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Ice on Immigration: HIV
travel/immigration laws
By L. Patricia Ice, Featured
Columnist
Question: I am a U.S. citizen. I have an overseas friend who would
like to come to the U.S. to visit Disneyland and me. My friend meets
most of the requirements to obtain a B-2 tourist visa, but he is HIV
positive. His infection is controlled with medication and he does not
have AIDS. A few years ago I heard that a person with cannot get a visa
to come to the United States Is this still true?
Answer: On July 30, 2008 President Bush signed a law that partially
repeals the HIV travel/immigration ban. The law amended the health
related inadmissibility ground to exclude any reference to HIV, but it
did not eliminate having a communicable disease as an inadmissibility
ground. Even though the new law eliminates any reference to HIV in the
statute, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) still
lists HIV as a communicable disease of public health significance. As
long as being HIV positive is considered a communicable disease of
public health significance, being HIV positive remains a ground that
prevents a foreign national from being issued a visa to come to the
United States. So, unless there is a change on the HHS list regarding
being HIV positive, your friend may be barred from coming to visit. If
your friend is denied a visa, I suggest you contact an immigration
lawyer for advice.
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