Effective October 1, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Technical Instructions for panel physicians require all immigrant visa applicants to receive a full COVID-19 vaccine series as part of their medical exam prior to being issued a visa. The CDC requires the COVID-19 vaccine to be approved through either the World Health Organization (WHO) or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Blanket waivers for the COVID vaccination will be applied in countries where the vaccine is not routinely available or when the vaccine is not age appropriate. The Department of State encourages all immigrant visa applicants to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible to not experience delays in their visa processing.
CDC’s announcement can be found at the following link: https://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/panel-physicians/covid-19-technical-instructions.html.
