Testing Requirements for Entry into Foreign Countries
An increasing number of countries require that foreigners be tested
for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) prior to entry. This is
particularly true for students or long-term visitors. The following
list of country requirements is based on information available as of
November 1994 and is subject to change. Before traveling abroad, check
with the embassy of the country to be visited to learn entry
requirements and specifically whether or not AIDS testing is a
requirement. If the list indicates U.S. test results are acceptable
"under certain conditions" in a particular country, prospective
travelers should inquire at the embassy of that country for details
(i.e., which laboratories in the United States may perform tests and
where to have results certified and authenticated) before departing the
United States.
Country Test Required For U.S. Test Accepted?
Australia All applicants for permanent Yes*
residence age 15 and over. All
other applicants who require
medical examinations are tested
if it is indicated on clinical
grounds.
Bahrain Foreign workers in certain No, testing performed
job categories, i.e. hotel on arrival
staff, hair dressers, etc.
Belize All applicants for residency Yes*
permits
British Virgin Anyone staying more than 6 Yes
Islands months and applicants for
work permits
Bulgaria May be required for any No
foreigner staying longer than one
month for purposes of study
or work and all intending immigrants
China, People's Those staying more than 6 Yes, under certain
Republic of months conditions*
Colombia Anyone suspected of being HIV N/A
positive will not be admitted
Cuba All foreigners, excluding No
diplomats, staying 90 days
or longer
Cyprus All foreigners working or No
studying
Dominican Republic Foreigners seeking No
residency
Egypt All foreigners staying for Yes, under certain
more than 30 days conditions*
El Salvador All applicants for permanent No
residency over 18 years
Estonia Foreigners seeking Yes, under certain
residency or work permits conditions*
Germany, Federal Applicants for residence No
Republic of permits staying over 180 days
(Bavaria only) in Bavaria
Greece Woman intending to work Yes, under certain
in entertainment centers conditions*
Hungary Anyone staying over 1 year, Yes, under certain
and all intending immigrants conditions*
(some employers may
require workers to be tested)
India All students over 18, anyone Test must be taken
between the ages of 18 and within 30 days of
70 with a visa valid for one arrival*
year or more and anyone
extending a stay to a year or
more, excluding accredited
journalists and those
working in foreign missions
Iraq Anyone staying over 5 days Yes, under certain
(Failure to have the test conditions* (To avoid
done will result in a fine up to $330 fee have test
$1600.) done in the U.S.
before departing.)
Kazakhstan Workers and students staying Yes, under certain
over 3 months and anyone conditions*
seeking residency
Korea Foreigners working as enter- Yes
tainers staying over 90 days
and foreign athletes who are
members of Korean teams
Kuwait Those planning to obtain No
residence permits
Lebanon Those planning to live or No*
work
Libya Those seeking residence Yes
permits, excluding official
visitors
Lithuania Applicants for permanent Yes, under certain
residence permits conditions*
Malaysia Foreigners seeking work Yes, under certain
permits conditions*
Marshall Islands, Temporary visitors staying Yes, under certain
Republic of the more than 30 days, and conditions*
applicants for residence permits
Mauritius Foreigners planning to work Yes, under certain
or seek permanent residence conditions*
Mexico Applicants for permanent Yes, under certain
residence visas conditions*
Micronesia Anyone staying over 90 days Yes
(Federated
States of)
Montserrat University students and appli- Yes, under certain
cants for work and residency conditions*
Oman Those newly-employed by No
private sector companies and
upon renewal of work permit
Papua Anyone planning to work Yes
New Guinea or seeking residency
Paraguay Applicants for temporary Yes, under certain
or permanent resident status conditions*
Philippines Applicants for permanent Yes
resident visas
Russia All foreign visitors (pending No*
legislation)
Saudi Arabia Applicants for residency/work Yes
permits
St. Kitts and Nevis
Students, intending immigrants Yes, under certain
and those seeking employment conditions*
Singapore Workers who earn less than No
$945 per month
Syria Those seeking residency and No
anyone wishing to marry a Syrian
national in Syria
Taiwan Applicants for residence and work Yes, under certain
permits (may also be required for conditions*
those extending visitor visas)
Turks and Caicos Islands
Foreign workers (testing is No
part of medical exam that is
required for work permits)
United Arab Applicants for work or No, testing preformed
Emirates residence permits on arrival
Ukraine Anyone staying longer than Yes, under certain
3 months conditions*
*Check with the embassy or representative office in Washington, D.C. for
detailed requirements.
