What Types of Testing and Vaccines Are Required for the Immigration I-693 Exam?

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Posted: Apr 2nd, 2025 at 12:00AM - by Ashlee Arnold/Vice President

If you are planning to immigrate to the United States—whether you’re applying for an adjustment of status or you’re trying to obtain your Green Card for permanent residency—you are required to undergo an immigration medical examination and report the results to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) via Form I-693.

What does the exam entail, exactly? What testing and vaccinations can you expect? What do you do with the form once your exam is complete?

Why Do You Need a Medical Examination?

In a nutshell, the exam determines if you are inadmissible to the US on health-related grounds. This is to ensure that you don’t have a communicable disease that could pose a public health risk to residents of the United States.

What’s Required as Part of the Immigration Exam?

There are two main parts of the immigration exam: the medical examination itself and vaccinations.

During the exam, the healthcare provider will ask about your medical history, inquiring about allergies, previous and current illnesses, surgeries, and mental health. They will also conduct a head-to-toe physical, which includes listening to your heart and lungs, amongst other things. This also includes taking your height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and respirations.

The exam includes checking certain labs via blood and urine. The purpose of these labs is to  check on your status of communicable diseases like tuberculosis, syphilis, and gonorrhea.  They will also address vaccination requirements. Prior to trying to relocate to the US, you must provide vaccination records to prove that you’ve obtained immunity against vaccine-preventable diseases like polio, hepatitis B, mumps, measles, rubella, varicella, tetanus, pertussis, and influenza. If necessary, you will undergo additional laboratory tests called titers to determine immunity.

The vaccines required as part of the immigration exam are determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are administered based on age, the potential for an outbreak, and the status of a disease that has either been eliminated in the US or is about to be eliminated.

Why Does Any of This Matter?

A good example that helps highlight why the immigration medical exam is so important is polio. Polio was once a feared disease in the US. It’s highly infectious, and in one major outbreak alone back in 1916 in New York City, it killed over 2,000 people. The worst outbreak recorded took more than 3,000 lives.

Through consistent vaccination efforts, the US was able to eliminate poliovirus. The vaccine is safe and effective, and doses are administered starting at two months of age.

There are a couple of countries where polio is still endemic, meaning it has a constant presence: Afghanistan and Pakistan. For residents of those countries wanting to move to the US, it would be vital to ensure that they are protected against polio. It’s required for their health, as well as the health of the people they come into close contact with.

Consider, too, the recent measles outbreak, which is ongoing.

What if Any of My Results Come Back Abnormal?

If any of your tests come back positive, it’s not the end of your immigration journey, but you do need to be treated for that disease. You will ultimately need to provide verification that it’s been resolved before moving forward in the immigration process. If your tuberculosis comes back positive (which is common amongst many applicants due to the high rates of TB worldwide), the next step is a chest x-ray. The medical examiner will provide guidance on next steps in order to complete your exam.

How Do I Submit My Form?

As we mentioned in the beginning, upon completing your immigration exam, you’re required to submit Form I-693. The doctor you will see for your exam should be a “civil surgeon.” This means they’ve been designated by the USCIS to perform the immigration exam on individuals applying for change of status.

The civil surgeon must give you your completed form in a sealed envelope, and that’s what you’ll submit to the USCIS. If you submit the form in an unsealed envelope (or one that has otherwise been tampered with), the USCIS will send it back to you. Be sure to also obtain a copy of your form and vaccination records from the civil surgeon for your own records.

Note that the civil surgeon is not the one who determines whether or not you’re eligible for adjustment of status. This decision comes from the immigration officer after reviewing all of your records, which include the report of your medical examination.

How Can I Easily Get My Immigration Exam?

Because there are a lot of moving parts, you might assume that your immigration exam will be spread out across multiple appointments. While you might require follow-up testing (for example, should any of your results come back abnormal), it’s easy to knock out the exam and any necessary vaccines in one appointment.

e7 Health makes it quick and convenient to get everything you need to move forward in the immigration process, including:

• A medical examination by a certified civil surgeon.
• All USCIS required vaccinations.
• All USCIS required lab tests.
• Completion of Form I-693 in a sealed packet

We even have same- and next-day appointments available, and you can easily book your appointment online.

When you show up for your immigration exam, be sure to bring:

• A valid government-issued ID, like your passport, state ID, or US driver’s license.
• Any proof of prior vaccinations you have.
• Optional: A physical copy of Form I-693 with Part 1 completed in black ink. You should write only in capital letters. Do not sign it yet! At e7 Health, we take care of the forms for you, so this is not required.

Learn more about getting your USCIS immigration medical exam with e7 Health, and book your appointment online today. We have locations in both southeast and northwest Las Vegas, Nevada.

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