US tightens birth tourism rules: What Indians travelling for childbirth should know - The Indian Express

The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced new visa restrictions targeting nationals who facilitate commercial “birth tourism”, escalating the Trump administration’s crackdown on programmes wherein foreign nationals travel to the United States to give birth so that their children can receive American citizenship.

The visa restriction policy, announced by the State Department on Wednesday, insists on targeting owners and operators of birth tourism networks, visa “fixers” who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate such travel and the fraudulent use of the Medicaid system, and other individuals who support the practice.

The recent visa crackdown on commercial “birth tourism” is being implemented under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The State Department added that certain family members may also be covered by these restrictions.

“Foreign commercial birth tourism networks have exploited the US immigration system to sell US citizenship for profit,” Rubio said in the announcement, accusing the networks of advertising and training foreign nationals to lie on US visa applications about their travel plans and charge them tens of thousands of dollars to arrange births on American soil for the “sole purpose” of obtaining US citizenship.

“By restricting visa issuance of those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of U.S. citizenship,” Secretary Rubio said.

Birth tourism is a practice that defrauds our immigration and Medicaid systems. Today @SecRubio announced a new visa restriction policy to target those who engage in or profit from this fraud.https://t.co/WFWK6J6ucG

US President Donald Trump said last month that “hundreds of thousands” of babies have been born through birth tourism in the US, but the Republican leader didn’t provide any data or evidence to support his argument.

Though there are no government figures related to women arriving in the United States on tourism visas to give birth, there is official data available related to foreign residents giving birth in America.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 9,500 babies were born in the US to foreign women in 2024. The data relates to births registered to women with foreign addresses. The same year, there were approximately 3.7 million US births, CDC data showed, which signifies that babies born to foreign US residents amount to 0.5 per cent of it, BBC reported.

Indian applicants should understand that travelling to the US primarily to give birth to obtain US citizenship for a child is already not a permissible purpose for a visitor visa. The new policy specifically expands the focus on the commercial networks and facilitators behind such arrangements.

The new visa restrictions should not be described as automatically cancelling the citizenship of every child born in the US to Indian parents. The Trump administration has pursued changes to birthright citizenship. On August 6, the White House issued an executive order aimed at “ending birth tourism” and directed the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to take steps against people entering the US on nonimmigrant visas for the purpose of giving birth.

Nischai Vats is a Deputy Copy Editor at The Indian Express. His work primarily covers US politics and visa and immigration policy, alongside broader international developments, with an emphasis on accuracy, verification, and clear explainers. Experience Nischai joined The Indian Express in May 2024 where he works on writing, editing, and refining high-impact stories for digital platforms. His role involves ensuring editorial consistency, factual accuracy, and clarity in coverage of complex policy-driven subjects. Earlier in his career, he worked across Indian digital newsrooms in reporting and editing roles, including stints at Inshorts, Newslaundry, Tiranga TV, and Catch News. His newsroom experience spans rapid digital publishing, ground reporting, and copy editing across national, civic, and policy beats. Expertise His core areas of focus include: US politics and governance: Coverage of American political developments, executive actions, and policy shifts. US visa and immigration policy: Reporting and editing stories on visa categories, regulatory changes, and immigration pathways affecting global audiences. Editorial accuracy and copy editing: Ensuring clarity, language precision, and verification in fast-paced digital news environments. Authoritativeness and trustworthiness Nischai's journalism is grounded in verified sources, official documentation, and clear attribution, in line with The Indian Express’ editorial standards. His background across reporting and editing enables him to translate complex policy updates into reliable, reader-friendly coverage. ... Read More