If you can’t or won’t receive a required vaccination, USCIS provides three blanket waiver categories the Civil Surgeon can apply on the I-693 itself, plus a fourth waiver requiring a separate USCIS application.
Civil Surgeon waivers (no extra paperwork)
- Not age-appropriate — the vaccine isn’t recommended for your age group
- Medically contraindicated — you have a documented medical reason (e.g., severe allergy, immunocompromised)
- Not routinely available — the vaccine isn’t available in the US (rarely invoked)
Religious or moral conviction (Form I-601)
If you decline vaccinations on religious or moral grounds, USCIS requires Form I-601 (Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility) plus documentation that your belief is sincerely held, religious in nature (or moral and equivalent in seriousness to religion), and applies to all vaccinations.