Mike Blake/Reuters
A 20-year-old Mexican patient in need of a heart transplant had his visa application denied just ten days before his appointment at the Mayo Clinic. “They denied me the visa and my world has fallen down,” Jose Chua Lopez told the Associated Press. “This needs to be fixed quickly.” Chua was born with a heart defect and has been turned down for a visa twice. The State Department has declined to comment on the case but said, “our team is looking into it.” U.S.-based organization Consejo de Latinos Unidos said the U.S. Consulate in Chua’s hometown processed his application as a tourist visa instead of a humanitarian visa. “We have dealt with around two dozen similar international cases,” Forbes said. “They have never denied us a visa. It’s the first time this has happened.”