US imposes visa restrictions on ‘birth tourism’

This appeared in The Millennial Source

The Trump administration will impose new visa restrictions aimed at making it harder for women to travel to give birth in the US so that their children receive automatic US citizenship, a practice known as “birth tourism.” The rules were published Thursday in the Federal Register and take effect Friday.

Under the new rule, consular officials will have the authority to deny a temporary unless the applicant can prove they must come to the US to give birth for medical reasons and they have the money to pay for it, not just because they want their child to receive US citizenship.

“Closing this glaring immigration loophole will combat these endemic abuses and ultimately protect the United States from the national security risks created by this practice,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement. “It will also defend American taxpayers from having their hard-earned dollars siphoned away to finance the direct and downstream costs associated with birth tourism. The integrity of American citizenship must be protected.”

The rule does not apply to the 39 countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program, whose citizens can visit the US for up to 90 days without a visa.