This article was prepared with the assistance of ABIL, the Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers, of which Loan Huynh is an active member.
Effective March 11, 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has removed from its technical instructions to panel physicians the requirement that immigrant visa applicants receive the COVID-19 vaccination, the Department of State (DOS) announced.
Based on the CDC's updated guidance to panel physicians, U.S. embassies and consulates will no longer refuse an immigrant visa application for failure to present documentation that the applicant received the COVID-19 vaccination. "Applicants whose medical exams are unexpired and otherwise still valid for travel to the United States, and whom a consular officer previously found ineligible based solely on the applicant's failure to establish vaccination against COVID-19, may have a new medical exam issued by the panel physician without a fee," DOS said. To request this, affected applicants "should reach out to the U.S. embassy or consulate at which they executed their application for an immigrant visa."
