U.S. State Department launches task force to combat birth tourism

The U.S. Department of State has established a task force to investigate and combat so-called birth tourism, a practice in which foreign nationals travel to the United States with the intention of giving birth there, the department said Monday.

The Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force will review the activities of visa holders worldwide, identify cases involving birth tourism and take action against people who violate U.S. visa rules, according to the State Department.

The task force is working with the Department of Homeland Security to analyze information across federal agencies and investigate travel patterns linked to birth tourism.

The State Department said the task force has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals as part of the effort.

The department generally revokes visas when there are indications that a visa holder may be ineligible, it said.The department also accused some birth tourism facilitators of operating for-profit businesses that market services such as visa coaching, hospital arrangements and assistance with childbirth in the United States.

According to the State Department, some facilitators have allegedly forged medical documents or coached clients to conceal the purpose of their travel from U.S. immigration officials.

The department said intentionally misrepresenting the purpose of travel or entry into the United States can result in permanent ineligibility for a U.S. visa or admission to the country.

The State Department cited several cases in which foreign nationals allegedly provided false reasons for traveling to the United States before giving birth there. In one case, a couple allegedly used business and vacation trips as cover while traveling to the United States to give birth to two children. Their visas were revoked.

In another case, a foreign government official who obtained a visa for a short official trip instead remained in the United States for about three months and gave birth before leaving the country. Her visa was revoked, the department said.

The department also described a case involving a traveler who applied for a visa for a vacation in Orlando but traveled to Los Angeles and gave birth five days after arriving in the United States. Her visa was revoked.

The State Department said the new task force is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to enforce U.S. immigration and visa laws.

“Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws,” the department said.

The department warned that foreign nationals who abuse the U.S. visa system, as well as people who facilitate such activity, could lose their visas and future access to the United States.