(a) Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Visas or Admission--Except as otherwiseprovided in this Act, aliens who are inadmissible under the following paragraphs are ineligible to receive visas and ineligible to be admitted to the United States: (1) Health-related grounds. (A) In general. Any alien (i) Who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services) to have a communicable disease of public health significance, which shall include infection with the etiologic agent for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, (ii) who seeks admission as an immigrant, or who seeks adjustment of status to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and who has failed to present documentation of having received vaccination against vaccine-preventable diseases, which shall include at least the following diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, polio, tetanus and diphtheria toxoids, pertussis, influenza type B and hepatitis B, and any other vaccinations against vaccine‑preventable diseases recommended by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, (iii) Who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in consultation with the Attorney General) (I) to have a physical or mental disorder and behavior associated with the disorder that may pose, or has posed, a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others, or (II) to have had a physical or mental disorder and a history of behavior associated with the disorder, which behavior has posed a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of the alien or others and which behavior is likely to recur or to lead to other harmful behavior, or (iv) Who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services) to be a drug abuser or addict, is inadmissible. (B) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of certain clauses of subparagraph (A), see subsection (g). (2) Criminal and related grounds. (A) Conviction of certain crimes. (i) In general. Except as provided in clause (ii), any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of (I) a crime involving moral turpitude (other than a purely political offense) or an attempt or conspiracy to commit such a crime, or (II) A violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)), is inadmissible. (ii) Exception. Clause (i) (I) shall not apply to an alien who committed only one crime if (I) the crime was committed when the alien was under 18 years of age, and the crime was committed (and the alien released from any confinement to a prison or correctional institution imposed for the crime) more than 5 years before the date of application for a visa or other documentation and the date of application for admission to the United States, or (II) the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted (or which the alien admits having committed or of which the acts that the alien admits having committed constituted the essential elements) did not exceed imprisonment for one year and, if the alien was convicted of such crime, the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months (regardless of the extent to which the sentence was ultimately executed). (B) Multiple criminal convictions. Any alien convicted of 2 or more offenses (other than purely political offenses), regardless of whether the conviction was in a single trial or whether the offenses arose from a single scheme of misconduct and regardless of whether the offenses involved moral turpitude, for which the aggregate sentences to confinement were 5 years or more is inadmissible. (C) Controlled substance traffickers. Any alien who the consular or immigration office knows or has reason to believe is or has been an illicit trafficker in any such controlled substance (or is or has been a knowing assister, abettor, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking in any such controlled substance, is inadmissible. (D) Prostitution and commercialized vice. Any alien who (i) Is coming to the United States solely, principally, or incidentally to engage in prostitution, or has engaged in prostitution within 10 years of the date of application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status, (ii) directly or indirectly procures or attempts to procure, or (within 10 years of the date of application for a visa, admission, or adjustment of status) procured or attempted to procure or to import, prostitutes or persons for the purpose of prostitution, or receives or (within such 10-year period) received, in whole or in part, the proceeds of prostitution, or (iii) Is coming to the United States to engage in any other unlawful commercialized vice, whether or not related to prostitution, is inadmissible. (E) Certain aliens involved in serious criminal activity who have asserted immunity from prosecution. Any alien (i) Who has committed in the United States at any time a serious criminal offense (as defined in section 101(h)), (ii) For whom immunity from criminal jurisdiction was exercised with respect to that offense, (iii) Who as a consequence of the offense and exercise of immunity has departed from the United States, and (iv) Who has not subsequently submitted fully to the jurisdiction of the court in the United States having jurisdiction with respect to that offense, is inadmissible. (F) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of certain subparagraphs of this paragraph, see subsection (h). (3) Security and related grounds. (A) In general. Any alien who a consular officer or the Attorney General knows, or has reasonable ground to believe, seeks to enter the United States to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in (1) Any activity (I) to violate any law of the United States