TB Test Update on I-485 Adjustment Application
Posted May 18, 2007
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Foreign nationals who are filing the I-485 application for adjustment of status (i.e. final stage of the "green card" process) have to demonstrate eligibility in a number of areas. One area involves medical screening, by a specially authorized physician, referred to under law as a civil surgeon. The exam includes a number of different tests to order to determine whether the applicant has certain "contagious diseases of public health significance" that should prevent her/him from obtaining the I-485 approval and becoming a U.S. permanent resident. One of the medical conditions for which an individual is tested is tuberculosis (TB). The required test for TB for obtaining the I-485 approval is a skin test, not simply an x-ray test from the civil surgeon.
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USCIS RFEs Request Skin Test for TB
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There recently have been many reports of the USCIS sending Requests for Evidence (RFEs) for tuberculosis skin tests. These were generated because the doctors in these cases used x-ray only examinations for TB, rather than skin tests as part of the physical examination. TB is comparatively rare in the U.S. and more common in India and several other countries. Under the regulations, the USCIS is correct in insisting upon a skin test.
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Request that Your Doctor Perform Skin Test for TB
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We remind MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers that a TB skin test is a necessary part of the physical examination required by the green card application process. It can be waived only in limited circumstances, such as for children under two years of age. Otherwise, a showing of good cause, such as a particular health condition, may exempt an applicant from the actual skin test. In order to avoid delays or an RFE on this issue, it is best to ask the civil surgeon to perform a skin test for TB, in the event that the physician does not do so without prompting.