§ 12.4 The Grounds of Inadmissibility

• Library: Rights of Foreign Nationals (OSBar) (2020 Ed.)

§ 12.4 THE GROUNDS OF INADMISSIBILITY

To be granted admission to the United States, a non-U.S. citizen must possess a passport and valid immigration documentation as described in § 12.3-1 to § 12.3-2. The applicant must also not be subject to any ground of inadmissibility codified at 8 USC § 1182. A detailed analysis of the various grounds of inadmissibility is beyond the scope of this chapter. The purpose of this section is to briefly describe some of the most common legal grounds on which individuals are found inadmissible and refused entry to the United States.

NOTE: The grounds of inadmissibility that apply to applicants for admission at the border are different from the legal grounds on which a non-U.S. citizen who is already in the United States may be deported. This part of the chapter addresses only the grounds of inadmissibility outlined in section 1182.

The INA sets forth many grounds for inadmissibility or ineli-gibility for admission to the United States. The general categories of inadmissibility include health issues, criminal activity, national security issues, being a public charge, lack of labor certification (if required), fraud and misrepresentation, prior removals from the United States (deportation), prior unlawful presence in the United States, and other miscellaneous bases. Certain grounds of inadmissibility may be waived. In some cases, exceptions are written into the law, and no waiver is required to overcome the inadmissibility, because the inadmissibility does not apply if the individual meets the exception. The main categories of inadmissibility are discussed in § 12.4-1 to § 12.4-7.

§ 12.4-1 Health

The following noncitizens are inadmissible on health-related grounds:

• Individuals with certain communicable diseases of public health significance, including (but not limited to) gonorrhea, syphilis, and active tuberculosis. (HIV/AIDS was previously but is no longer included.) 8 USC § 1182(a)(1)(A)(i).

• Individuals seeking admission as immigrants who have not completed required vaccinations (does not apply to those seeking admission as nonimmigrants). 8 USC § 1182(a)(1)(A)(ii).

• Those who have a physical or mental disorder associated with harmful behavior that may pose or has posed a threat, or who have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of harmful behavior that is likely to reoccur or lead to other harmful behavior. Harmful behavior is behavior that poses or has posed a threat to persons or property. 8 USC § 1182(a)(1)(A)(iii). A physical or mental disorder alone is generally not enough to bar admissibility; it must be accompanied by harmful behavior. While a single, simple conviction for driving under the influence of intoxicants is usually not enough to bar admissibility on criminal grounds (see § 12.4-2 to § 12.4-2(f)), it may be enough, combined with evidence of alcoholism, to bar admission on health-related grounds. Individuals seeking admission to the United States as immigrants must compete a full medical exam with a registered civil surgeon abroad.

NOTE: Answers provided to the civil surgeon (e.g., in response to questions about drinking habits or drug use) are not protected by patient-doctor confidentiality and go into the report that is kept sealed and provided to an immigration official at a POE or consular post abroad. After opening and reviewing the medical report, the immigration official may refuse an immigrant visa or entry to the United States if the official believes the

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