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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a Q&A webpage concerning vaccination requirements for immigrants. The webpage provides general information concerning:

• vaccination requirements;
• procedural requirements; and
• required forms (e.g., Form I-693 - civil surgeon endorsement);

The webpage also includes telephone numbers and links to websites for obtaining further information regarding vaccination requirements.
 

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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced (pdf) that since November 13, 2009, it has temporarily held certain applications of individuals seeking to become lawful permanent residents until the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccination criteria becomes effective on December 14, 2009. Under the new CDC criteria, vaccines for herpes zoster (zoster) and human papillomavirus (HPV), will no longer be required for immigration purposes. The held applications were submitted by applicants who would have been denied a visa because they failed to demonstrate that they had received the zoster or HPV vaccination.

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking public comment on a set of proposed criteria to be used in determining which vaccines, among those recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the United States’ general population, should be required for immigrants seeking admission into the U.S. or seeking permanent residence status. These specific criteria will be applied against each vaccine, rather than requiring all ACIP recommended vaccines for immigration purposes.

Through a notice (PDF) published in the Federal Register on April 8, CDC has proposed the following criteria:

• the vaccine must be an age appropriate vaccine as recommended by ACIP for the general U.S. population, and
• at least one of the following: (1) the vaccine must protect against a disease that has the potential to cause an outbreak, or (2) the vaccine must protect against a disease that has been eliminated in the United States, or is in the process for elimination in the United States.

The deadline for submitting written comments is May 8, 2009.

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