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  • The Immigration Medical Examination Procedure
  • The US immigration medical exam is mandatory series of medical tests carried out on a Green Card Aspirant for the purpose of ascertaining whether he is admissible to the United States or not. It is conducted by a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, approved Civil Surgeon.

    The immigration medical exam procedure takes nearly 4-5 hours. The medical examination includes a series of tests to check the aspirant for a variety of diseases, physical and mental disorders, addictions and vaccination. It will cost anywhere between $200 and $800 depending on the geographical location. The USCIS does not have fixed regulations for the charges that each civil surgeon takes.

    Immigration medical procedure

    Locate a good civil surgeon online based on your zip code from easyIME.com, schedule the appointment online and all you need is to simply show up on the day.

    The medical examination begins with tests to detect Tuberculosis or the aspirant’s exposure to tuberculosis. The first is tuberculin skin test. If the aspirant tests positive, IGRA (Interferon Gamma Release Assay) test is carried out. What follows is Chest X ray. Pregnant women are exempt from this test for the time being if they present a certificate of their pregnancy from their physician or obstetrician. They are also provided with additional protection if they wish to undergo the radiograph.

    Next are blood tests to detect Syphilis and HIV. Other diseases such as Gonorrhea, Chlamydia or communicable diseases that may cause an outbreak are checked for at this stage.

    Once the aspirant is through these tests, civil surgeon checks for the presence of any physical or mental disorders. The aim is to check for any harmful behavior or any symptoms that may lead the aspirant to exhibiting harmful behavior in the future. A careful evaluation of the medical history is done at this stage.

    What follows are tests to check for drug abuse or other forms of addiction especially narcotics. Once this is done, the final stage of the immigration medical examination procedure begins – vaccination.

    Vaccines are charged for separately so it is recommended to check with the civil surgeon prior to setting up the appointment. If the aspirant has been vaccinated before, it is recommended to carry along certification from the health care provider. According to CDC, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination will be done for Influenza, Hepatitis B, Diphtheria toxoids, Pertussis, Polio, Measles, Rubella and Mumps. The vaccines are given based on the age of the aspirant.

    There is a separate form for those who cannot take vaccines due to religious reasons. This form is available with most civil surgeons.

    The i693 form is needed for this medical examination. You can download it from easyIME.com. Fill out the first page and don’t sign it unless your civil surgeon has filled the entire form. Once the civil surgeon signs the form, he will seal the form along with other test results in an envelope. Make sure your name and other contact details are correctly spelled before the results are sealed. If the seal is broken or the envelope appears to be tampered with, the results are rejected.

    Deliver the results to the consulate within a week’s time and patiently wait for the call.

    easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Civil Surgeon and schedule their USCIS immigration medical exam online. Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.

  • Immigration Reform and Farm Bill : President’s Priority after Shutdown resolution
  • The President and the Democrats are going to utilize the momentum generated from reopening the government to convince House Republicans to support immigration reform bill by the year’s end.
    On Thursday Obama made it clear that the negotiations on Immigration Bill need to begin but they should not be left hanging for another year or more.

    The Democrats believe the GOP is on the defensive so it is the right time to push for immigration reform, secure a long term budget and get the farm bill to pass in the coming three months.

    However, it is unclear whether GOP lawmakers who were blamed for the government shutdown will begin the negotiations. The GOP is upset on the reaction of the President over the fiscal talks and views the end of the shutdown as a political loss since they could not defund Obamacare as initially planned.

    On Wednesday, Rep. Raul Labrador made it clear that at this point of time it would destroy the GOP to enter into negotiations with the President on the agenda of immigration. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said that he remained committed to a common sense approach to ensure that immigration reform is done right. But, they won’t support the Senate version of the immigration reform bill which features a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented.

    The GOP prefers that a piecemeal approach should be adopted and smaller bills should be passed, but critics believe this would get increased border security passed but not a path to citizenship for the undocumented and other important matters related to the bill.

    easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Civil Surgeon and schedule their USCIS immigration medical exam online. Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.

  • Foreign Born Residents in US in 2011 By Country of Birth
  • The infographic shares the number and percentage of foreign born residents in the US in the year 2011. The maximum percentage was that of Mexico born people with 29% while those from South and East Asia closely followed with 25%.

     

    easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Civil Surgeon and schedule their USCIS immigration medical exam online.  Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.

  • Immigration Reform Top Priority After Shutdown
  • On Tuesday, the President made it clear on a Spanish language TV network Univision that once the fiscal crisis is resolved, the immigration reform issue would become a top priority. Immigration reform has been sidetracked as the issues of Syria, the government shutdown and debt default had become a priority.

    The President’s re-election was largely supported by Hispanic voters who demand immigration reform for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US.

    The immigration reform bill was passed in the Senate with an overwhelming majority of 68-32; however, the House of Representatives with a Republican majority simply denied taking it up. The Republican majority is working on its own version of the immigration reform bill which does not include a path to citizenship for the undocumented. In addition, they demand a piecemeal approach to passing immigration reform with increased border security as the priority.

    President Barack Obama blamed the House Speaker John Boehner for not letting immigration reform come up for a vote in the House.

    easyIME.com is a free service, which streamlines the immigration medical process for green card aspirants by helping them locate the right USCIS Civil Surgeon and schedule their USCIS immigration medical exam online.  Green card aspirants can also find immigration lawyers near their zip code through this service.