relating to espionage or sabotage or (II) to violate or evade any law prohibiting the export from the United States of goods, technology, or sensitive information, (ii) any other unlawful activity, or (iii) any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to, or the control or overthrow of, the Government of the United States by force, violence, or other unlawful means, is inadmissible. (B) Terrorist activities. (i) In general. Any alien who (I) has engaged in a terrorist activity, (III) a consular officer or the Attorney General knows, or has reasonable ground to believe is engaged in or, is likely to engage after entry in any terrorist activity (as defined in clause (iii)), (III) has, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily harm, incited terrorist activity, (IV) is a representative (as defined in clause (iv)) of a foreign terrorist organization, as designated by the Secretary under section 219, or (V) is a member of a foreign terrorist organization, as designated by the Secretary under section 219, is inadmissible. An alien who is an officer, official, representative, or spokesman of the Palestine Liberation Organization is considered, for purposes of this Act, to be engaged in a terrorist activity. (ii) Terrorist activity defined. As used in this Act, the term "terrorist activity" means any activity which is unlawful under the laws of the place where it is committed (or which, if committed in the United States, would be unlawful under the laws of the United States or any State) and which involves any of the following: (I) The high-jacking or sabotage of any conveyance (including an aircraft, vessel, or vehicle). (II) The seizing or detaining, and threatening to kill, injure, or continue to detain, another individual in order to compel a third person (including a governmental organization) to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for the release of the individual seized or detained. (III) A violent attack upon an internationally protected person (as defined in section 1116(b)(4) of title 18, United States Code) or upon the liberty of such a person. (IV) An assassination. (V) The use of any (a) biological agent, chemical agent, or nuclear weapon or device, or (b) explosive or firearm (other than for mere personal monetary gain), with intent to endanger, directly or indirectly, the safety of one or more individuals or to cause substantial damage to property. (VI) A threat, attempt, or conspiracy to do any of the foregoing. (iii) Engage in terrorist activity defined. As used in this Act, the term "engage in terrorist activity" means to commit, in an individual capacity or as a member of an organization, an act of terrorist activity or an act which the actor knows, or reasonably should know, affords material support to any individual, organization, or government in conducting a terrorist activity at any time, including any of the following acts: (I) The preparation or planning of a terrorist activity. (II) The gathering of information on potential targets for terrorist activity. (III) The providing of any type of material support, including a safe house, transportation, communications, funds, false documentation or identification, weapons, explosives, or training, to any individual the actor knows or has reason to believe has committed or plans to commit a terrorist activity. (IV) The soliciting of funds or other things of value for terrorist activity or for any terrorist organization. (V) The solicitation of any individual for membership in a terrorist organization, terrorist government, or to engage in a terrorist activity. (iv) Representative defined. As used in this paragraph, the term "representative" includes an officer, official, or spokesman of an organization, and any person who directs, counsels, commands, or induces an organization or its members to engage in terrorist activity. (C) Foreign policy. (i) In general. An alien whose entry or proposed activity in the United States the Secretary of State has reasonable ground to believe would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States is inadmissible. (ii) Exception for officials. An alien who is an official of a foreign government or a purported government, or who is a candidate for election to a foreign government office during the period immediately preceding the election for that office, shall not be excludable or subject to restrictions or conditions on entry into the United States under clause (i) solely because of the alien's past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations, if such beliefs, statements, or associations would be lawful within the United States. (iii) Exception for other aliens. An alien, not described in clause (ii), shall not be excludable or subject to restrictions or conditions on entry into the United States under clause (i) because of the alien's past, current, or expected beliefs, statements, or associations, if such beliefs, statements, or associations would be lawful within the United States, unless the Secretary of State personally determines that the alien's admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest. (iv) Notification of determinations. If a determination is made under clause (iii) with respect to an alien, the Secretary of State must notify on a timely basis the chairmen of the Committees on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and of the Committees on the Judiciary and Foreign Relations of the Senate of the identity of the alien and the reasons for the determination. (D) Immigrant membership in totalitarian party. (i) In general. Any immigrant who is or has been a member of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party (or subdivision or