Prepared by the Bureau of Consular Affairs
Public Affairs and Policy Coordination Staff
December 1994
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Immigration numbers
title
a(a(DEPARTMENT OF STATE
VISA BULLETIN NO 50, VOLUME VII: DIVERSITY IMMIGRATION
BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS
United States Department of State
Bureau of Consular Affairs
Number 50 Volume VII Washington, D.C.
____________________________________________
IMMIGRANT VISA AVAILABILITY IN THE DIVERSITY IMMIGRANT (DV)
CATEGORY FOR THE REMAINDER OF FISCAL YEAR 1995
Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
authorizes 55,000 immigrant visas each fiscal year (beginning with FY-1995) to provide immigration opportunities for persons from countries other than the principal sources of current immigration to the United
States. These "Diversity" (DV) visas are divided among six geographic
regions. Not more than 3,850 visas (7% of the 55,000 visa limit) may be
provided to immigrants from any one country.
The allotment of FY-1995 visa numbers for each region is as
follows:
Africa, 20,200;
Asia, 6,837;
Europe, 24,549;
North America (Bahamas), 8;
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, 2,589;
and Oceania, 817.
Entitlement to immigrant status in the DV category lasts only
through the end of the fiscal (visa) year for which the applicant is
selected in the annual visa lottery. The year of entitlement for all
applicants registered for Fiscal (visa) Year 1995 ends as of September
30, 1995, and their lottery registration will confer no benefit after
that date.As with earlier lotteries, to permit DV visas to be made
available to the limits, substantially more persons have been registered
than there are visas, since many applicants are liable not to pursue
their visa case. DV numbers available for allocation each month have been provided in order of lottery rank to applicants reported documentarily qualified to the Department of State for allocation. Allocation cut-offs were established when visa demand was in excess of the supply of available numbers.
DV visa availability determinations are being made three
months in advance, as compared to one month in advance for preference
immigrant categories. Thus, DV determinations have already been made
not only for May, but for June and July as well. Those determinations are listed below.
Diversity Immigrant Numbers for May, June and July 1995
For MAY, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available
to qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible countries as
follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas are
available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
All DV Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA AF 21,953 EXCEPT: ETHIOPIA 14,695
NIGERIA 17,455
ASIA AS 04,293 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 02,292
EUROPE Current EXCEPT: POLAND (see note 1 below)
NORTH AMERICA (see note 2 below)
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA OC 00,564
SOUTH AMERICA, SA 02,536
CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN
For JUNE, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available
to qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible
countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas
are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank
numbers BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
All DV Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA AF 21,956 EXCEPT: ETHIOPIA 19,539
NIGERIA 18,250
ASIA AS 04,296 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 03,233
EUROPE Current EXCEPT: POLAND (see note 1 below)
NORTH AMERICA (see note 2 below)
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA OC 00,564
CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN
For JULY, immigrant numbers in the DV category are available
to qualified applicants chargeable to all regions/eligible
countries as follows. When an allocation cut-off number is shown, visas
are available only for applicants with DV regional lottery rank
numbers
BELOW the specified allocation cut-off number:
All DV Charge-
ability Areas
Except Those
Region Listed Separately
AFRICA AF 26,931 EXCEPT: ETHIOPIA 25,440
NIGERIA 24,319
ASIA AS 05,721 EXCEPT: BANGLADESH AS 04,733
EUROPE Current EXCEPT: POLAND (see note 1 below)
NORTH AMERICA (see note 2 below)
(BAHAMAS)
OCEANIA OC 00,075
SOUTH AMERICA, SA 02,843
CENTRAL AMERICA, and the CARIBBEAN
NOTE 1: Visas have already been made available for FY-
1995 to the Poland limit (3,850). At present there are no numbers
available for this country. Further allocations will be possible only to the extent that numbers already made available are returned unused and can then be reallocated. When the May DV allocations were initially
made, Diversity visa numbers were provided for Poland applicants with lottery rank numbers below 1,314. Applicants for whom numbers were
allocated were scheduled for visa interviews and sent notification letters by the National Visa Center. Such scheduled visa interviews are not affected by the unavailability of further allocations, but if final
action on such cases is not taken during the month for which a visa
number has been allocated, there is no assurance that a further
allocation will be possible in the future. No Poland numbers were allocated or appointments scheduled for June or July.
