How to Fill Out and File USCIS Form DS-3025 for I-485 Adjustment

The DS-3025 vaccination worksheet is the official record an overseas panel physician completes during your immigration medical exam to document every vaccine you’ve received or been given at the appointment. Panel physicians use it for immigrant visa applicants, K-visa applicants, refugees, and certain other categories, and you leave the clinic with your own copy as a permanent vaccination record.¹ For most immigrant visa holders, and for K-1 fiancés and K-2 dependents in particular, a properly completed DS-3025 can substitute for the vaccination portion of a new domestic medical exam when you adjust to permanent resident status, provided the timing and completeness rules are met.

What the Panel Physician Records

The panel physician fills out the DS-3025, not you. Your job is to bring every written vaccination record you have. The physician reviews what you brought, orders blood tests (titers) if immunity needs to be confirmed for diseases like measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis A or B, polio, or varicella, works out which vaccines you still need based on your age and history, screens for contraindications, and administers whatever doses are required.¹

Bring originals if you can. Documentation has to come from a vaccination record or a copy of a medical chart with entries made by a physician or other medical professional. Each dose needs a month, day, and year, and the record cannot appear altered. Self-reported doses without written proof are not accepted.¹

At the end of the exam, the original DS-3025 and the medical report go into the sealed packet for the embassy or consulate. You should also receive your own copy. Do not leave without it. This is the record you’ll use with healthcare providers, schools, and government agencies once you’re in the United States.¹

One current note on scope: the COVID-19 vaccine is no longer required. As of January 20, 2025, applicants for adjustment of status do not need to show COVID-19 vaccination documentation, and pending applications on or after that date are not affected by the prior requirement.²

How to Read the Markings on Your DS-3025

The physician uses standardized notations to show the status of each vaccine, and those notations decide whether USCIS accepts the form or asks for more documentation.

Completed series. You received every dose. For diseases where immunity can be confirmed by lab test or documented history (varicella, for example), the physician may write “VH” for varicella history or record the date of a titer.³
Not age appropriate (code “A”). The vaccine isn’t required for someone your age. Common for rotavirus (infants only) and other childhood-only schedules.⁴
Contraindicated (codes C1–C6). A medical condition makes the vaccine unsafe for you. The codes cover pregnancy (C1), compromised immune system (C2), severe allergic reaction to the vaccine or a component (C3), other severe reaction (C4), current moderate to severe illness (C5), and other reasons the physician must specify (C6).⁴
Insufficient time interval. You started a multi-dose series but the next dose isn’t due yet. The physician records what you got and notes the series is in progress.

Any vaccine marked not age appropriate, contraindicated, or subject to an insufficient time interval qualifies for a blanket waiver that USCIS grants without extra paperwork or fees from you.⁵

Using DS-3025 to Adjust Status

K-1 fiancé visa holders, K-2 dependents, and other applicants who completed an overseas medical exam generally do not need to repeat the full immigration medical exam in the United States when filing Form I-485.⁶ Your DS-3025 can replace the vaccination portion of Form I-693 if two conditions are met. First, you file the I-485 within one year of the date the overseas medical exam was completed. Second, either the panel physician found no Class A medical condition, or one was found and you received a waiver of inadmissibility and complied with its terms.⁷

K-visa applicants have a specific wrinkle. Vaccinations at the overseas exam are voluntary for K-visa holders, so the panel physician records only what you agreed to receive, and you are not required to finish the schedule before traveling.¹ That means your DS-3025 may show incomplete series. If it does, a civil surgeon in the United States will need to complete the vaccination record portion of Form I-693 (specifically Parts 1–5, 7, and 10) before your I-485 can be approved.⁷ Many K-visa adjustments stall here because applicants assume the DS-3025 by itself is enough. If it does not show a complete record for every age-appropriate vaccine, USCIS will not accept it without supplemental documentation from a civil surgeon.

When DS-3025 Alone Won’t Work

A civil surgeon must complete a new Form I-693 in several situations:

More than one year has passed. If the gap between your overseas medical exam and your I-485 filing date exceeds twelve months, the overseas results are no longer valid for adjustment.⁷
Incomplete vaccines without a documented medical reason. If your DS-3025 shows gaps that aren’t explained by an age, contraindication, or time-interval notation, it won’t stand alone.
Class A condition found overseas without a waiver. If the panel physician identified a Class A medical condition and you did not obtain a waiver, a new domestic exam is required.

Since December 2, 2024, USCIS requires Form I-693 (or a partial I-693 covering just the vaccination record) to be filed together with Form I-485. Leaving it out can get the whole I-485 rejected.⁸

Filing the DS-3025 With Form I-485

If your DS-3025 meets the one-year and completeness requirements, include a clear photocopy with your I-485 package. Keep the original. It’s your permanent vaccination record and you’ll likely need it again for healthcare, school enrollment, or future immigration benefits.

After USCIS receives your application, an officer reviews the DS-3025 for compliance with the vaccination requirements. If the form is outdated, incomplete, or missing required information, the officer issues a Request for Evidence. The maximum response time for an RFE is 84 days (12 weeks), and USCIS regulations bar officers from extending beyond that. When the RFE is sent by ordinary mail, you get an additional 3 calendar days for mailing, making the practical deadline 87 days from the date USCIS mails the notice.⁹ Use the time to see a designated civil surgeon who can complete what’s missing on Form I-693.

Waivers Reflected on the Form

Blanket waivers cover vaccines that are not age appropriate, are contraindicated, cannot be completed because there isn’t enough time between doses, or are unavailable (like a seasonal flu vaccine out of season). The panel physician’s or civil surgeon’s annotation on the DS-3025 or I-693 is enough. USCIS does not need anything else from you.⁵

If you object on religious or moral grounds, you can request an individual waiver, which requires a formal filing with the appropriate form and fee and evidence that compliance would violate a sincerely held belief.⁵ The DS-3025 has a checkbox for exactly this — “Immigrant Visa applicant requests Individual Waiver based on religious or moral convictions” — so the panel physician can flag the request at the overseas exam.⁴

Replacing a Lost DS-3025

Start with the panel physician’s clinic where the overseas exam took place. Most keep records for several years and can send a replacement copy if you provide identifying information like your passport number or case ID.

If the clinic is unresponsive or has closed, request the record from USCIS through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act. As of January 22, 2026, all FOIA and Privacy Act requests for USCIS records must be submitted online. Create a USCIS account and file the request through first.uscis.gov. Ask specifically for the DS-3025 rather than your entire immigration file. Each person needs a separate request, even for family members whose cases are related. Once USCIS processes it, you’ll get an email and can download the records through your account.¹⁰ Questions about the online process go to the USCIS FOIA Program at FOIAPAQuestions@uscis.dhs.gov.

FOIA requests can take months. If you’re up against an I-485 deadline or an RFE clock, visiting a civil surgeon for a new Form I-693 is almost always faster than waiting for USCIS to locate the original DS-3025.

1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccination Technical Instructions for Panel Physicians
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Vaccination Requirements
3
U.S. Department of State. DS-3025 Vaccination Documentation Worksheet
4
U.S. Department of State. DS-3025 Vaccination Documentation Worksheet
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Waiver of Immigrant Vaccination Requirement
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 8 Part B Chapter 4 – Review of Medical Examination Documentation
7
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. I-693, Report of Immigration Medical Examination and Vaccination Record
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS Policy Manual Volume 1 Part E Chapter 6 – Evidence
10
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Request Records through the Freedom of Information Act or Privacy Act