affiliate thereof), domestic or foreign is inadmissible. (ii) Exception for involuntary membership. Clause (i) shall not apply to an alien because of membership or affiliation if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer when applying for a visa (or to the satisfaction of the Attorney General when applying for admission) that the membership or affiliation is or was involuntary, or is or was solely when under 16 years of age, by operation of law, or for purposes of obtaining employment, food rations, or other essentials of living and whether necessary for such purposes. (iii) Exception for past membership. Clause (i) shall not apply to an alien because of membership or affiliation if the alien establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer when applying for a visa (or to the satisfaction of the Attorney General when applying for admission) that (I) the membership or affiliation terminated at least (a) 2 years before the date of such application, or (b) 5 years before the date of such application, in the case of an alien whose membership or affiliation was with the party controlling the government of a foreign state that is a totalitarian dictatorship as of such date, and (II) the alien is not a threat to the security of the United States. (iv) Exception for close family members The Attorney General may, in the Attorney General's discretion, waive the application of clause (i) in the case of an immigrant who is the parent, spouse, son, daughter, brother, or sister of a citizen of the United States or a spouse, son, or daughter of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest if the immigrant is not a threat to the security of the United States. (E) Participants in Nazi persecutions or genocide. (i) Participation in Nazi persecutions. Any alien who, during the period beginning on March 23, 1933, and ending on May 8, 1945, under the direction of, or in association with (I) the Nazi government of Germany, (II) any government in any area occupied by the military forces of the Nazi government of Germany, (III) any government established with the assistance or cooperation of the Nazi government of Germany, or (IV) any government which was an ally of the Nazi government of Germany, ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person because of race, religion, national origin, or political opinion is inadmissible. (ii) Participation in genocide. Any alien who has engaged in conduct that is defined as genocide for purposes of the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide is inadmissible. (4) Public charge. (A) In general. Any alien who, in the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application for a visa, or in the opinion of the Attorney General at the time of application for admission or adjustment of status, is likely at any time to become a public charge is excludable [inadmissible]. (B) Factors to be taken into account. (i) In determining whether an alien is excludable [inadmissible] under this paragraph, the consular officer or the Attorney General shall at a minimum consider the alien's (I) age; (II) health; (III) family status; (IV) assets, resources, and financial status; and (V) education and skills. (ii) In addition to the factors under clause (i), the consular officer or the Attorney General may also consider any affidavit of support under section 213A for purposes of exclusion under this paragraph. (C) Family-sponsored immigrants. Any alien who seeks admission or adjustment of status under a visa number issued under section 201(b)(2) or 203(a) is excludable [inadmissible] under this paragraph unless (i) the alien has obtained (I) status as a spouse or a child of a United States citizen pursuant to clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of Section 204(a)(1)(A), or (II) classification pursuant to clause (ii) or (iii) of section 204(a)(1)(B); or (ii) the person petitioning for the alien's admission (including any additional sponsor required under section 213A(f)) has executed an affidavit of support described in section 213A with respect to such alien. (D) Certain employment-based immigrant. Any alien who seeks admission or adjustment of status under a visa number issued under section 203(b) by virtue of a classification petition filed by a relative of the alien (or by an entity in which such relative has a significant ownership interest) is excludable under this paragraph unless such relative has executed an affidavit of support described in section 213A with respect to such alien. (5) Labor certification and qualifications for certain immigrants. (A) Labor certification. (i) In general. Any alien who seeks to enter the United States for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor is inadmissible, unless the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General that (I) there are not sufficient workers who are able, willing, qualified (or equally qualified in the case of an alien described in clause (ii)) and available at the time of application for a visa and admission to the United States and at the place where the alien is to perform such skilled or unskilled labor, and (II) the employment of such alien will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed. (ii) Certain aliens subject to special rule. For purposes of clause (i)(I), an alien described in this clause is an alien who (I) is a member of the teaching profession, or (II) has exceptional ability in the sciences or arts. (iii) Professional athletes. (I) In general. A certification made under clause (i) with respect to a professional athlete shall remain valid with respect to the athlete after the athlete changes employer, if the new employer is a team in the same sport as