The State Department states it will deny tourist visas to individuals who travel to the U.S. primarily to give birth and obtain citizenship for their child.
The U.S. State Department issued a warning on Thursday to foreign nationals who plan to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children through “birth tourism.”
Tourist visas will be denied to those who travel to the country for the primary purpose of giving birth on U.S. soil, the State Department said.
“It is unacceptable for foreign parents to use a U.S. tourist visa for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain citizenship for the child, which also could result in American taxpayers paying the medical care costs,” the State Department
wrote on X. “This is known as birth tourism and U.S. consular officers deny all such visa applications under U.S. immigration law.”
For
visitor visas, a foreign national who wishes to enter the U.S. temporarily for business can obtain a B-1 visa. For tourism, they can apply for a B-2 visa. The State Department warned that visa applicants who violate immigration law through birth tourism may be ineligible to travel to the United States in the future.
33,000 Births Per Year
The State Department says that an entire industry has evolved around birth tourism to help pregnant women from other countries come to the country to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children by giving birth on U.S. soil.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), birth tourism results in
33,000 births by women on tourist visas every year, and “hundreds of thousands more are born to mothers who are illegal aliens or present on temporary visas.” According to CIS, birth tourism in the United States is practiced by people from around the world, especially citizens of China, Taiwan, Korea, Nigeria, Turkey, Russia, Brazil, and Mexico.
The federal government has sounded the alarm over birth tourism due to potential burdens on public resources, criminal activity, and national security risks.
The 14th Amendment states that children born on U.S. soil are automatically granted U.S. citizenship by virtue of birthright citizenship.
Executive Order
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship. However, the directive has been met with legal challenges and halted nationwide by three district courts.The Trump administration has argued that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a phrase used in the 14th Amendment, and therefore not entitled to become American citizens automatically.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Trump’s birthright citizenship restrictions in May.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
