The United States has announced plans to restrict visa issuance to individuals who engage in or facilitate birth tourism, saying the practice exploits the immigration system by enabling people to obtain American citizenship for profit.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the move targets people who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.
“By restricting visa issuance of 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 in a statement.
According to Rubio, those targeted include owners, operators and managers of commercial birth tourism networks, visa fixers who coach applicants to commit fraud, and foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of Medicaid.
He added that the restrictions would also cover other individuals who support, abet or enable commercial birth tourism.
Birth tourism refers to travelling to the US primarily to give birth so that the child obtains US citizenship.
The announcement comes after President Donald Trump signed executive orders restricting entry for birth tourism and seeking to withhold citizenship documentation from certain children born on US soil.
The citizenship related order has faced legal challenges, including a Supreme Court ruling striking down Trump’s January 20, 2025 executive order that sought to deny automatic citizenship to certain children born in the US to noncitizen parents.
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