USCIS has formally removed the COVID-19 vaccination requirement from its adjudication of green card applications, codifying in its Policy Manual a change that has been in practical effect since early 2025. The update aligns USCIS policy with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Technical Instructions, which no longer list the COVID-19 vaccine among the shots required for immigration purposes.
What changed. Applicants for adjustment of status no longer need to document COVID-19 vaccination on Form I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. Civil surgeons are not required to assess or record an applicant’s COVID-19 vaccination status during the immigration medical exam, and USCIS will not issue a Request for Evidence (RFE), Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID), or denial based on a missing COVID-19 vaccination.
The timeline. The practical relief began on January 22, 2025, when USCIS announced it would waive the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for adjustment-of-status applicants; CDC removed the requirement from its panel-physician technical instructions effective March 11, 2025. The 2026 development formalizes that waiver as standing policy, removing lingering ambiguity for applicants, attorneys, and civil surgeons.
What it does NOT change. All other I-693 vaccination requirements remain fully in effect. Green card applicants must still document vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis, influenza type B, hepatitis B, and the other diseases specified by the CDC — unless a waiver or blanket exemption applies. Only the COVID-19 component has been eliminated.
What it means for applicants. This is unambiguously good news for anyone filing or with a pending Form I-485. It removes one documentation hurdle and one common source of RFE-driven delay from the medical-exam stage. If you previously received an RFE for COVID-19 vaccination evidence, that basis no longer applies. Applicants should still complete Form I-693 with a designated civil surgeon and ensure all remaining required vaccinations are properly recorded.
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Source: X (Twitter) @Fragomen