The Final Demise of the HIV Exclusion

 The Human Rights Campaign responded today to the Office of Management and Budget indicating that they have completed review of a proposed regulation which would remove the remaining barrier to HIV-positive visitors and immigrants. The proposal, which would remove HIV from the list of communicable diseases that bar foreign nationals from entering the United States, will now be published in the Federal Register and open for public comment.

In July 2008, President Bush signed into law, as part of the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a provision that removed the ban from statute and returned regulatory authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to determine whether HIV should remain on a list of communicable diseases that bar foreign nationals from entering the United States.

UPDATE Here is a copy of the proposed regulation published in the Federal Register on Thursday.

KJ