Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

Re: Vaccination waiver on religious grounds for Green card application

Yes, the vaccination is mandatory in an application for permanent residence. As for the religious belief issue, research would have to be done by an attorney to see if there's any precedent on what would constitute a genuine religious belief to satisfy the INS. Your friends here practice "spiritual practices" which is vague and seemingly difficult to prove, especially if it's not a Judeo-Christian type of belief. The INS' own regulations define a "religious denomination" as:

"a religious group or community of believers having some form of eccelesiastical government, a creed or statement of faith, some form of worship, a formal or informal code of doctrine and discipline, religious sevices and ceremonies, established places of religious worship, religious congregations, or comparable indicia of a bona fide religious denomination."

Although this definition is in the context of an application for an R-1 visa (religious worker), I bet the INS will probably use the same definition in deciding whether to grant your friends the vaccination waiver or not.

You may contact my office as I have done cases dealing with religious issues before.

Liem Doan, Esq.