USCIS has implemented a new process to receive and adjudicate applications for civil surgeon designation centrally at the National Benefits Center. This process change requires physicians seeking civil surgeon designation to file a formal application at a USCIS Lockbox. Centralizing the civil surgeon application process will:
- Improve the application intake process;
- Enhance USCIS’s ability to manage and track civil surgeon applications;
- Promote consistency and uniformity in USCIS decisions on civil surgeon-related matters; and
- Improve overall efficiency and integrity of the program.
Physicians seeking civil surgeon designation need to complete Form I-910, Application for Civil Surgeon Designation, and pay a $615 application fee. This new application form and process implements provisions of the agency’s 2010 Fee Rule. It does not affect current civil surgeons.
Previously, civil surgeon designation has been a local process at the district or field office with jurisdiction over the prospective civil surgeon’s office location. The new process is detailed in Volume 8, Part C of the USCIS Policy Manual, which replaces the civil surgeon designation guidance found in Chapter 83.4 of the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM). The new policy on civil surgeons:
- Reaffirms and clarifies the purpose, role, and responsibilities of civil surgeons;
- Outlines the professional qualifications needed for civil surgeon designation;
- Explains the application requirements for civil surgeon designation;
- Clarifies the process for adjudicating civil surgeon applications;
- Provides consolidated guidance on blanket civil surgeon designation;
- Reaffirms USCIS’s ability to revoke civil surgeon designation and clarifies revocation grounds; and
- Provides guidance on maintenance of the civil surgeon list.
For more information on civil surgeons, visit the Civil Surgeons Web page. For more information on Form I-910, visitwww.uscis.gov/i-910.
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