USCIS Introduces Form I-910 and Centralizes the Civil Surgeon Application Process

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, visit www.uscis.gov/i-910.