US Cracks Down on Birth Tourism with New Visa Restrictions
The US government has introduced a new visa restriction policy aimed at preventing foreigners from exploiting its immigration system to obtain US citizenship through birth tourism.
According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, foreign commercial birth tourism networks have been advertising and coaching foreign nationals to lie on US visa applications and collecting tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births on American soil for the sole purpose of obtaining US citizenship.
The new policy targets individuals who knowingly engage in or facilitate birth tourism, including owners, operators, and managers of commercial birth tourism facilitation networks, visa 'fixers' who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly abet and facilitate such travel, and the fraudulent use of the Medicaid system.
Rubio stated that the Trump Administration is using every tool at its disposal to defend the integrity of US citizenship, protect American public benefits and taxpayers from exploitation, and safeguard national security.