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  The United States bars certain people from entering the country under Section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The United States denies people entry into the United States for a number of reasons including having a criminal record, previously overstaying a visa, having certain health or mental health problems, human smuggling or belonging to a totalitarian political party. Regardless, potential immigrants with such a background can obtain a waiver to enter the country to visit or begin the process of becoming a citizen.
  
  

Waivers

• The United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), an office of the Department of Homeland Security, handles waiver requests. Potential immigrants seeking a waiver use form I-601, available on the USCIS website, and must supply supporting documentation to support their waiver request. The filing fee totals $545. Officials from USCIS review these forms and grant waivers, typically if the applicant poses no threat to the country or denial would cause extreme hardship for the individual or family. The USCIS processes most waivers in about four months, but waivers filed in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, can take up to 15 months to process.
  
  

Health Problems

• The USCIS requires a waiver for people with certain types of diseases. According to the I-601 instruction form, these diseases include tuberculosis, leprosy, gonorrhea, syphilis, chancroid, granuloma inguinale, and lymphogranuloma venerum. The Secretary of Health and Human Services may add other communicable diseases to this list. HHS removed HIV/AIDS from the list effective Jan. 4, 2010. In addition, people who suffer from mental or physical disorders that could be harmful to others must request a waiver to enter the country.
  
  

Overstaying Visas

• A person will also need a waiver for previously residing in the United States illegally. Anyone overstaying a visa for 180 days may not reenter the United States for three years. The ban increases to ten years for overstaying a visa by one year. In addition, anyone who has previously been deported for any other reason needs a waiver to reenter the country.
  
  

Criminal Convictions

• Immigration officials typically deny entry to anyone convicted of a crime. Such people can apply for a waiver for certain things like prostitution or other vice crime, possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana, two or more convictions for non-political crimes resulting in five or more years imprisonment, and crimes involving "moral turpitude." In addition, convictions for human smuggling and immigration fraud require a waiver to enter the country.
  
  

Totalitarian Parties

• Finally, members of totalitarian parties, such as the Communist Party, need to request a waiver to enter the United States. These applicants must have close family in the United States or be engaged to a citizen and not pose a threat to the country.
  
  

Considerations

• These restrictions also apply to people who simply want to visit the United States. The Berardi Immigration Law firm of Buffalo and Toronto, which handles immigration issues from Canada, suggests that anyone in doubt apply for a waiver to minimize problems at the border.