| Green Cards for U.S. Refugees
UPDATE: GREEN CARDS FOR REFUGEES
After a U.S. refugee properly files a green card application with the Nebraska Service Center, how long will it take the center to make a decision on the case?
At present, the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) is working on those I-485 applications filed by U.S. refugees in late September 2006. Security checks on applications are a leading cause of processing delays. Each name, spelling variant of a name, alias, and maiden name requires a separate check.These can add up to several minutes of processing time per application. Effective 3/18/02, all applicants must be checked against the Interagency Border Inspection System (IBIS). If this check results in a “hit”, the issue must be resolved before a final decision can be issued.
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WHEN TO APPLY
When can a U.S. refugee apply for a green card?
A U.S. refugee must be physically present in the United States for a minimum of one year after admission to the United States as a U.S. Refugee, to be eligible to file a green card application. Thus, for example, if a U.S. refugee is admitted to the United States on April 15, 2006, the earliest that she can apply for a green card is April 15, 2007, provided she has made no trips outside of the United States during that one-year period.
What if a U.S. refugee departs the United States for a brief visit abroad? Will that absence affect eligibility to apply for a green card?
Yes, the number of days spent outside of the United States must be counted against the required total. A U.S. refugee must be physically present in the United States for a minimum of one year after admission to the United States as a U.S. Refugee, to be eligible to file a green card application. Thus, for example, if a U.S. refugee is admitted to the United States on April 15, 2006, and travels to Canada for 7 days during June 2006, then the earliest that she can apply for a green card is April 22, 2007. That is, she must be physically present in the U.S. for one year plus 7 days to make up for the 7 days she spent outside of the United States.
What if a person comes to the United States as a visitor and then later on is granted derivative U.S. refugee status as the beneficiary of an approved I-730 Refugee/Asylee Relative Petition? When can she apply for a green card?
This does not happen often, but it does happen. The date that the Nebraska Service Center approves the petitioner’s I-730 is the date that the “visitor” officially becomes a U.S. refugee, provided she is already in the United States on the date of such approval. One year from that date is the earliest that the derivative U.S. refugee could apply for a green card, assuming she has made no departures from the United States during that one-year period.
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HOW TO APPLY
The BCIS website includes a printable Form I-693 Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status, but no vaccination form. How can one obtain the form?
The website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes a printable copy of the vaccination form, also known as Supplemental Form to I-693. The form is on page 12 of a 14-page letter that begins with “Dear Civil Surgeon”. Click here for the letter.
What forms and fees must a U.S. refugee file when applying for a green card?
A basic green card application-packet for a U.S. refugee consists of:
- Form I-485. Use only the latest revised version of the form: 04/01/06. The date is on the lower right corner of form.
- $325 plus $70 biometrics services fee if you are 14 years of age or older. If you are under 14 years of age, the fee is $225 with no biometric services fee. If you are 79 years of age or older, the fee is $325 with no biometrics services fee. **Note acceptable forms of payment vary by office. Please consult the "Paying Fees" section of your local office or Service Center page to learn which forms of payment are accepted.
- Two identical color photos, in full frontal profile, with name and A# lightly printed in pencil on back. Photo specifics are on the first page of the instructions on Form I-485. Click here for photo specifications.
- Form G-325A: If applicant is at least 14 but not yet 80 years old.
- Evidence of U.S. refugee status (usually a copy of I-94 reflecting the BCIS stamp.
- Copy of birth record with translation, if available. NSC continues to request this. The birth record does not necessarily have to be a birth certificate. Furthermore, this is not an absolute requirement for U.S. refugees. However, if may save time if provided. NSC has advised the National BCIS Liaison Working Group that a birth record serves to verify bio information and resolve discrepancies during plastic card production. Packets and files from overseas posts are sometimes incomplete.
- Vaccination form, known also as “Supplemental Form to I-693", signed by a civil surgeon, and sealed in an envelope by the civil surgeon, with the appropriate stamp appearing across the lickstrip of the envelope.
- Evidence of one year of physical presence in the U.S. since admission as a U.S. Refugee.
Refugees who were or are inadmissible or who had or have HIV, or a Class A or Class B medical notation on the overseas medical form, should consult an immigration expert before proceeding with an application for a green card.
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MEDICALS AND VACCINATIONS
Where can a U.S. refugee go to have her vaccination form signed by a civil surgeon?
Every U.S. refugee applying for a green card needs to include with the application a vaccination form, Supplemental Form to I-693, signed by a civil surgeon. A civil surgeon is a medical doctor who has been designated by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS, formerly the “BCIS”) to perform medical examinations that meet standards established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and criteria established by the Immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. refugees have access to these two sources of “civil surgeons”:
1) A list of civil surgeons is available on the BCIS website at www.bcis.gov. Click on “Hot Topics” and then on Civil Surgeons. This will bring the viewer to a “Civil Surgeons Locator”. Or one may call the BCIS National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. The automated message will offer a list of six options. Choose #2 for medical examinations, you will be asked to key in your zip code to help determine which doctors are in your area. Be sure to have a pen and paper ready to record information provided.
2) In addition to the above source of civil surgeons, U.S. refugees may have the vaccination form signed by any doctor who is employed at a state or local health department. This special option exists for persons with “U.S. refugee” status only. One can find these departments in the blue pages of a telephone directory under listings for State or local government. However, health departments do this on a voluntary basis only, so be sure to check ahead before going.
Can a registered nurse sign the vaccination form in place of a medical doctor?
No, only a medical doctor can sign the form. If a particular state or local health department does not have a medical doctor on staff, find one that does or go to a “civil surgeon” listed on the BCIS website If the doctor has a facsimile signature stamp, it is permissible for the doctor to apply that stamp to the vaccination form.
Can a refugee go to her own personal doctor for a required vaccination and then go to a civil surgeon for the sign-off on the vaccination form?
Yes, it is even preferable that one obtain any necessary vaccinations from one’s personal doctor who has the medical history of the person and would know whether a specific vaccine could be dangerous because of a medical condition or pregnancy. However, only a “civil surgeon” can sign the vaccination form for BCIS. Of course, if the refugee has her original vaccination records with a translation, she may not need any additional vaccinations. The role of the civil surgeon is simply to review whatever vaccination records the refugee brings forward and to sign the vaccination form and place it in a sealed envelope. The official stamp of the doctor or health department must be placed directly across the “lick-strip” of the envelope so that any tampering will be obvious.
If a family is applying for green cards at the same time, and all go to the same civil surgeon, can that civil surgeon put the vaccination forms together into a single sealed envelope?
No. Each vaccination form must be in a separate envelope, even if the family will submit their applications for green cards to the Nebraska Service Center (NSC) at the same time. As soon as a refugee’s application arrives at the center, an NSC employee separates the material for each case and places it into different files. If vaccinations are mailed in the same envelope, then all vaccinations will end up in one family member’s file and each of the other persons will eventually receive a letter from Nebraska claiming that their vaccination form is missing.
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WHERE TO MAIL THE APPLICATION
Where does a U.S. refugee mail her green card application packet?
Since July 6, 1998, all U.S. Refugees throughout the United States mail their I-485 green card applications to the Nebraska Service Center for processing. Use this special address and P.O. Box when mailing a green card application for a U.S. refugee:
BCIS Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87209
Lincoln, NE 68501-7209
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