The State Department allows the denial of immigrant visas with certain medical conditions
Applicants for immigrant visas to the United States could be denied under a new State Department directive if they have certain medical conditions, the agency confirmed.
The policy would allow officers to deny visas to immigrants who are deemed to be dependent on public benefits if they have medical problems.
Sent to State Department employees via an internal cable, the guidance directs officials to consider both an applicant’s health and overall financial picture when deciding whether to issue a visa.
“Certain medical conditions — including, but not limited to, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancer, diabetes, metabolic disease, neurological disease and mental health conditions — can require hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of care,” Cable says.
“Does the applicant have sufficient financial resources to cover the cost of such care throughout his or her expected lifetime without requiring public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization?”
The directive appears to revive the first Trump administration’s “public charge” rule that sought to deny a green card to any immigrant who received at least one designated public benefit — including Medicaid, nutrition assistance, welfare or public housing vouchers — for more than 12 months in any three-year period.
Fox News first reported the development.
It comes amid a broader campaign by the Trump administration to keep immigrants from coming to the United States
“It’s no secret that the Trump administration is putting the interests of the American people first. That includes implementing policies that ensure our immigration system is not a burden on American taxpayers,” principal deputy press secretary Tommy Piggott said in a statement.
A medical examination is mandatory for all applicants for immigrant visas outside the United States and all refugees arriving in the United States. The new directive takes this further.
The cable instructed officers to “form their own thinking about what kind of medical emergency or what future medical expenses might be.”
State Department officials do not have medical training but are asked to consider a variety of factors when deciding whether to issue a visa, including financial and travel visa holders’ likelihood of returning to their home country, as well as any flags that may be flagged during criminal background checks.
Still, the measure opens the door to several rejections given the broad nature of some of the listed conditions.
About 10 percent of the world has diabetes, and 40 percent of Americans are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the World Health Organization, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.
A State Department official emphasized to The Hill that the decision to grant a visa has always been at the discretion of an official.
Officials are not being directed to reject an applicant because they have a specific medical condition, they said, but rather consider the “overall impact” if someone is unable to pay for their own medical care.
“This is addressed on an individual, case-by-case basis,” the official said.
They gave the example of a diabetic, adding that they won’t face rejection because they need insulin, but could be rejected if they need Medicaid to cover the drug.
Public charge policies were shifted under the first Trump administration, greatly expanding what would be considered a public charge. Previously, the term applied only to those who were primarily dependent on the government through cash assistance.
The Biden administration loosened the public charge rule in 2022, returning the definition of “those primarily dependent on the government for a living.” The administration noted at the time that Trump’s definition could not apply to eligible citizens for coverage, particularly in families where the parents hold a different immigration status than the children.