NOTE 2: Visas have already been made available for FY-
1995 to the North America limit (8). At present further North America DV allocations are "Unavailable". Some North America numbers made available to consular offices may be returned unused to the Department of State at the end of the month of allocation; such numbers would then be available for reallocation. It is not likely that the amount of such numbers will be very great, however.
DV Number Allocations for the Remainder of FY-1995
July is the first month of the final quarter of Fiscal (visa)
Year 1995, which ends on September 30. By the time that DV allocations
for July (based on the visa availability cut-offs noted above) were
made, applicant demand was sufficient for numbers to have reached
the FY-1995 limits in five of the DV regions: Africa, Asia, North
America, Oceania, and South America. The amount of numbers remaining for July allocation was sufficient to permit only those documentarily qualified applicants to be accommodated whose rank numbers were below the cut-offs indicated. In the Europe region applicant demand was less than the total of numbers available, however. Thus, Europe allocations are shown as "current" for July, with a balance of numbers remaining for use during the latter months of FY-1995.
In addition, DV allocations for four countries have reached
the 3,850 per-country limit: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and
Poland. Applicant demand in excess of the per-country limit has
oversubscribed DV allocations for those countries, and visa availability for each is indicated separately from that of the regions in which they
are located.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT DV VISA NUMBERS HAVE ALREADY
BEEN ALLOCATED FOR ALL ENTITLED APPLICANTS WHO HAD BEEN REPORTED
DOCUMENTARILY QUALIFIED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE IN ADVANCE OF THE
SETTING OF THE CUT-OFFS FOR THE RESPECTIVE MONTHS INDICATED ABOVE. THUS, NUMBERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE AVAILABLE FOR EVERY APPLICANT WHO HAS BEEN SCHEDULED FOR A VISA INTERVIEW AT A CONSULAR OFFICE DURING MAY, JUNE OR JULY. CASE PROCESSING FOR APPLICANTS WHO ARE SENT DV VISA
APPOINTMENT LETTERS ARE NOT DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE LIMITS FOR THE YEAR HAVING BEEN REACHED. SUCH APPLICANTS WHO WHICH TO OBTAIN DV VISAS SHOULD APPEAR FOR THEIR SCHEDULED VISA INTERVIEW. AS LONG AS THEY PRESENT ALL OF THE REQUIRED VISA DOCUMENTATION TO THE CONSULAR OFFICER AT THAT TIME AND THEY ARE DETERMINED TO MEET THE VISA ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS, THEIR VISAS CAN BE ISSUED. APPLICANTS SCHEDULED FOR CONSULAR INTERVIEW WHO DO NOT KEEP THEIR APPOINTMENT RISK A VERY UNCERTAIN PROSPECT FOR RESCHEDULING TO A LATER MONTH SINCE THE EXTENT TO WHICH FUTURE DV ALLOCATIONS MIGHT BE POSSIBLE IS NOT KNOWN.
DV NUMBERS HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE AVAILABLE AS WELL TO INS
OFFICES FOR MANY APPLICANTS SEEKING ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS WHOSE CASES ARE
SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION DURING MAY, JUNE OR JULY, AS LONG AS THEIR
CASE RANK NUMBER IS WITHIN THE RESPECTIVE ALLOCATION CUT-OFF FOR THOSE
MONTHS. SUCH CASES MAY ALSO BE PROCESSED TO COMPLETION IF THE
APPLICANTS ARE OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE.
In all DV regions other than Europe (for which there are
still DV numbers available for allocation) and for the DV
oversubscribed countries noted above, FUTURE allocations will necessarily depend upon the extent to which numbers already made available are returned unused to the Department of State for reallocation. All visa numbers are allocated for use during a specified month; at the end of such month, standard procedures call for any numbers which have not been used for issuance to be returned to the Department of State. Any August or September DV allocations will be possible only on the basis of such returned numbers. While it is probable that there will be some unused numbers returned for reallocation, the extent of such returns cannot be known in advance. It is thus not possible at present to offer any prediction on the prospects of DV visa availability for August and September. Heavy demand within the Europe region could in future make necessary the establishment of a rank cut-off there also. Applicants cannot take future DV visa availability for granted even in Europe, or assume that visas will be available through September. Completion of DV cases as promptly as possible is to the advantage of all applicants.APRIL 1995
(###)
Medical tips
title
Medical Information for Americans Traveling Abroad
(Consular Affairs Topics)
If an American becomes seriously ill or injured abroad, a U. S. consular
officer, when notified of the problem, can assist in locating appropriate
medical services and help in informing the next-of-kin, family or friends.
