A letter in the June issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases proposes creation of a National HIV in Foreign-born Registry (NHFR), an online database to collect information about HIV-positive immigrants who receive treatment in the United States.

The registry would compile demographic, social, and clinical data from healthcare providers, and make this information available to other healthcare providers across the country while keeping patients’ anonymity, said the authors.

Similar programs, such as the Antiretroviral Pregnancy Registry, have previously found success in promoting awareness and revealing shortcomings in current healthcare practices.…

The Australian Immigration Department is loosening health restrictions to allow migrant workers with chronic conditions to enter Australia, including those with HIV/AIDS.

With this change, Australia hopes to attract skilled migrant workers, who otherwise would have been denied a visa for health-related reasons.

The Australian Immigration Department’s new rules would expand upon the current waiver program which allows certain individuals with chronic health conditions into the country.

Of the 288 waivers granted last year, the majority were for foreign partners of Australian citizens.

During 2008 to 2009, 42 health waivers…

For nearly 23 years, HIV-positive individuals in foreign countries have been banned from receiving visas and thus entering the United States.

This record ended on Monday, when HIV-positive Clemens Ruland, along with his HIV-negative partner Hugo Bausch, landed in John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.

Ruland and Bausch are from the Netherlands and will be visiting friends and shopping during their one week stay in the city.

The pair won a trip to New York City after Ruland entered a poem into an essay contest sponsored by a…

On Friday, President Obama signed legislation to extend the Ryan White Care Act and announced a final decision to eliminate the HIV entry ban.

Since 1987, HIV-positive people have been turned away at immigration. In July 2009 the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposed to remove HIV from the list of diseases that pose a public health threat.

The CDC’s proposal stated that HIV is not a “communicable disease that is a significant threat for introduction, transmission, and spread to the U.S. population through casual contact.”

The final…

On September 15, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) introduced a new policy in anticipation of the amendment of law 42 CFR 34.2(b), which currently denies HIV positive individuals entry into the country. Pending approval of the amendment, USCIS officers are now instructed to hold waivers that would be otherwise be rejected solely due to the applicant’s HIV status.

Under law 42 CFR 34.2(b), HIV is included in a list of diseases that qualify as a “communicable disease of public health significance.” Any individual with a disease on the…