Imagine applying for a visa and one of the questions is not only about your job, your finances or your purpose of stay but about whether your chronic illness might one day become a burden. That is the key shift in the new directive by the United States Department of State where foreign nationals seeking visas (especially to live or stay longer) may now be evaluated not only on communicable diseases (as has been the tradition) but on non-communicable chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Historically, the US visa medical screening focused on preventing the entry of people with infectious diseases that posed public-health risks. The new guidance extends the review to cover long-term health costs and potential dependency on public support. The underlying

See Full Page