Changes to the Vaccination Requirements, Adjustment of Status, Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination

Changes to the Vaccination Requirements for Purposes of Adjustment of Status and the Completion of Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record.
Download Memo (12-15-2009)

This memorandum advises USCIS officers of the revised vaccination requirements for health-related admissibility under section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act). Effective December 14, 2009, vaccinations against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and herpes zoster (zoster) will no longer be required. These changes are applicable to any admissibility determination made under section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act on or after December 14, 2009.

Under section 212(a)(1)(A)(ii) of the Act, an individual who seeks to enter the United States as an immigrant or who seeks to adjust status to permanent residence in the United States must show proof of having received vaccinations against vaccine-preventable diseases, as listed in the statute and as recommended by the U.S. Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP).
advisory committee to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that makes the recommendations on immunizations.

On November 13, 2009, HHS/CDC published a Federal Register notice changing the criteria that govern the vaccination requirements for U.S. immigration purposes. 74 FR 58634.1 Starting December 14, 2009, whenever the ACIP recommends new vaccines for the general U.S. population, CDC will also assess whether these newly recommended vaccines should be required for immigration purposes using the new criteria. Thus, the new criteria provided in the Federal Register notice will be applied only to the ACIP-recommended vaccines that are not specifically named in the Act.