USA Green Card Immigration Blog

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been temporarily holding certain immigration applications from November 13, 2009. This is because the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced new vaccination criteria for immigration to the United States on Nov 13, 2009. These vaccination criteria will come into effect on December 14, 2009.

If the applicant is in the United States, then vaccinations are administered by a civil surgeon. In case, the applicant is outside the US, then the vaccination should be done by a panel physician. The new regulations of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention list the vaccinations that have to be taken by applicants seeking to immigrate to the US.

According to the US immigration law, vaccines for the following diseases are currently required for U.S. immigration: mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertusis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, pneumococcal disease, varicella, seasonal influenza, human papilloma virus (HPV,) Haemophilus influenzae type B, and zoster. Applicants should have their vaccination records when they come for the medical examination. This is very important for pre-school and school-age children to have these vaccination records when they come in for the medical test.

According to the new criteria, vaccines for herpes zoster and human papilloma virus (HPV) will no longer be required for immigration purposes.

Until the new vaccination requirements become effective, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have decided to temporarily hold certain applications to adjust their status to lawful permanent residence. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will start hearing pending applications from December 14, 2009 using the new criteria for vaccination, which excludes these two mentioned vaccines.

This new criteria will help those applicants whose applications have been denied for failing to submit proof of receiving zoster vaccine or human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

The Department of Health and Human Services has lifted the ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by people who have tested positive for Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV).

Earlier, non-U.S. citizens who were HIV-positive were barred from traveling or immigrating to the country unless they were granted a waiver by the Department of Homeland Security. This amendment by the Department of Health and Human Services will now ensure that no alien who wants to visit or migrate to USA can be prevented from doing so on the grounds of having this disease.

The announcement to this effect was made by a determined President Obama. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the Department of Health and Human Services has issued a final rule to amend its regulations to delete HIV infection from the list of communicable diseases of public health significance. Steps are also being taken to remove HIV medical examination from the list of tests to be undergone for USA immigration.

Though a serious health condition, HIV is not a communicable disease that is a significant public health risk. Hence there can be no grounds for not allowing a visitor or immigrant entry into the United States. The ban, implemented in 1987 and codified into law by Congress in 1993, to quote President Obama at the signing ceremony for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act, was “a decision rooted in fear rather than fact.”

The new rule will come into effect on January 4, 2010. Meanwhile, USCIS has asked its officials to suspend decisions on green card applications which were to be made solely on the basis of the HIV status of the applicant till the new law is implemented.

This decision to suspend the HIV Travel Ban will, no doubt, bring a ray of hope to the HIV-infected people who wish to enter the US.