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Is a COVID vaccine required for the medical exam?

Key answer

By the community's experience the COVID vaccine requirement has effectively gone: IOM in Moscow, Minsk and Warsaw do not ask for a certificate, the document lists just were never updated. A few centers (Latin America was mentioned) might still require it, so the safest move is to email your IOM and get a written answer. When the requirement was in force, the shot had no expiry: a 1-2 year old certificate was accepted without boosters; one member had Sputnik from 2021 counted, others wrote that Sputnik does not pass. Getting the shot specifically for this is not recommended now.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

  • The list of documents has not been updated for a long time. Specifically in Warsaw, they do not require it, including at the Warsaw MMC. There are still some consulates, more likely the MMC, that require the certificate - in Latin America, if I'm not mistaken. If you want to do it, do it and bring it, but most likely they won't even take it. You can write a letter to the Moscow MMC and ask them to confirm that vaccination against COVID is not currently required.

  • The Moscow, Minsk, and Warsaw MMCs do not require a certificate of COVID vaccination. I think I shared a response from the Moscow MMC regarding COVID here. By the way, I did not get this vaccine either, ever.

  • They probably do not check the expiration date, but it's better to ask those who have gone through the MMC in Moscow. I was credited with the Sputnik from 2021, though I did not go through the MMC in Moscow.

  • Those who already have vaccinations (other than Sputnik), even done 1-2 years ago, do not need boosters - there is no expiration date for the USA, you just show the old certificate. It would be upsetting to get vaccinated especially if the requirement is lifted in a month.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Sources

All questions on: Consulate and interviewAll questions on: Process and timelines

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A reference page built from community experience, not legal advice. Requirements and practice change - verify on uscis.gov.

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