New Immigration Rule Requires Proof of Health Insurance in Order to Enter the U.S

According to a recent presidential proclamation signed by United States president, Donald Trump, immigrants who are unable to afford health insurance will no longer be eligible to enter and live in the U.S.

This means that as of November 3, immigrants who apply for U.S visas will be denied entry unless they are able to provide proof that they can afford health care coverage or pay for medical costs out of pocket within 30 days of entering the country.

The proclamation does not list a dollar amount that’s required to cover these medical costs, as this is up to a consular officer, who will determine if a visa applicant meets these new requirements.

However, it did indicate that the required insurance could include short-term coverage or catastrophic and be purchased individually or provided by an employer.

Any new immigrants will be ineligible for a visa if using the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies when buying insurance, as these are paid for by the federal government.

And, for people over the age of 18, coverage under the Medicaid program is also not allowed.

This new rule will not apply to those who are already living in the U.S, along with children, asylum seekers, refugees, and children adopted by U.S citizens.

Other exceptions include:

  • Children of US citizens
  • Unaccompanied minors
  • Permanent residents returning to the US after living overseas for less than a year
  • “Special immigrant visas” for Iraqi and Afghan nationals who worked for the US government, along with their families

The proclamation will however apply to the spouses and parents of US citizens, and could affect families who are attempting to bring their parents over to the U.S.

The White House justified this new limit on immigration in a public statement, claiming that non-citizens were taking advantage of the U.S’ “generous public health programs,” and contributing to the problem of “uncompensated health care costs.”

The proclamation was just one of many controversial immigration reforms made recently by the Trump administration in an effort to move away from a family-based immigration system and adopt a merit-based system.

In fact, just recently in August of this year, the White House implemented a rule that would deny green cards to immigrants who rely on some form of public assistance.

But like many of Trump’s immigration reform changes, two federal courts recently moved to block the administration from implementing such a rule – which was originally scheduled to go into effect October 15.