ilovemyhusband

Hi Everyone,

I have wrote here a couple times concerning my husband's HIV waiver process which started in Nov. '08. I am so happy to report that his wavier was approved August 28, 2009 and today his visa was approved!!! After the waiver approval he had to submit new medicals and police report and the visa has been approved. I know this situation may not effect anyone currently, but I am putting this "journey" here on VJ for those who might face this ordeal in their future.

I want to say, our struggles are not over by far. Now that he is coming to the states we have to get his medical exam completed within 30 days of entry into the states. Only then will we know where his HIV status truly is at. He appears very healthy, has had the normal colds and some bouts with malaria here and there but he always gets back to good health in quick time---so we hope that's a good sign.

One last thing, I am a visa journey member under a different name, but out of respect for my husband's situation I used this anonymous name to address this issue here on VJ. The stigma of HIV/AIDS in his country is harsh and unforgiving. I am so glad that I was able to utilize this website for support and thank all for their input. And again, most importantly I hope this information I've given along the way is of use to someone else in the future...although I pray no one has to live through this experience...words can't describe the anguish and pain we have endured waiting for our government to approve the medical waiver. Hopefully all that will be behind us soon with the lifting of the HIV entry ban!!! AMEN!!

Many months ago I posted a question regarding HIV waiver processing times and what might cause a denial. Although I have seen little information on VJ I want to post this for others in who in the future might face this ordeal. My husband's visa application is out of the U.S. embassy in Lagos Nigeria. He was found positive for HIV during his medicals and submitted a waiver for inadmissibility due infectious disease through the embassy in Lagos. (this can only be done if the interviewer gives the waiver packet at the time of the visa interview) It was then sent to the Center for Disease Control in the United States and then back to the embassy where it was held for 2 and a half months for some unknown reason before being forwarded to the U.S. embassy in Accra. The delay by the Lagos embassy cost us a total of 4 months as they seem to set on the waivers at various stages, don't know why. The CDC's processing was about 2 weeks from the date they received the waiver. The Accra embassy took 4 months to process the waiver and it has now been approved!!!! Total time to date has been 9 months. The next step is for the waiver to be forwarded to the Lagos embassy and then my husband will attend a second interview. He was told that this interview would require new medicals and police report but we won't be certain that is all that is needed till the embassy contacts him for his second interview. From this long terrifying journey I have learned much about the HIV entry ban that is in place currently with immigrants coming to the U.S. This ban is in the process of being lifted, first with President Bush's passing of a law in July 2008 pulling HIV as a inadmissible infectious disease and now with current legislation in place to have the CDC lift the ban for entry into the U.S. for HIV positive immigrants.

In the mean time, the waiver packet must show 3 important things.

1. That the petitioner is aware of the risks associated with HIV transmission and has knowledge of how to prevent infecting other persons. A letter from the petitioner and supporting U.S. sponsor explaining from each party that they are aware of the petitioners HIV status, understand routes of transmission of HIV (and give examples!)and have knowledge of steps they must take to prevent infecting other persons with the illness. And the petitioners commitment to being responsible to follow through with all medical recommendations once in the U.S.

2. That the petitioner will not become a public charge due to their illness. This can be proven by private insurance availability when the person enters the U.S. or by involvement in medical treatment provided by an clinic or agency that will put in writing that they will take responsibility of the persons medical care at no cost to the government. You CAN NOT use state or government medical assistance for medical treatment. Some states have specially funded programs that allow HIV patients to access services even if paid by state/government resources, but the director of these programs must put in writing their acceptance of financial responsibility for the patient's care.

3. That risk of the public to infection is minimal as the petitioner is aware of steps necessary to prevent transmission of their disease. We made sure we spoke of safe sex practice in our letters and proper handling of bodily fluids.

My prayer in writing this information is that soon the HIV entry ban will be lifted entirely and this senseless process will be abandoned. But for the time being this is necessary. Read page 4 of the waiver packet carefully and have it filled out by a doctor and your local health department official responsible for reporting of infectious disease cases to the CDC. Now, our last step is to wait for the interview and hopefully, God willing my husband will be home for Christmas this year!!!

