination and sign Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record,” according to a statement on the USCIS’s website.

The application for lawful permanent residency is the first step for immigrants wishing to obtain U.S. citizenship through naturalization. It is also referred to as obtaining a “green card.”