Mexican man in need of double organ transplant files for US visa for third time

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/26/mexico-man-double-organ-transplant-us-visa

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A young Mexican man who is urgently trying to travel to the Mayo Clinic for a double organ transplant filed a third US visa application on Thursday after being turned down twice.

Jose Chua, 20, of Hermosillo, applied for a humanitarian visa after previously seeking a tourist visa and being rejected, said the head of a US-based nonprofit group assisting with his case.

Kevin Forbes, director of the US-based Consejo de Latinos Unidos, which helps uninsured people get access to medical care, said that once Chua is allowed to enter the US, the group plans to press a formal complaint with the US government.

“The problem goes beyond Jose ... The situation has become complicated and raises doubts as to the motives of why a consulate would deny a visa on two occasions and did not directly offer a humanitarian visa,” Forbes said.

US State Department officials have declined to comment on Chua’s specific case, citing standard confidentiality rules, but said officials were looking into it.

Chua’s doctor in Mexico said he was born with only one ventricle in his heart, causing circulation problems that mean blood reaches only one of the four chambers.

Chua underwent three open-heart surgeries between the ages of five months and 12 years, including a cardiac implant that stopped working properly in 2013.

By now Chua’s liver has also been damaged and he needs a heart and liver double-transplant, a procedure that is not performed in his home country.

Family and friends raised more than $15,000 to defray the initial costs of his treatment at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The surgery itself could end up costing around $2m, Chua’s family says.