The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting individuals who knowingly engage in or facilitate commercial “birth tourism” to the country.
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced the policy on Wednesday, saying it would apply to 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.
Rubio said the policy was being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act.
He said the restrictions would target individuals who knowingly engage in, have engaged in, or facilitate birth tourism to the United States.
According to Rubio, those affected could include operators of commercial birth tourism networks, visa fixers who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of Medicaid, as well as others who support or enable commercial birth tourism.
Rubio said the Trump administration was using the policy to protect the integrity of the US immigration system and prevent the exploitation of public benefits.
He added that restricting visa issuance to people who engage in or profit from the practice was intended to protect US citizenship, public benefits, taxpayers and national security.
The US State Department said certain family members could also be covered by the restrictions.
Birth tourism refers to foreigners travelling to the United States primarily to give birth so that their children can obtain US citizenship. The State Department already states that birth tourism is not a permissible purpose for obtaining a visitor visa.
The latest announcement builds on earlier measures by the Trump administration targeting birth tourism. In August, the White House highlighted comments by Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Adviser, Stephen Miller, that birth tourism had been banned and that people could no longer obtain visas for that purpose.
The administration has also pursued broader changes to US immigration and visa screening policies.
However, Rubio’s announcement did not state that all foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the US would be subject to the new restriction.
Rather, the policy specifically targets people who knowingly participate in, facilitate or profit from commercial birth tourism.
