Civil Surgeon

What is a Civil Surgeon?

A medically trained, licensed and experienced doctor practicing in the U.S. who is certified by USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service). These medical professionals receive U.S. immigration-focused training in order to provide examinations as required by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and USCIS. For medical examinations given overseas, please see Panel Physician.

IMPORTANT: medical examinations will not be recognized if they are given by a doctor in the U.S. who is not a Civil Surgeon; please make sure that your appointment is with a Civil Surgeon or your results and documents will be invalid.

Civil Surgeons’ Responsibilities:

Civil surgeons must perform the immigration medical examination according to the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examinations of Aliens in the United States (Technical Instructions or TIs), published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. These Technical Instructions include:

  • The Technical Instructions for Medical Examinations of Aliens in the U.S. (1991);
  • The Tuberculosis (TB) Component of the Technical Instructions for the Medical Examination of Aliens in the U.S. 2008 (effective May 1, 2008);
  • Adjustment of Status for U.S. Permanent Residence Requirements: Technical Instructions for Vaccinations 2009 (effective Dec.14, 2009);
  • 2010 Technical Instructions for Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse for Civil Surgeons (effective June 1, 2010);
  • 2013 Technical Instructions for Syphilis and Hansen’s Disease (effective January 1, 2013); and
  • Any updates to the documents listed above as published on CDC’s website.

CDC does not mail hard copies of these documents; it is the responsibility of the civil surgeon to obtain these documents online and comply with the requirements of the Technical Instructions.

Failure to comply with the Technical Instructions may result in USCIS revoking the civil surgeon’s designation.

What to bring to the immigration medical exam:

We request that all immigrants bring the following items to the exam in order to complete the process:

  • Personal photo identification
  • Medical and vaccination records (if available)
  • We will provide the necessary paper work to be filled out by the applicant upon arrival, which is the I-693 form.

We ask that if you do not speak English you provide someone who can help you communicate with our staff and provide the answers required by the legal forms. We do have the ability to speak Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and Spanish, for those who speak these languages.

If you are age fifteen or older, you are required by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service to undergo a series of tests. These tests are a blood test for syphilis (RPR) and a skin test for tuberculosis (PPD.)

Further tests for tuberculosis may be required, including a chest x-ray, if your skin test is positive or you have been immunized against tuberculosis in the past.

You may be required to be immunized against certain communicable diseases if you have not been immunized in the past. These immunizations will be provided at our clinic. These medical exams and immunizations are required for all refugees to the United States, all those applying for an immigration visa and resident aliens who are applying to become permanent residents. Those applying for temporary visas may require these exams as well.

The following communicable diseases are of of significant concern to the USCIS.

  • Tuberculosis
  • Syphilis
  • Chancroid
  • Gonorrhea
  • Granuloma Inguinale
  • Lymphogranuloma Venereum
  • Hansen’s Disease
  • Mumps
  • Measles
  • Rubella
  • Polio
  • Tetanus
  • Diphtheria
  • Pertussis
  • Haemophilus influenzae Type B
  • Rotavirus
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Meningocococcal disease
  • Varicella
  • Pneumococcal pneumonia
  • Influenza

The Immigration medical exam will take about an hour to complete.

Please contact us with any questions or to arrange an appointment. (631)345-6670