HIV Travel Ban to be Lifted?

In the next few days, we expect the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to publish in the Federal Register a new proposed rule to eliminate the HIV Travel Ban, which currently places heavy restrictions on HIV positive persons who wish to enter and/or reside permanently in the US. Once the US lifts the HIV Travel Ban, HIV positive individuals will no longer be inadmissible.

HIV Travel Ban: Procedure

The proposed rule will likely seek to remove HIV from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance that make applicants for visas or entry into the US inadmissible without a waiver. This will be one of the final steps in a multi-step legislative and bureaucratic process necessary to remove the HIV Travel Ban.

Following publication of the proposed rule will be a required 45 day public comment period. The OMB and the CDC will then review commentary on the proposed rule. They will then draft a final rule for publication in the Federal Register with an effective date for the final rule to occur 30 to 60 days from its publication.

HIV Travel Ban Background

HIV positive individuals are inadmissible to the US and must seek a waiver to enter temporarily or permanently. The HIV Travel Ban has been in place since 1987. It became part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) in 1993, when Congress mandated that HIV+ people cannot enter the US. This removed decisions regarding HIV and travel to the US from the discretionary HHS and CDC authority. In 2008, Congress created a waiver so that HIV+ people are not automatically inadmissible. This returned the authority regarding HIV infection and admissibility to HHS and CDC discretion.

Persons with HIV who wish to travel to the US may seek a waiver. But HIV waivers for more than a short period of time are extremely limited. Moreover, HIV waivers for permanent residence require at least a US citizen or lawful permanent resident immediate relative. This effectively excludes many who are HIV+. The HIV waiver process is extremely burdensome and intrusive.

We will post further information on removal of the HIV Travel Ban as information becomes available.