Please consider offering an option for people applying for a green card to opt for a medical screening instead of mandatory vaccinations/immunizations.
Countless people who are here LEGALLY on a visa, applying for a green card, are being told that their application will be denied, unless they receive a whole list of required vaccines, including the Covid-19 vaccine and boosters (last checked and verified on October 11th 2024).
There is no vaccination requirements to enter the US on a VISA, only a medical screening, and some lab work to confirm they have no illnesses is needed before being allowed to enter.
Why is getting vaccinated to get a green card mandatory, after most of these people have been here for legally for years? Shouldn’t getting a second medical screening, like the one they got when entering the US, be enough?
I personally know, and have been in contact with many LEGAL visa holders now applying for a green card that are facing this problem. The current system is stacked against them, leaving them with limited choices:
comply with the vaccination mandate against their will, or abandon their dreams and leave the US to remain vaccine-free. A religious exemption waiver is possible, but from the legal immigrants and immigration lawyers I’ve talked to, very difficult to get, and even strong cases are often denied.
Please consider getting rid of the mandatory vaccination requirement for everyone, including the legal immigrants applying for a green card, whose needs and fears are being ignored by the current system.
Key words: vaccine, immunization, covid, covid-19, boosters, immigration, visa, green card, religious, waiver