The United States of America (USA) announces a stricter visa policy targeting birth tourism, declaring that traveling to the U.S. primarily to give birth for the purpose of securing U.S. citizenship for a child is prohibited.
The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday, issued a a clear and direct massage: “The US has announced that traveling on its visa primarily to give birth in the US for the purpose of securing US citizenship for the child is not permitted. Consular officers will deny visa applications if they suspect such intent.”
The U.S. Mission’s announcement underscores a broader effort to ensure that visa applications align with the intended purpose of travel.
Consular officers, tasked with evaluating visa applications, are now instructed to scrutinize cases where the primary intent appears to be securing citizenship through childbirth.
However, for children born in the U.S. to foreign parents, the path to citizenship remains open under specific conditions. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allows citizenship for any child born in the U.S., provided they meet eligibility criteria, such as being under 18 years of age. Yet, the new visa policy aims to curb the practice of traveling solely to give birth in America, which has been a point of contention in the U.S.
