The State Department announced Wednesday it will deny temporary visas to foreign nationals seeking to enter the United States specifically to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children.
The decision follows the discovery of multiple birth tourism networks across Africa, Europe and other continents. Officials said the schemes involved fake documents, visa fraud and coordinated coaching on how to deceive consular officers.
What the State Department Found
A U.S. embassy in West Africa identified a sophisticated birth tourism operation involving more than 100 foreign nationals using fraudulent documents to obtain visas, according to State Department officials. Those visas have been revoked.
A second embassy in North Africa revoked visas for over 100 suspected birth tourism parents. A third embassy in Europe flagged more than 400 suspected cases over two years, tracing them to companies that provided housing arrangements, birth planning services and coached visa applicants on interviews.
The State Department said it permanently banned several individuals involved in the schemes from returning to the United States. Consular officers and law enforcement agencies are deploying data analytics to identify and dismantle additional visa fraud networks.
Political Response
Republican senators backed the crackdown.
