State Department Amends Visa Rules to 'Address Birth Tourism'

Now pregnant women who travel to the United States may be denied a visa if it is identified they are travelling for the sole purpose of automatically gaining US citizenship for their babies.

The US State Department has amended its B nonimmigrant visa regulation to address birth tourism, the official statement by the body says.

"The Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs ('Department'), is amending its regulation governing the issuance of visas in the 'B' nonimmigrant classification for temporary visitors for pleasure. This rule establishes that travel to the United States with the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States is an impermissible basis for the issuance of a B nonimmigrant visa", according to the statement

It also says that the State Department does not believe "birth tourism is a legitimate activity for pleasure or of a recreational nature".

President Trump has repeatedly promised to put an end to birth tourism. In mid-2019, the POTUS said that his administration was "looking at that very seriously, birthright citizenship", and called the current laws under the 14th Amendment of the constitution "frankly ridiculous".

The Centre for Immigration Studies estimated in early December that there may be roughly 33.000 birth tourists annually, though it noted this number was based on limited data.