The US has announced a new visa restriction policy targeting people who knowingly take part in or help facilitate “birth tourism” to the country.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the policy on September 23, saying foreign commercial birth tourism networks have been using the US immigration system to make money by helping foreign nationals give birth in the US so their children can obtain American citizenship.
US targets birth tourism networks
According to Rubio, these networks advertise their services and coach foreign nationals to lie on US visa applications. They can charge tens of thousands of dollars to arrange travel and births in the US, with the main purpose being to obtain US citizenship for the child.
The new policy has been introduced under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
It targets people who knowingly engage in, or help others engage in, birth tourism to the US. This includes owners, operators and managers of commercial birth tourism networks.
The policy will also cover visa “fixers” who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly help facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of the US Medicaid system, as well as others who support or enable commercial birth tourism.
Rubio says US will protect citizenship
Rubio said the Trump administration would use all available tools to protect the integrity of US citizenship and prevent American taxpayers and public benefit programmes from being exploited.
“The Trump Administration is using every tool at our disposal to defend the integrity of US citizenship, protect American public benefits and US taxpayers from exploitation, and safeguard our national security,” Rubio said.
He said the new restrictions are aimed at people who take part in and profit from what the administration describes as fraud.
“By restricting visa issuance to those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of US citizenship,” Rubio said.
The State Department said certain family members of people covered by the policy may also be subject to the visa restrictions.
What is ‘birth tourism’?
“Birth tourism” generally refers to travelling to the US specifically to give birth there so that the child can acquire US citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The State Department says simply giving birth in the US while visiting is not itself illegal. However, it is targeting commercial businesses that arrange these trips as a package.
Such packages can include help with visa applications, staged financial documents, temporary accommodation and hospital arrangements. Some of these temporary facilities are sometimes referred to as “maternity hotels”.
These operators can also give clients instructions on how to hide the real purpose of their trip from US consular officers.
US raises concerns over visa and Medicaid fraud
The State Department has noted three main areas of concern.
One is visa fraud. According to the department, some applicants are coached to give false information about why they are travelling to the US when applying for B-1/B-2 visitor visas.
These applications require applicants to truthfully disclose the purpose of their trip.
The second concern is the money charged by birth tourism operators. The department says some facilitators charge tens of thousands of dollars from each client, turning the process of obtaining US citizenship for a child into a commercial business.
The third concern is the alleged misuse of Medicaid. The department says some networks coach clients to fraudulently access Medicaid-funded emergency medical services for childbirth. This can shift medical costs to US taxpayers even when the parents do not have genuine ties to the country.
What does the new immigration rule mean?
This provision allows a foreign national to be considered inadmissible to the US when the Secretary of State has reasonable grounds to believe that the person’s entry or proposed activities could have potentially serious adverse consequences for US foreign policy.
The provision has generally been used in foreign policy-related cases rather than as a routine tool for dealing with visa fraud.
By using it in this case, the State Department is treating commercial birth tourism facilitation as an issue that goes beyond individual visa fraud and affects US foreign policy interests.
The restriction is also visa-based, rather than a criminal penalty. This means people covered by the policy can be prevented from obtaining a visa or entering the US without needing to first face a criminal conviction.
The State Department has also said that certain immediate family members of people covered by the policy could be subject to the restrictions.
The new policy follows years of US action on birth tourism. In 2020, the State Department directed consular officers to deny B visas to people believed to be travelling to the US mainly to give birth. The latest move does not change birthright citizenship rules, which are also facing a separate legal challenge, but targets businesses and people who facilitate commercial birth tourism.