All applicants for U.S. permanent residence who apply through adjustment of status proceedings or immigrant visa processing at U.S. consular posts abroad must undergo a medical examination as part of the prerequisite requirements to qualify for this benefit.

The applicant must schedule an appointment with an approved civil surgeon or panel physician pre-approved by the U.S. government to confirm that he or she is not inadmissible to the United States under the health-related grounds of inadmissibility.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recently released updated instructions for civil surgeons who conduct the medical examinations, replacing the tuberculin skin test (TST) as the initial tuberculosis screening method with a TB blood test (interferon-gamma release assay, or IGRA). The CDC has determined that the IGRA testing method is a more accurate way to detect tuberculosis.

While applicants for permanent residence are not required or expected to be familiar with the types of tests conducted by the civil surgeons or panel physicians, it would be prudent to check with the civil surgeon to assure that he or she is up-to-date on the recent changes regarding medical examination requirements.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services also recently updated the validity period for the medical examination record. The medical examination record, completed on Form I-693, must be signed no more than 60 days prior to the filing of an immigration benefit by the applicant. The memorandum, dated October 16, 2018, further states that the document is valid for a maximum 2-year period. The immigration examiner reviewing the document reserves the right to request updates concerning medical results at the time of interview.