Rule to Streamline Issuance on Nonimmigrant
Visas to HIV Positive Applicant
Homeland Security
Streamlined Process Announced for Otherwise
Eligible HIV Positive Individuals to Enter the United States
Release Date: September 29, 2008
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
Fact Sheet: Streamlined Process
Announced for Otherwise Eligible HIV-Positive Individuals to Enter the United
States
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) announced today the publication of a final rule that will streamline the
issuance of certain short-term non-immigrant visas to people infected with the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) who are otherwise qualified to enter the
United States.
Under this new regulation, Department of
State consular officers overseas will now have the authority to grant temporary,
non-immigrant visas to otherwise eligible applicants who are HIV-positive and
meet certain requirements.
“This regulation significantly improves the
opportunities for individuals seeking to visit the U.S. who were previously
inadmissible because of an HIV infection,” said Homeland Security Secretary
Michael Chertoff.
“Perhaps most important to the applicants,
we’re also accelerating the process by providing an additional avenue for
temporary admission, while maintaining a high level of security at our borders.”
The HIV Waiver Final Rule will apply to
foreigners who are HIV-positive and seek to enter the United States as visitors
for up to 30 days; these individuals still must meet all of the other normal
criteria for the granting of a U.S. visa. The issuance of visas under the rule
will also be subject to certain criteria designed to ensure an HIV positive
person’s activities while in the United States do not present a risk to the
public health. Travelers who do not meet the specific requirements of the rule,
or who wish to follow the pre-existing process, may elect to follow the existing
procedure for a case-by-case determination of their eligibility for a visa and
admission authorization.
Visas issued under this final rule will not
publicly identify any traveler as HIV-positive.
The United States Global Leadership Against
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, which President
Bush signed on July 30, 2008, removed a statutory requirement that mandated the
inclusion of HIV on a list of diseases of public health significance that made
any person infected with those conditions ineligible from admission to the
United States. The legislation did not automatically change the existing
regulations, administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),
that continue to list HIV as a “communicable disease of public-health
significance.” HHS is currently beginning the rulemaking process to remove HIV
from this list.
In the meantime, the DHS rule announced today
fulfills the President’s promise to create a streamlined process for otherwise
eligible HIV-positive individuals to gain temporary admission to the United
States. On Dec. 1, 2006, President Bush directed the Secretaries of State and
Homeland Security to initiate a rulemaking that proposed a categorical waiver of
inadmissibility for otherwise eligible foreigners who are HIV-positive, and who
seek to enter the United States on short-term visas.
Previously, individuals who are HIV-positive
were prohibited from receiving a visa to visit the United States at all without
an individual waiver. As a result, the Department of State had made individual
recommendations to DHS on whether or not to grant a waiver. DHS would then
proceed with case-by-case evaluations, and determine whether to authorize
issuance of a visa to allow an applicant's temporary admission. The State
Department would occasionally recommend, and DHS approved, group waivers for
events at the United Nations or other international gatherings in the United
States.
DHS published a notice of proposed rulemaking
on Nov. 6, 2007, and welcomed public comments for 30 days thereafter. This final
rule adopts the proposed amendments to the regulations, and simplifies the
process for the authorization of admission, with some modifications in light of
the public comments received. The Final Rule is available at http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/.
###
This page was last reviewed/modified on
September 29, 2008.
Fact
Sheet: Streamlined Process Announced for Otherwise Eligible HIV-Positive
Individuals to Enter the United States
Release Date: September 29, 2008
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) has issued the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Waiver Final Rule, a
regulation that will streamline the issuance of certain short-term non-immigrant
visas for non-U.S. citizens who are HIV-positive.
Streamlining the Process
·
Under the new regulation, U.S.
Department of State consular officers overseas will now have the authority to
grant non-immigrant visas to otherwise eligible HIV-positive people who meet
certain requirements, instead of waiting for a special waiver from DHS.
·
In fiscal year 2007, the average
processing time for DHS to make decisions on such consular recommendations (for
the issuance of non-immigrant visas and authorization for temporary admission)
was 18 days. The final rule streamlines this process, and will make visa
authorization and issuance available to many otherwise eligible HIV-positive
travelers on the same day as their interview with a U.S. Consular officer.
·
The final rule applies only to
foreigners who are HIV-positive and seek to enter the United States as visitors
for up to 30 days; these individuals still must meet all of the other normal
criteria for the granting of a U.S. visa. The issuance of visas under the rule
will also be subject to certain criteria designed to ensure an HIV-positive
person’s activities while in the United States do not present a risk to the
public health.
·
Visas issued under this final rule
will not publicly identify any traveler as HIV-positive.
Previously, the U.S. Department of State had
to make individual recommendations on HIV-positive travelers to DHS, which then
conducted a case-by-case evaluation to determine an applicants temporary
admission to the
United States. The State Department would
occasionally recommend, and DHS approve, group waivers for events at the United
Nations or other international gatherings in the United States.
Alternative Procedure
·
The HIV Waiver Final Rule will speed
up the application process by making it easier for those HIV-positive
individuals who meet the requirements to get a short-term, non-immigrant visa.
·
However, those who do not meet the
specific requirements of the rule, or who choose not to use the streamlined
process, may elect the existing procedure for a case-by-case determination of
their eligibility for a visa and admission authorization.
Background
·
Since 1952, U.S. law and regulation
have made persons “who were afflicted with any dangerous contagious disease”
ineligible to receive a visa to enter the United States. People infected with
HIV have been inadmissible to the United States since 1987, when Congress
directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to add HIV to
its list of diseases of public health significance.
·
Accordingly, foreigners infected with
HIV have been ineligible to receive U.S. visas without a waiver by the U.S.
Government.
·
The United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008, which President Bush signed on July 30,
2008, removed the statutory requirement that mandated the inclusion of HIV on
the list of diseases of public health significance that made any person infected
with those conditions ineligible for admission to the United States. The
legislation did not, however, automatically change the existing regulations,
administered by HHS, that continue to list HIV as a “communicable disease of
public-health significance.” HHS is currently beginning the rulemaking process
to remove HIV from the list.
·
In the meantime, the DHS HIV Waiver
Final Rule fulfills the President’s promise to create a streamlined process for
otherwise eligible HIV-positive individuals to gain temporary admission to the
United States. On Dec. 1, 2006, President Bush directed the Secretaries of State
and Homeland Security to initiate a rulemaking that proposed a categorical
waiver for otherwise eligible foreigners who are HIV-positive and who seek to
enter the United States on short-term visas.
·
DHS published a notice of proposed
rulemaking on Nov. 6, 2007, and welcomed public comments for 30 days thereafter.
The final rule adopts the proposed amendments to the regulations, and simplifies
the process for the authorization of admission, with some modifications, in
light of the public comments received.
For
more information on the HIV Waiver Final Rule, including the published
regulation, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/xprevprot/laws/.
###
This page was
last reviewed/modified on September 29, 2008.
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