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Immigration Equality Fact Sheet on "STREAMLINED" HIV Travel Regulations

On October 6, 2008, the Department of Homeland Security issued new regulations which claim to ease restrictions on travel for foreign nationals who are HIV-positive.  Immigration Equality opposed the issuance of these regulations because they continue to unnecessarily stigmatize people living with HIV; impose intrusive and impossible evidentiary burdens on HIV-positive visa applicants; and force HIV-positive visa applicants to give up valuable rights.  Nonetheless, the regulations have now become law.

● The Regulations are Disingenuous – Although the rules use the words “streamlined” and “categorical” to describe the new waiver for HIV-positive travelers, there is nothing “streamlined” or “categorical” about this waiver. DHS should allow HIV-positive travelers to enter the U.S. without any restrictions.  The only thing these regulations do to "streamline" the process of applying for a waiver for short-term travelers is to give the consular officer abroad the authority to approve or deny the waiver.  DHS states this will reduce processing times by 18 days.  Nonetheless, the requirements to obtain the waiver are extremely burdensome and unfair.

● HIV Will Continue to Be Treated Differently from All Other Medical Conditions  – Although Congress recently passed a law removing HIV from the Immigration and Nationality Act as a ground of "inadmissibility" HIV is still on the Department of Health and Human Services list of "communicable diseases of public health significance."  HIV is the only medical condition for which short-term travelers have to go through such a burdensome waiver process.  These regulations continue to stigmatize people with HIV when the government should simply be removing HIV from its list altogether.

● HIV-Positive Short-Term Travelers Will Have to Submit Extensive and Intrusive Evidence  – The new regulations lay out 12 requirements for the “streamlined” waiver.  Among these requirements, the traveler must travel with all the antiretroviral medication he will need during his visit in the United States or prove to a consular officer that antiretroviral medication is not medically indicated.  The “streamlined” waiver applicant must also prove that he has private health insurance which is accepted in the U.S. which will cover “any medical care” “in the event of any illness at any time while in the United States.”  No such showing is required of travelers with any other medical condition.

● HIV-Positive Asylees Will Be Unable to Obtain Legal Permanent Residence or Citizenship – The proposed regulations will prohibit HIV-positive travelers who enter with the new waiver from applying for a “green card” from within the United States.  The only exception to this rule are for individuals with HIV who win asylum in the U.S.  Even those with close relatives in the U.S. will not be able to pursue an application for a "green card" from within the U.S. if they have entered under this "streamlined" waiver.

● The United States Is One of Only 13 Countries that Restricts Travel for Individuals with HIV – Other countries that continue to ban short-term travel for HIV-positive foreign nationals include: Iraq, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

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