The Trump administration ordered immigration authorities to consider foreigners with health problems such as obesity or advanced age, who may represent a public burden to the country, as ineligible for an immigrant visa, according to KFF Health News.
The United States Department of State sent the new guideline to embassy and consulate officials in which they expanded the list of medical conditions that would make a foreigner seeking to reside in the country ineligible.
While the U.S. has mandated health screenings for immigrant visa applicants for decades, the new guidance specifically instructs that “the health of the applicant must be considered,” according to the order cited by KFF, a health news organization.
The guideline urges visa officials to consider conditions such as obesity, which it says can cause asthma, sleep apnea and hypertension, or diabetes, among other conditions, to deny the application.
“All of these conditions may require expensive and prolonged medical care,” the measure states.
Additionally, officials are instructed to determine whether applicants have the resources to afford medical treatment without assistance from the U.S. government.
Since his first Administration, Trump and his advisors have insisted on denying permanent residency to people who could become a public charge.
The Administration of former President Joe Biden (2021-2025) had repealed several of the new rules issued in the Republican’s first government on public charge, which the White House is now resuming as part of its immigration policy.
The new order also seeks to consider a person ineligible to enter the United States who, due to their age, may be more likely to depend on social assistance.
The guidance also urges consideration of the health of family members, including applicants’ children and elderly parents.
