USA Entry Made Easier with HIV
posted: 30/09/2008
US immigration officials on Monday announced moves to ease and speed up visa-processing for HIV-positive visitors to the United States, months after a 21-year entry ban on people with the virus was lifted.
Under the new rules, US consular offices overseas will have the authority to grant temporary, non-immigrant visas to HIV-positive applicants who meet "all of the other normal criteria for the granting of a US visa," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement.
Previously, people with HIV were banned from entering the United States unless they obtained a special waiver.
US consular officials will now have the authority to grant visas for short visits to otherwise eligible HIV-positive individuals without having to obtain a special “waiver.” But a visa must be obtained before travel to the US.
The new rule, called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Waiver Final Rule was announced on September 29th and can be read here. It applies to people with HIV who wish to visit the US for up to 30 days.
HIV-positive individuals who wish to make short visits to the US will need to apply to their local US consulate. A visa will be granted if they meet all the normal conditions for the granting of a US visa. A granted visa will not mention HIV.
But US consular officials will have to be satisfied that HIV-positive visa applicants will not engage in activities in the US that will pose a threat to public health.
Eligible HIV-positive individuals will now be able to obtain a visa to visit the US on the same day as they have an interview with a consular official.
Citizens of the UK and many other countries can make short visits to the US without obtaining a visa in advance from the US consulate. This option will not be available to HIV-positive individuals who, under the new rules must obtain a visa before travelling.
"We're also accelerating the process by providing an additional avenue for temporary admission while maintaining a high level of security at our borders," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a statement.
President George W. Bush signed legislation in July which removed HIV from a list of diseases "of public health significance" that effectively barred any person infected with the virus that causes AIDS from entering the United States.
The ban on HIV-positive foreigners entering the United States had been in place since 1987.
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