US Revokes 600 Visas in Birth Tourism Crackdown
The United States has revoked more than 600 visas as part of a new crackdown on “birth tourism”, with the State Department creating a specialised task force to identify foreign nationals suspected of travelling to the country primarily to give birth and secure US citizenship for their children.
US Revokes Over 600 Visas
The State Department said its Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has revoked more than 600 visas held by foreign nationals around the world.
The initiative is aimed at identifying visa fraud and stopping people from using visitor visas primarily for childbirth in the United States.
US authorities maintain that obtaining a visitor visa for the primary purpose of giving birth in the country so that a child acquires US citizenship is not permitted under existing visa rules.
Birth Tourism Task Force Targets Visa Fraud
The task force will coordinate efforts to identify suspected birth tourism networks and individuals accused of misrepresenting their reasons for travelling to the United States.
American consular officers can deny visitor visa applications if they have reason to believe an applicant’s primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the US to obtain citizenship for the child.
The government has also targeted businesses accused of organising birth tourism schemes for foreign clients.
Trump Administration Tightens Visa Enforcement
The birth tourism crackdown forms part of the Trump administration’s wider tightening of US immigration and visa enforcement.
The State Department has revoked more than 175,000 visas during Trump’s second term for reasons ranging from immigration violations and fraud to criminal activity and national security concerns.
The administration s
