What Makes a Foreign Vaccine Record Acceptable?

USCIS civil surgeon instructions allow foreign vaccination records to be credited when they contain sufficient information to verify that the vaccine was administered. An acceptable foreign vaccine record should include:

• The name of the vaccine (or the disease it protects against)
• The date(s) of administration
• The number of doses received
• The name of the healthcare provider or facility that administered the vaccine
• A signature, stamp, or other official notation from the provider or facility

What If My Records Are in a Foreign Language?

Foreign-language vaccination records do not need to be formally translated before your civil surgeon appointment, but the civil surgeon must be able to understand the content. If your records are in a language the civil surgeon cannot read, a certified translation may be required.

For common languages, the civil surgeon may be able to identify vaccine names and dates without a full translation. However, to avoid delays, consider bringing a certified translation of your vaccination records if they are in a language other than English or Spanish.

How Does the Civil Surgeon Evaluate Foreign Records?

The civil surgeon reviews your foreign vaccination records and compares them against the USCIS-required vaccination schedule. For each required vaccine, the civil surgeon determines whether your foreign records document sufficient doses administered at appropriate ages and intervals.

If the records are complete and credible, the civil surgeon credits the documented vaccines and notes them on Form I-693. If the records are incomplete, illegible, or do not meet the documentation standards, the civil surgeon may require serologic testing (titer testing) to verify immunity, or may require the vaccine to be repeated.

What If I Cannot Locate My Foreign Records?

If you cannot locate your foreign vaccination records, you have two options: (1) receive the required vaccines at the civil surgeon appointment, or (2) undergo serologic testing (titer testing) to demonstrate immunity for certain vaccines.

Titer testing is available for some vaccines (such as MMR, varicella, and hepatitis B) and can demonstrate immunity even without vaccination records. If your titers are positive, you do not need to receive those vaccines again.

Vaccines That Cannot Be Verified by Titers

Some vaccines — including Td/Tdap, meningococcal, and pneumococcal vaccines — do not have reliable titer tests that demonstrate immunity. For these vaccines, if you cannot document prior vaccination, you will need to receive the vaccine at the civil surgeon appointment.