Should You Worry About Health-Based Visa Denials for U.S. Immigration?
Every year for decades, the United States has been the destination for more immigrants than any other country on Earth, but the current administration’s policies are causing immigrants and people who hope to immigrate plenty of worries and stress. Every time you read the news, you hear about people of all visa categories and from almost any country having their visas revoked or being detained or deported, sometimes without explanation. It is hard not to wonder if you are next, or if your plans to reunify your family in the United States, a plan that has been in the works for years, will fall apart. The latest news is especially worrisome, namely that the administration encourages embassies and consulates abroad to flag applicants who test positive for certain chronic conditions. What should you do to safeguard your application for a visa, or your petition to sponsor a family member who plans to immigrate, if the immigrant’s medical history now counts as a red flag? For help navigating the ever-changing immigration rules, contact a Mississauga U.S. immigration lawyer.
What the Trump Administration’s New Rules About Visa Applicants With Chronic Illnesses Could Mean for Your Immigration Case
Last month, the Trump administration announced that the U.S. could deny visa approvals if the applicants suffered from chronic illnesses that would cause the applicants to place a financial strain on publicly funded healthcare systems. Unfortunately, the announcement leaves more questions than answers.
Health requirements for entry to a country are nothing new. For example, until recently, many countries required visa applicants to show proof that they were HIV negative. Visa restrictions based on health have mostly focused on communicable diseases; the fear was that, by granting visas to applicants infected with contagious diseases, they would spread the diseases to others, such that the burden on the country’s health systems would be because the health systems would be treating multiple patients who would not require treatment if the immigrant had not entered the country.
The most disturbing thing about the recent announcement from the U.S. is that it mostly targets common diseases of old age, such as diabetes and cancer. These conditions are prevalent in middle-aged and elderly populations in countries of all levels of wealth.
The encouraging news is that the announcement is too vague to definitively ruin anyone’s immigration case. The United States is not, for example, revoking the visas of all diabetic physicians employed under H-1B visas; losing them would be more disastrous to the U.S. economy than if they all applied for Medicaid, and it paid for their treatment for the rest of their lives, even as they adjusted their status to permanent residency and applied for naturalization. The best thing you can do is to proceed with your immigration case as planned and stay in close contact with your immigration lawyer.
Contact Zagazeta Garcia LLP About Applying for U.S. Immigration in Uncertain Times
An immigration lawyer can help you get a fair outcome in your immigration case, even if you have a chronic illness. Contact Zagazeta Garcia LLP in Mississauga, Ontario to discuss your case.
Source:
kgns.tv/2025/11/10/us-visa-screening-rule-targets-applicants-with-chronic-illnesses/
