The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 has created a new ground of inadmissibility for persons seeking a green card who lack vaccination documents. Documents must show that the applicant for permanent residency has been vaccinated against several preventable diseases including the following:

- mumps

- measles

- rubella

- polio

- tetanus

- diphtheria toxoids

- pertussis

- influenza type B

- hepatitis B

- any other vaccinations recommended by the advisory committee for immunization practices

Applications filed after September 30, 1996 are affected by the new rule, though the INS failed to issue any guidelines until just recently on January 17th and the State Department has not issued its interpretation. The new INS guidelines govern applicants applying for adjustment of status to permanent residency from within the United States.

Along with the new requirements for vaccination, Congress authorized waivers in the following circumstances:

(A) After application, but before granting permanent residency, the applicant later presents documentation for vaccines which are lacking;

(B) The vaccination would not be medically appropriate;

(C) Compliance with the vaccination requirements would be contrary to the alien's religious beliefs of moral convictions (the INS notes that it has not yet determined how to interpret this potentially controversial provision);

According to the INS, the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia will soon issue guidelines for doctors that applicants should provide to their physician. The guidelines will outline the vaccination requirements and explain how to comply.

Applicants will continue using Form I-693 for their medical exams, though physicians will now have to endorse the form to reflect compliance with all the vaccination requirements or the fact that the applicant is not required to take certain vaccinations as noted above. To apply for a waiver of the vaccination requirement, applicants should submit Form I-601 the same way the would apply for other waivers.

When State Department rules governing the vaccination requirements and consular processing are released, we will report the information to our readers.