U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has inadequate controls for verifying that foreign nationals seeking lawful permanent residence status meet health-related standards for admissibility. First, USCIS is not properly vetting the physicians it designates as civil surgeons. We determined that USCIS designated physicians with a history of patient abuse or a criminal record as civil surgeons. This is occurring because USCIS does not have adequate policies to ensure only suitable physicians are designated as civil surgeons. Second, when reviewing these foreign nationals’ required medical forms, ISOs are accepting incomplete and inaccurate forms because they are not adequately trained and because USCIS is not enforcing its existing policies. USCIS may be placing foreign nationals at risk of abuse by some civil surgeons. USCIS could also be exposing the U.S. population to contagious or dangerous health conditions from foreign nationals erroneously granted lawful permanent resident status
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend the USCIS Chief of the Regulatory Coordination Division for the Office of Policy and Strategy develop stricter ineligibility requirements for civil surgeon designations, which could include standards used by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and implement processes to strengthen the vetting process of physicians and active civil surgeons. | |||||
| 8 | No | $0 | $0 | ||
| We recommend the Associate Director for Field Operations Directorate establish a process to track civil surgeon medical form errors to identify areas that need improvement. The process should include: a. tracking civil surgeons' accuracy in complying with CDC's Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians and Civil Surgeons; b. tracking the completeness of the forms; and c. establishing a system to ensure civil surgeons understand and follow the CDC's Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians and Civil Surgeons and to ensure civil surgeons who fail to fulfill their responsibilities face prompt revocation. | |||||
