E-Paper
US Embassy warns against birth tourism, vows to deny Nigerians visa
The US State Department warns against birth tourism, stating that visas will be denied to applicants whose primary purpose is giving birth in US for citizenship
The US Mission to Nigeria issued a public statement on its Instagram handle on Monday (July 28), which targeted birth tourism in the US- a practice wherein foreign nationals travel to the country to give birth so that their offspring gets direct US citizenship as the rights granted by the 14th Amendment. The notice issued targets this practice and warns people against indulging in it.
US Mission to Nigeria’s public statement
“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted. Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent. #VisaWiseTravelSmart #USVisa,” the agency wrote on its official social media handle.
The picture, along with this message, carried the caption, “We will deny your visa if we believe your primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to get U.S. citizenship for your child. This is not permitted.”
President Trump’s stance on the matter
Donald Trump has always been an open advocate against the misuse of 14th Amendment rights for birth tourism. During his first time in office, he had issued a fact sheet titled “President Donald J. Trump Is Taking Action to End Birth Tourism, Protect National Security, and Curb the Abuse of Public Resources” which openly criticized this practice.
“The Administration is taking action to end “birth tourism” – a practice in which aliens travel to the United States with the purpose of giving birth to gain citizenship for their children. Organizations bring in large numbers of aliens to systematically exploit this loophole and unfairly provide citizenship for their children,” reads the official notice now available on the archives of the official White House website.
“Most birth tourism groups charge tens of thousands of dollars, which often doesn’t include coverage for medical care. Groups are flown to the United States and often brought to motels, whose owners are also often complicit in the scheme,” added the notice, which aims at “protecting national security” and “preserving our public resources.”
“The State Department will stop issuing temporary visitor visas to applicants who are traveling to the United States to engage in birth tourism. The Administration’s new rule makes clear that attempting to improperly provide citizenship for one’s child through birth tourism is not a legitimate grounds for obtaining a visitor visa. Visas will still be issued to aliens whose purpose of travel is consistent with permissible business and pleasure activities.”
With contribution from Stuti Gupta