God Bless....I hope this information helps someone!

Wow, actually found someone going through I 601 process through Accra same as me! My husband submitted his waiver to the Lagos, Nigeria embassy and was told it would be forwarded to Accra next. I requested by email info on processing times through the Lagos embassy...they say it can take up to 6 months for processing. It's been over a month and Accra has not received the waiver packet and told me to check back the end of January as it can take a long time to get there! So add another 2 months to the 6...and I have read on the internet somewhere it can take 10 wks for the packet to get back to the Lagos embassy for another interview? So add another 2.5 months...yep almost a year!!! Sad news when my husband's waiver is for HIV status and he is in need of medical treatment that he can't get in Lagos but can easily get here through my medical insurance....hope that helps you get an idea what your looking at time wise...GOOD LUCK and GOD BLESS you and your family.

Hi all,

Does anyone have information on how long it takes the Lagos Embassy to forward a I 601 waiver package to Accra Ghana DHS? My husband paid the fee and submitted the waiver package on 11/21/08 at the Lagos embassy. He was told it would be then forwarded to Accra but I received a email response today (12/29/08) stating it has not been received yet and can take quite some time to be forwarded. I know the process can take up to 6 months for approval/denial...I'm wondering if this includes the time it takes to forward the package...I would appreciate any input from any persons who have submitted a waiver package through Lagos.

God bless you all and Happy New Year!!!

I thought it was that you had to prove undue hardship to the petitioner, not the beneficary.

Wacken is right. Usually for a waiver to be granted, it must be proven that failure to grant the waiver causes great hardship to the petitioner. If you had applied for a humanitarian visa, proving hardship for the beneficiary would be sufficient. However for marriage and other family based visas, you need to prove hardship for you, the petitioner. There have been cases where the adjudicator fully agreed there would be great hardship on the beneficiary for a ban to remain in place, but denied the request to lift the ban anyway. That is because beneficiary hardship is in itself not a reason to lift a ban as the ban was put in place usually due to the beneficiaries own actions. You may want to consider adding such documentation to your waiver letter as it is not unlikely they will deny it in its current form.

I thought it was that you had to prove undue hardship to the petitioner, not the beneficary.

Since I know others may have this issue about the proper info for the HIV medical waiver, I wanted to correct what Wacken reports here (with all due respect of course!) Having concern that nothing in the forms we filled out or instructions provided at the embassy in Lagos mentioned having to prove hardship on my part of as the US citizen- I researched the internet and found many immigration law sights that state the HIV waiver is completely different the other waivers of inadmissibility. The best site I found that states it most clearly is as follows:

What are the other requirements to be granted a waiver?

In addition to having a qualifying relative, an applicant to an HIV waiver must also:

* Demonstrate, that the danger to the public health of the United States created by his or her admission is minimal;

* Demonstrate that the possibility that the spread of the infection created by his or her admission to the United States is minimal; and

* Prove that there will be no cost incurred by any level of government agency of the United States without prior consent of that agency.

So as I stated in my original post I believe I have demonstrated all of the above and can only now pray the Lord works in the hearts of the DHS staff and they approve our waiver request!

Wacken is right. Usually for a waiver to be granted, it must be proven that failure to grant the waiver causes great hardship to the petitioner. If you had applied for a humanitarian visa, proving hardship for the beneficiary would be sufficient. However for marriage and other family based visas, you need to prove hardship for you, the petitioner. There have been cases where the adjudicator fully agreed there would be great hardship on the beneficiary for a ban to remain in place, but denied the request to lift the ban anyway. That is because beneficiary hardship is in itself not a reason to lift a ban as the ban was put in place usually due to the beneficiaries own actions. You may want to consider adding such documentation to your waiver letter as it is not unlikely they will deny it in its current form.

