Trump ‘obesity ban’ preventing overweight foreigners from entering the US revealed in bombshell leak

Donald Trump’s State Department has issued guidance recommending that overweight people be denied visas to enter the United States.

The directive, which is part of many directives put forward by the Trump administration to crack down on unwanted travel to the United States, names obesity as part of a variety of medical conditions that can be costly.

The guide states that these medical conditions include obesity, as well as ‘cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases and mental health problems’.

Authorities are told to ask: ‘Does the applicant have sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of such care throughout his or her expected lifespan, without requiring public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at state expense?’

Health experts say being overweight is linked to asthma, sleep apnea and high blood pressure.

They note that these conditions can ‘require hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of care’ and potentially burden the US healthcare system.

“It’s no secret that the Trump administration puts the interests of the American people first,” spokesman Tommy Pigott told the Daily Mail.confirms the legitimacy of the directive.

‘This includes implementing policies to ensure that our immigration system is not a burden on American taxpayers.’

The directive, part of many the Trump administration has put forward to crack down on unwanted travel to the U.S., names obesity as part of a variety of medical conditions that can be costly

A State Department official said the directive relates to immigrant visas, not nonimmigrant b-2 visas for those who can support their medical treatment and return to their home countries.

The State Department has taken many steps since Trump’s return to the White House to raise standards for those seeking work visas in the United States.

Washington has imposed a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas for skilled workers.

H-1B visas, which require at least a bachelor’s degree, are designed for high-skilled jobs that companies have difficulty filling.

Critics have argued that the visa hurts the American workforce, while supporters, including Elon Musk, have argued that the visa is vital to attracting high-skilled global talent.

Trump’s new order will apply only to new visa requests, which will include the annual payment companies require for each applicant for up to six years.

A separate order signed by the president saw the introduction of a new ‘gold card’ designed to help fast-track certain visas for those looking to ‘make a significant financial gift’.

While the program is currently in the ‘implementation phase’, up to 80,000 ‘high value’ gold cards are planned to be made available, according to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The State Department has taken many steps since Trump’s return to the White House to raise standards for those seeking work visas in the United States.

Currently, H-1B visas come with a number of administrative fees that total an estimated $1,500. Lutnick emphasized that he has “talked” to all major companies and that they are also “participating” in the new mandatory payment.

Announcing the new policy, Trump said: ‘The point is, great people will come and they will pay for it.’

Trump has had the H-1B program on his agenda since his first term in office, but has faced several court challenges to his previous approach targeting qualified job types.

During his first term as president, Trump announced a ‘Hire American’ policy that directed changes to the program to ensure visas are awarded to the highest-paid or most-skilled applicants.

In December, the president temporarily U-turned on his views, siding with tech moguls in support of the visa and telling the New York Post that he had ‘always liked visas.’

‘I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property. I am a believer in H-1B. I’ve used it many times. ‘It’s a great program,’ Trump said at the time.

But he has previously described the visa as “very bad” and “unfair” for US workers.

The US currently issues 85,000 H-1B visas a year through the lottery system, and India is understood to account for nearly three-quarters of these recipients.

Trump signed an executive order in September imposing a $100,000 annual fee on H-1B visas for skilled workers. A separate order signed by the president saw the introduction of a new ‘gold card’ designed to help fast-track certain visas for those looking to ‘make a significant financial gift’.

Data obtained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) showed that immigration visa applications for the upcoming fiscal year fell to around 359,000, the lowest figure in the last four years.

Trump also imposed a complete ban on citizens of 12 countries and partial restrictions on visitors from seven other countries earlier this month as part of ongoing efforts to save the United States from foreign threats and secure borders.

Citizens of Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen have been banned from entering the United States as of June 9.

Citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela are partially restricted from traveling under the order, removing access to all immigrant visas and removing various nonimmigrant travel options.

“We don’t want them,” Trump said bluntly in a video released shortly after the ban was announced.

‘We cannot openly migrate from any country where we cannot conduct a very simple, safe and reliable examination and investigation.’

White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson wrote about X: ‘President Trump is keeping his promise to protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors who want to come to our country and do us harm.

‘These common-sense restrictions are country-specific and include places where appropriate vetting is not done, visa overstay rates are high, or identity and threat information is not shared.

‘President Trump will ALWAYS act in the best interest and safety of the American people.’

The directive is part of a crackdown on immigrants that Trump launched at the start of his second term, which has included the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members.

He also attempted to prevent Harvard from admitting foreign students and cracked down on antisemitism on campus, attempting to expel students who actively participated in campus protests.

“We are constantly reevaluating policies to ensure the safety of Americans and compliance with our laws by foreign nationals,” a senior State Department official said, declining to comment on specific internal deliberations and communications.

“The State Department is committed to protecting our nation and its citizens by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety through our visa process,” the official said.

During his first term in office, Trump announced a travel ban from seven Muslim-majority countries; this policy was repeated multiple times before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Democratic former President Joe Biden, who replaced Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

But Trump touted the success of his initial travel bans in 2017 in a statement earlier this year.