Washington (SmartAboutHealth) - The United States will once again allow people who are HIV positive to enter the country after a ban was put in place, sparking a great deal of criticism from the rest of the world.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention together announced the lifting of the ban today, opening the United States up once again to HIV positive foreigners.

This means that tourists, businessmen and women, as well as foreign nationals and others who are HIV positive will once again be able to visit the U.S.

Prior to this move, the U.S. was one of 13 countries banning people who were HIV-positive.

The new ruling went into effect on Monday, as Visas issued will no longer publicly state whether or not someone has HIV.

HIV testing will no longer be required during the U.S. immigration medical screening process.

Advocates for those with HIV were pleased with the news to say the very least, as this was said to cause the splitting of families.