State Department Establishes Task Force to End Birth Tourism

A fact sheet via friends at U.S. Department of State

Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the Department of State is using all available tools to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, ensure nonimmigrant visas are used only for their lawful and intended purposes, and prevent their exploitation through birth tourism. As President Trump has made clear, citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through the calculated exploitation of U.S. immigration laws. The Department of State is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to combat birth tourism and protect the integrity of the U.S. immigration system. 

New Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force 

To maximize the success of this comprehensive effort, the State Department has established a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force.

• The Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force reviews the activities of visa holders worldwide to identify instances of birth tourism, take action to revoke visas of those who engage in or facilitate it, and dismantle the networks that profit from this abuse.
• The Task Force addresses the abuse by analyzing and connecting information held across the Department and other federal agencies, including the DHS.
• Thanks to the coordination of the Task Force, the Department of State is addressing birth tourism on a global scale, examining travel histories of individuals from all around the world in order to end this exploitation and abuse.
• The Birth Tourism taskforce has taken action by revoking more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe to safeguard the nation from this abuse.
• The Department generally revokes visas when there are indications of a potential ineligibility.
• The Secretary has broad discretionary authority to revoke visas – and the Trump Administration is committed to exercising that authority to protect the American people and the integrity of our immigration system.

Birth Tourism Has Become a For-Profit Industry 

Facilitators have turned birth tourism into a lucrative, for-profit industry.

• These facilitators sometimes market themselves as doulas, midwives, or wellness advocates while openly advertising “birth in the U.S.” services, visa coaching, and hospital arrangements.
• Some forge medical documents or coach clients to conceal their true travel purpose and avoid paying hospital bills, with online marketing promising clients “automatic citizenship” and “a future without borders.”
• The facts are clear – birth tourism is a pervasive practice that involves nationals from countries spanning every region of the globe.
• The Department is taking action to dismantle these networks and hold all participants accountable.

Birth Tourism Fraud 

The work of the Bureau of Consular Affairs Task Force and consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world is exposing widespread patterns of deception.

• Foreigners who willfully misrepresent the purpose of their travel or entry into the United States may be permanently ineligible for a U.S. visa or entry to the United States.
• The Department has uncovered patterns that illustrate the lengths some applicants will go to circumvent our laws in order to secure U.S. citizenship for their children – and potentially for themselves in the future.
• One couple used a conference and a vacation trip to go shopping as cover stories to give birth to two children in the United States, lying about their travel purpose in two separate visa applications. On the second occasion, the couple concealed that they had a child.  The visas have been revoked.
• In another case, a foreign government official requested a visa to travel on behalf of her government for just one week, but instead stayed three months and gave birth in the United States before departing. The Department revoked the visa.
• Another traveler applied for a visa to go on vacation in Orlando and instead traveled to Los Angeles and gave birth five days after arrival. The Department revoked the visa.

Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws.  Foreign nationals who abuse the visa system, and those who help them do so, may lose their visa, their access, and their future in the United States. This is only the beginning.

Supplemental

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