US targets birth tourism with new visa curbs

The United States has announced visa restrictions targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate birth tourism, alongside a new public portal to report suspected visa fraud, including fabricated job offers and sham marriages.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the restrictions would cover participants and commercial networks that arrange travel to the United States for the purpose of securing American citizenship through childbirth. Certain family members could also be covered.

“Foreign commercial birth tourism networks have exploited the US immigration system to sell US citizenship for profit,” Rubio said in a statement.

He accused such networks of coaching foreign nationals to lie on visa applications and charging tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births on American soil solely to obtain US citizenship.

Rubio said the new policy was being introduced under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Those targeted include owners, operators and managers of commercial birth tourism networks, as well as intermediaries who coach applicants to commit visa fraud.

The policy also covers foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel and fraudulent use of Medicaid, according to the statement. Others who support or enable commercial birth tourism could face restrictions.

Rubio said the policy applied to people who knowingly engage in, have previously engaged in or facilitate birth tourism. His statement did not give details of individual cases.

“Certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions,” the department said, without specifying which relatives or the circumstances in which the provision would apply.

Rubio described the move as an effort to protect citizenship, public benefits and taxpayers, as well as national security.

Separately, the State Department announced an online portal for members of the public to submit information about suspected visa fraud and misuse.

The department listed falsified documents and travel plans, brokers arranging sham marriages, shell companies and fabricated job offers among the schemes it seeks to detect. Its list also included participation in or facilitation of birth tourism.

The portal announcement said the Bureau of Consular Affairs was conducting fraud detection and prevention activities to stop attempts to travel to the United States through fraudulent means or for illegal purposes.

Possible enforcement measures include visa revocations and referrals for further law enforcement investigation, the department said.

It said many of the tens of thousands of people it had identified and held accountable for visa fraud during President Donald Trump’s second term were discovered through public tips. The announcement did not provide a breakdown of those cases or the action taken.

“This new online tool provides a convenient and reliable way for the public to submit crucial information for prompt review and action,” the department said.

It directed people with information about suspected fraud to travel.state.gov/reportvisafraud.

Birth tourism refers to travel undertaken to give birth in another country with the aim of securing citizenship for the child. Commercial operators have marketed packages combining travel, accommodation and childbirth arrangements.

The US debate over birth tourism is linked to the country’s longstanding tradition of citizenship by birth. The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, states that people born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens.