Removal of the regulations preventing HIV-positive individuals travelling to the US has moved an important step closer.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved the removal of HIV from the list of communicable diseases that mean an individual is unable to enter the US.
Now the Office of Budget and Management must finally approve the removal of the travel ban.
Currently, HIV-positive non-US citizens are banned from entering the US without first obtaining a visa.
The law excluding visits and immigration to the US by individuals with HIV was repealed in 2008, but older public immigration regulations still remained in place. The process of removing these started in the summer. Over 20,000 comments on the proposed removal of the ban were sent to the CDC, most of them supportive.
The Office of Budget and Management has up to 60 days to respond to the CDC’s approval. Once this has been granted, the travel ban will be finally removed.