U.S. removes HIV entry ban
Addis Ababa, December 31 (WIC) –The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed HIV infection from the list of diseases that can keep people who are not citizens from entering the United States.
According to a press release the Embassy of the United States sent to WIC, effective of January 4, 2010, HIV testing will no longer be included in the medical exam required for U.S immigrant visa applicants.
CDC removed HIV infection as a communicable disease of public health significance due to current scientific knowledge of the disease. HIV status was added to the U.S. regulation on visa eligibility in 1987, but since that time, much more has become known about HIV and how it is spreading.
Most notably, public health science has proven that immigrants and refugees with HIV infection do not pose a risk to the public’s health by entering to the United States because HIV is preventable and is not spread through casual contact.
The new final rule means that a person’s HIV status would not prevent them from entering the United States. As a result, testing for HIV is no longer required as part of the U.S. immigration medical screening process, and people with HIV infection no longer requires a waiver for entry in to the United States.
Once the rule is in effect, applicants who were previously refused visas only under INA section 212(a)(1)(A)(i) because they were HIV positive, may be eligible for visas and may reapply.
In January 2010, the U.S. Embassy consular section in Addis Ababa will contact each applicant refused under this ineligibility within the last year and provide information on how to re-apply. Immigrant and Diversity Visa applicants who are HIV positive, like all other visa applicants, will still be required to demonstrate that they will have sufficient means of support in the United States and will not need public financial or medical assistance.