the team which employed the athlete when the athlete first applied for the certification. (II) Definition. For purposes of sub clause (1), the term "professional athlete" means an individual who is employed as an athlete by (aa) a team that is a member of an association of 6 or more professional sports teams whose total combined revenues exceed $10,000,000 per year, if the association governs the conduct of its members and regulates the contests and exhibitions in which its member teams regularly engage; or (bb) any minor league team that is affiliated with such an association. (B) Unqualified physicians. An alien who is a graduate of a medical school not accredited by a body or bodies approved for the purpose by the Secretary of Education (regardless of whether such school of medicine is in the United States) and who is coming to the United States principally to perform services as a member of the medical profession is inadmissible, unless the alien (i) has passed parts I and II of the National Board of Medical Examiners Examination (or an equivalent examination as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services) and (ii) is competent in oral and written English. For purposes of the previous sentence, an alien who is a graduate of a medical school shall be considered to have passed parts I and 11 of the National Board of Medical Examiners if the alien was fully and permanently licensed to practice medicine in a State on January 9, 1978, and was practicing medicine in a State on that date. (C) Uncertified foreign health-care workers. Any alien who seeks to enter the United States for the purpose of performing labor as a health-care worker, other than a physician, is inadmissible unless the alien presents to the consular officer, or, in the case, of an adjustment of status, the Attorney General, a certificate from the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools, or a certificate from an equivalent independent credentialing organization approved by the Attorney General in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, verifying that (i) the alien's education, training, license, and experience (I) meet all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements for entry into the United States under the classification specified in the application; (II) are comparable with that required for an American health-care worker of the same type; and (III) are authentic and, in the case of a license, unencumbered; (ii) the alien has the level of competence in oral and written English considered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to be appropriate for health care work of the kind in which the alien will be engaged, as shown by an appropriate score on one or more nationally recognized, commercially available, standardized assessments of the applicant's ability to speak and write; and (iii) if a majority of States licensing the profession in which the alien intends to work recognizes a test predicting the success on the profession's licensing or certification examination, the alien has passed such a test or has passed such an examination. For purposes of clause (ii), determination of the standardized tests required and of the minimum scores that are appropriate are within the sole discretion of the Secretary of Health and Human Services and are not subject to further administrative or judicial review. (D) Application of grounds. The grounds of inadmissibility of aliens under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall apply to immigrants seeking admission or adjustment of status under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 203(b). (6) Illegal entrants and immigration violators. (A) Aliens present without admission or parole. (i) In general. An alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General, is inadmissible. (ii) Exception for certain battered women and children. Clause (i) shall not apply to an alien who demonstrates that (I) the alien qualifies for immigrant status under subparagraph (A)(iii), (A)(iv), (B)(ii), or (13)(iii) of section 204(a)(1), (II) (a) the alien has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a spouse or parent, or by a member of the spouse's or parent's family residing in the same household as the alien and the spouse or parent consented or acquiesced to such battery or cruelty, or (b) the alien's child has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a spouse or parent of the alien (without the active participation of the alien in the battery or cruelty) or by a member of the spouse's or parent's family residing in the same household as the alien when the spouse or parent consented to or acquiesced in such battery or cruelty and the alien did not actively participate in such battery or cruelty, and (III) there was a substantial connection between the battery or cruelty described in sub-clause (I) or (II) and the alien's unlawful entry into the United States. (B) Failure to attend removal proceeding. Any alien who without reasonable cause fails or refuses to attend or remain in attendance at a proceeding to determine the alien's inadmissibility or deportability and who seeks admission to the United States within 5 years of such alien's subsequent departure or removal is inadmissible. (C) Misrepresentation. (i) In general. Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure (or has sought to procure or has procured) a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible. (ii) Falsely claiming citizenship. Any alien who falsely represents, or has falsely represented, himself or herself to be a citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit under this Act (including section 274A) or any other Federal or State Law is inadmissible. (iii) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i), see subsection (i). (D) Stowaways. Any alien who is a stowaway is inadmissible. (E) Smugglers. (i) In general. Any alien who at any time knowingly has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided any other alien to enter or to try to enter the United States in violation of law is inadmissible. (ii) Special rule in the case of family reunification. Clause (i) shall not apply in the case of alien who is an eligible immigrant (as defined in section 301(b)(1) of the Immigration Act of 1990), was physically present in the United States on May 5, 1988, and is seeking admission as an immediate relative or under section 203(a)(2) (including under section 112 of the Immigration Act of 1990) or benefits under section 301(a) of the Immigration Act of 1990 if the alien, before May 5, 1988, has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided only the alien's spouse, parent, son, or daughter (and no other individual) to enter the United States in violation of law. (iii) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i), see subsection (d) (11). (F) Subject of civil penalty. (i) In general. An alien who is the subject of a final order for violation of section 274C is inadmissible. (ii) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i), see subsection (d)(12). (G) Student visa abusers. An alien who obtains the status of a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(F)(i) and who violates a term or condition of such status under section 214(l) is excludable until the alien has been outside the United States for a continuous period of 5 years after the date of the violation. (7) Documentation requirements. (A) Immigrants. (i) In general. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act, any immigrant at the time of application for admission (I) who is not in possession of a valid un-expired immigrant visa, reentry permit, border crossing identification card, or other valid entry document required by this Act, and a valid un-expired passport, or other suitable travel document, or document of identity and nationality if such document is required under the regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 211(a), or (II) whose visa has been issued without compliance with the provisions of section 203, is inadmissible. (ii) Waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i), see subsection (k). (B) Nonimmigrant. (i) In general. Any nonimmigrant who (1) is not in possession of a passport valid for a minimum of six months from the date of the expiration of the initial period of the alien's admission or contemplated initial period of stay authorizing the alien to return to the country from which the alien came or to proceed to and enter some other country during such period, or (II) is not in possession of a valid nonimmigrant visa or border crossing identification card at the time of application for admission, is inadmissible. (ii) General waiver authorized. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i), see subsection (d) (4). (iii) Guam visa waiver. For provision authorizing waiver of clause (i) in the case of visitors to Guam, see subsection (1). (iv) Visa waiver pilot program. For authority to waive the requirement of clause (i) under a pilot program, see section 217. (8) Ineligible for citizenship. (A) In general. Any immigrant who is permanently ineligible to citizenship is inadmissible. (B) Draft evaders. Any person who has departed from or who has remained outside the United States to avoid or evade training or service in the armed forces in time of war or a period declared by the President to be a national emergency is inadmissible, except that this subparagraph shall not apply to an alien who at the time of such departure was a nonimmigrant and who is seeking to reenter the United States as a nonimmigrant. (9) Aliens previously removed. (A) Certain alien previously removed. (i) Arriving aliens. Any alien who has been ordered removed under section 235(b) (1) or at the end of proceedings under section 240 initiated upon the alien's arrival in the United States and who again seeks admission within 5 years of the date of such removal (or within 20 years in the case of a second or subsequent removal or at any time in the case of an alien convicted of an aggravated felony) is inadmissible. (ii) Other aliens. Any alien not described in clause (i) who (I) has been ordered removed under section 240 or any other provision of law, or (II) departed the United States while an order of removal was outstanding, and who seeks admission within 10 years of the date of such alien's departure or removal (or within 20 years of such date in the case of a second or subsequent removal or at any time in the case of an alien convicted of an aggravated felony) is inadmissible. (iii) Exception. Clauses (i) and (ii) shall not apply to an alien seeking admission within a period if, prior to the date of the alien's re-embarkation at a place outside the United States or attempt to be admitted from foreign contiguous territory, the Attorney General has consented to the alien's reapplying for admission. (B) Alien unlawfully present. (i) In general. Any alien (other than an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence) who (I) was unlawfully present in the United States for a period of more than 180 days but less than 1 year, voluntarily departed the United States (whether or not pursuant to section 244(e)) prior to the commencement of proceedings under section 235(b)(1) or section 240, and again seeks admission within 3 years of the date of such alien's departure or removal, or
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