Regulatory Change to HIV Travel Ban Continues to Stigmatize HIV-positive People, Fails to

“The timing of these regulations is deeply troubling,” said Victoria Neilson, Legal Director of Immigration Equality. “In July, Congress issued a bipartisan message to this Administration – remove HIV as a barrier to travel and immigration. Instead of simply ending the HIV travel ban, the administration is again treating HIV differently from any other medical condition.”

The recent move comes after a statutory repeal of the ban that was part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) act, a bill that won approval by large majorities in the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Bush in July. However, a regulatory change is needed to completely lift the ban; meanwhile, the HIV travel ban continues to be enforced. The regulations issued yesterday do not end the ban.

“I am disappointed that the Administration has decided to move ahead and finalize this rule to clarify the visa waiver process for HIV positive short term visitors to the United States,” said Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), who led the repeal effort in the House of Representatives. “The rule itself remains fundamentally flawed because it is grounded on an unjust and discriminatory policy that has no basis in public health.”

Under the new rules, a short-term traveler must meet twelve stringent criteria that impose unnecessary burdens on HIV-positive travelers and continue to stigmatize those living with HIV. Some criteria are inconsistent with current medical knowledge of HIV transmission and treatment.

Additionally, a traveler who avails him- or herself of the waiver must give up the right to apply for a green card from within the United States – even if he or she marries a U.S. citizen. By DHS’s own account, the “streamlining” provided by this rule simply shaves off eighteen days in processing time by allowing Department of State consular officers to make decisions on waivers without sending them to DHS for approval.

“We are on the eve of lifting this ban once and for all. Why is the Administration setting new waiver requirements in stone now?,” asked Neilson. “The time has come for this Administration to finish the job that Congress started this summer. It’s time to lift the HIV ban.”

Congresswoman Lee added: “The Administration has acknowledged that it is taking steps to remove HIV/AIDS from the list of diseases that trigger automatic inadmissability into the United States. Rather than continuing forward with this unnecessary and potentially harmful visa waiver process rule, the President should actively work to ensure that his Administration eliminates HIV from this disease list before he leaves office in January.”

Immigration Equality has been a longtime national leader in the fight to lift the HIV travel ban. As the only national organization dedicated to advancing equal immigration rights for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and HIV-positive community, Immigration Equality worked for years in a concerted effort to lift the ban that included advocacy, public education, and legal assistance.