About 900,000 people became naturalized United States citizens last year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data, marking the successful completion of what can sometimes seem like an arduous and complex citizenship process. During that process, every person applying for citizenship needs to go through an immigration physical to determine if they have any medical conditions that could interfere with the citizenship process.
Immigration physicals can’t be performed by any healthcare provider. Providers must be approved to perform these physicals and complete the associated paperwork.
At Triad Primary Care, our team is trained in and approved to conduct immigration physicals to help you move forward on your quest for citizenship. If you have an immigration physical in your future, here’s what you should bring to avoid having your application process delayed or denied.
Immigration physical exams rely a lot on your past medical history, so it’s very important to gather all records pertaining to your past medical treatments, which includes your vaccination record.
Vaccines help show potential immunity against a variety of diseases that may be endemic elsewhere in the world, but not in the United States. It also highlights which vaccines you may need to prevent disease in the future.
You should also be ready to provide records pertaining to past hospitalizations and medical treatments for chronic diseases, along with a list of any medications you’re currently using, including oral medicines, injectable medicines (like insulin), and inhaler devices.
You’ll definitely need proof of identification — and not just any proof: You’ll need identification deemed official regarding your identity. In most cases, that means you’ll need a government-issued ID, like a driver’s license, passport, or visa. In addition to your full name, your document must also contain your photo.
Better known as Form I-693, this is the form that provides the immigration officials with all the necessary documentation regarding your medical exam. During your exam and afterward, your provider fills out the exam so it’s ready to be submitted with your application for citizenship.
This essential form helps officials decide if your application for citizenship can be approved or denied based on health-related grounds. You can print it out ahead of time from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.
If you routinely use glasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, or other medical devices, you should bring those with you, too. These devices can help ensure you perform your best during your exam, and it also allows our team to make a note of their use on your exam form where applicable.
Many physical exams are covered by insurance companies, so it’s easy to assume the immigration physical will be covered, too. However, in many instances, that’s not true — many insurance companies don’t cover this cost, so you’ll need an alternate form of payment at the time of your exam.
The citizenship process follows a strict timeline, and each stage of the process needs to be completed in a timely manner. If you’re embarking on your journey to become a U.S. citizen, request an appointment online or over the phone with Triad Primary Care in Greensboro, North Carolina, today.