I did show hardship for me to move to Nigeria as I have diabetes and would need medical care not available to me in Nigeria. The interviewer and doctor told me that the most important thing is for me to show I will care for my husband if/when he gets sick and also that I have medical plan for his care when he gets here.

I thought it was that you had to prove undue hardship to the petitioner, not the beneficary.

Wacken is right. Usually for a waiver to be granted, it must be proven that failure to grant the waiver causes great hardship to the petitioner. If you had applied for a humanitarian visa, proving hardship for the beneficiary would be sufficient. However for marriage and other family based visas, you need to prove hardship for you, the petitioner. There have been cases where the adjudicator fully agreed there would be great hardship on the beneficiary for a ban to remain in place, but denied the request to lift the ban anyway. That is because beneficiary hardship is in itself not a reason to lift a ban as the ban was put in place usually due to the beneficiaries own actions. You may want to consider adding such documentation to your waiver letter as it is not unlikely they will deny it in its current form.

I thought it was that you had to prove undue hardship to the petitioner, not the beneficary.

Wacken is right. Usually for a waiver to be granted, it must be proven that failure to grant the waiver causes great hardship to the petitioner. If you had applied for a humanitarian visa, proving hardship for the beneficiary would be sufficient. However for marriage and other family based visas, you need to prove hardship for you, the petitioner. There have been cases where the adjudicator fully agreed there would be great hardship on the beneficiary for a ban to remain in place, but denied the request to lift the ban anyway. That is because beneficiary hardship is in itself not a reason to lift a ban as the ban was put in place usually due to the beneficiaries own actions. You may want to consider adding such documentation to your waiver letter as it is not unlikely they will deny it in its current form.

I did show hardship for me to move to Nigeria as I have diabetes and would need medical care not available to me in Nigeria. The interviewer and doctor told me that the most important thing is for me to show I will care for my husband if/when he gets sick and also that I have medical plan for his care when he gets here.

Hello, My husband is Nigerian and his medical exam tested positive for HIV. He submitted his medical waiver at the embassy and it is being forwarded to the USCIS office in Ghana Africa. We submitted evidence of medical insurance and income to pay for cost of treatment here in the U.S. and have secured a doctor who signed responsibility for his treatment and reporting to CDC and the health department signed for tracking of his medical care on the I I602 form. We sited hardship of his inability to get proper medical care in Nigeria for HIV related illness. His letter an mine showed our awareness of how his disease is transmitted, ways he can prevent infecting others and that he will present minimal risk of infecting anyone. Our letters discuss his cultural discrimination and shunning of HIV infected individuals in his country and his need to be here for family support and my willingness and our family here's willingness to take care of him throughout his illness. I am writing to see if anyone has gone through this process for HIV infection...not the other reasons for I601 waivers and how this process worked for them and were they ever denied for any reason? Please, any info will be helpful! I have searched the internet for days and only mention of denials are for other inadmissibility reasons not HIV and I'm wondering if that is a good sign that there's no discussion of denial in these cases?

Also, in a search of this site on topic of HIV i read where some UNINFORMED person wrote..."and if you have HIV then that's the end of it, you can't enter the U.S." PLEASE don't write something like this unless you have FACTS to support your statement! Isn't this site for information not assumptions? The interviewer will give the HIV positive person the waiver form at the interview and there IS hope! As of July 2008 Bush lifted the regulations with immigration services that denied immigrant admission into the U.S. due to HIV infection!!!!!!!!!!! And it is the ignorance of the public to the facts of how HIV is contracted that motivated the President to enlighten the immigration services to the myths that motivated public fear so that HIV positive foriegners are no longer discriminated against because of lack of public awareness of the risks of transmission of this disease. To be fully informed you can go to the CDC website and learn about the truth of HIV transmission. Ok, sorry I got on the soapbox about this, but that person's comment is just and example of statements made by under informed people that can cause unneeded stress to individuals already experiencing anguish and pain like you can't imagine...thanks so much for any helpful help that might assist us as we wait through this process. God bless....