Part C - Civil Surgeon Designation and Revocation

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to address the urgent need for additional civil surgeons to conduct immigration medical examinations in support of Operation Allies Refuge. This guidance became effective July 26, 2021.

This technical update replaces all instances of the term “alien” with “noncitizen” or other appropriate terms throughout the Policy Manual where possible, as used to refer to a person who meets the definition provided in INA 101(a)(3) [“any person not a citizen or national of the United States”].

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating and incorporating relevant Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM) content into the USCIS Policy Manual. As that process is ongoing, USCIS has moved any remaining AFM content to its corresponding USCIS Policy Manual Part, in PDF format, until relevant AFM content has been properly incorporated into the USCIS Policy Manual. To the extent that a provision in the USCIS Policy Manual conflicts with remaining AFM content or Policy Memoranda, the updated information in the USCIS Policy Manual prevails. To find remaining AFM content, see the crosswalk (PDF, 317.68 KB) between the AFM and the Policy Manual.

This technical update replaces all instances of the term “foreign national” with “alien” throughout the Policy Manual as used to refer to a person who meets the definition provided in INA 101(a)(3) [“any person not a citizen or national of the United States”].

This technical update changes language to state that USCIS officers “may” refer proposed civil surgeon designation revocations to the USCIS Office of the Chief Counsel for review. Previously, the language specified that USCIS counsel “must” review any proposed civil surgeon designation revocation.

This technical update clarifies that an applicant for civil surgeon designation must, at a minimum, submit a copy of the medical degree to show he or she is a Medical Doctor or Doctor of Osteopathy.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to centralize the civil surgeon designation process at the National Benefits Center, effective March 11, 2014.