If necessary, a consular officer can also assist in the transfer
of funds from the United States, but payment of hospital and other
expenses is your responsibility.
Before going abroad, learn what medical services your health insurance
will cover overseas. If your health insurance policy provides coverage
outside the United States, REMEMBER to carry both your insurance
policy identity card as proof of such insurance and a claim form.
Although many health insurance companies will pay "customary and
reasonable" hospital costs abroad, very few will pay for your medical
evacuation back to the United States which can easily cost $5,000
and up, depending on your location and medical condition.
THE SOCIAL SECURITY MEDICARE PROGRAM DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR PAYMENT OF HOSPITAL
OR MEDICAL SERVICES OUTSIDE THE U.S.A.
The American Association of Retired Persons offers foreign medical
care coverage at no extra charge with its Medicare supplement plans.
This coverage is restricted to treatments considered eligilble under
Medicare. In general, it covers 80% of the "customary and reasonable"
charges, subject to a $50 deductible for the covered care during
the first 60 days. There is a ceiling of $25,000 per trip. This
is a reimbursement plan so you must pay the bills first and obtain
receipts for submission to the plan.
To facilitate identification in case of an accident, complete the
information page on the inside of your passport providing the name,
address and telephone number of someone to be contacted in an emergency.
The name given should not be the same as your traveling companions
in case the entire party is involved in the same accident.
Travelers going abroad with any preexisting medical problems should
carry a letter from their attending physician. The letter should
describe their condition and include information on any prescription
medications, including the generic name of any prescribed drugs,
that they need to take. Any medications being carried overseas should
be left in their original containers and be clearly labeled. Travelers
should check with the foreign embassy of the country they are visiting
to make sure any required medications are not considered to be illegal
narcotics.
A listing of addresses and telephone numbers of U.S. embassies and
consulates abroad is contained in "Key Officers of Foreign Service
Posts." This booklet may be obtained through the Superintendent
of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402,
for $1.75 (Publication No. 7877). An annual global rundown of disease
and immunization advice and other health guidance, including risks
in particular countries, by the Centers for Disease Control may also
be obtained from the Government Printing Office in "Health Information
for International Travelers" (Publication No. HHS-CDC 90-8280, $5.00
). The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta also maintains a travelers
hotline that can be reached by calling 404-332-4559.
For detailed information on physicians abroad, the authoritative
reference is the "Directory of Medical Specialists" published for
the American Board of Medical Specialists and its 22 certifying member
boards. This publication should be available in your local library.
If abroad, a list of hospitals and physicians can be obtained from
the nearest American embassy or consulate.
A number of countries require foreign visitors to be tested for the
AIDS virus as a requirement for entry. This applies mostly to those
planning to reside overseas. Before traveling, check the latest
entry requirements with the foreign embassy of the country to be
visited. A listing of "Foreign Entry Requirements" is available
for 50 cents from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009.
The Citizens Emergency Center maintains a travel notice on HIV/AIDS
entry requirements. Call 202-647-5225 to obtain these requirements.
Several private organizations will provide medical information and
insurance for overseas travelers. The following is provided FOR
INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and in no way constitutes an endorsement,
expressed or implied, by the Department of State:
PUBLISHED MEDICAL INFORMATION
BOOKS: How to Stay Healthy Abroad, Dr. Richard Dawood, Penguin
U.S.A., P.O. Box 999, Bergenfield, NJ 07621
How To Stay Healthy While Traveling: A Guide For Today's World
Traveler by Bob Young, M.D., Box 567, Dept. 2, Santa Barbara, CA 93102
DIABETES TRAVEL SERVICES, INC., 39 East 52nd Street, New York, NY
10022 - Worldwide information on diabetic treatments and physicians.
EMERGENCY MEDICAL PAYMENT AND INFORMATION SERVICES c/o your nearest
American Express Office. Available to American Express CARDHOLDERS ONLY:
1) A directory of "U.S. Certified Doctors Abroad" (Price: $3.00)
2) A health insurance plan is available through the Firemens Fund
Life Insurance Company, 1600 Los Gamos Rd., San Raphael, CA 94911,
Attention: American Express Card Service.
IAMAT, 736 Center Street, Lewiston, NY 14092 Phone 716-754-4883
International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers: A
medical directory, clinical record, and a malaria risk chart are
sent without charge; however, a contribution is requested for World