US visa news: Trump admin may deny visa to obese, diabetic immigrants. Here's what we know
The Visa officers at embassy and consular have been reportedly also directed to determine if applicants who are obese, diabetic or have cardiovascular diseases, have the means to pay for medical treatment without help from the US government.
After increasing the H-1B visa fee to $100,000, the Trump administration may now reject visas of foreigners seeking to live in America if they are diabetic or obese.
Though there is no official announcement or confirmation by the US authorities, the guidance, seen by KFF Health News, issued in a cable from State Department to embassy and consular officials, listed grounds to reject visas.
The report said that the guidance directed visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the US for several new reasons, including age and health grounds such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions.
The visa officers have also been encouraged to consider other conditions, like obesity — which can cause asthma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure, in their assessment of whether an immigrant could become a public charge and therefore should be denied entry into the US.
The officers have also been directed to identify if the applicant has adequate financial resources to cover the costs.
“Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense?” cable reads.
Meanwhile, in another development, the Trump administration has launched a probe into 175 potential abuses of the visa programme.
The Department of Labor (DOL) launched Project Firewall in September soon after the administration imposed a $100,000 one-time fee on H-1B visa petitions.
“As part of our mission to protect American Jobs, we’ve launched 175 investigations into H-1B abuse. Under @POTUS and @SecretaryLCD’s leadership, we’ll continue taking action to put American Workers FIRST,” said the Department of Labor (DOL) in a post on X.
Last month, the administration also ended the automatic extension of work permits for foreign non-immigrant workers, a move that is likely to impact Indians as well.
The new rules ending the practice of automatically extending the validity of employment authorisation documents (EADs) for foreign workers in certain categories came into effect from Thursday.