The U.S. Department of State announced last week a new visa restriction policy targeting people from outside the United States who come to the country to give birth in order to obtain citizenship – a practice the Trump administration describes as “commercial birth tourism.” The policy specifically targets owners and operators of birth-tourism networks, visa “fixers” who coach applicants to commit fraud, foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate the practice and others who support or enable the practice.
The announcement follows an executive order issued in August directing the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to take steps to prevent birth tourism, including potentially denying entry, revoking visas and taking action against people or organizations that facilitate the practice.
For Mexican travelers, the impact could be particularly significant. Many people from Mexico use Border Crossing Cards to make short trips into the United States. The cards double as a B1/B2 visitor visa.
Ray Ybarra, an Arizona immigration attorney, said he expects increased scrutiny at the border.
“I think the biggest impact that we’re going to see in our daily life is people coming across the border being denied entry and having their border crossing cards revoked,” he said.
Ybarra also expects pregnant women applying for or renewing visitor visas to face additional questions about the purpose of their travel.
The new policy, however, does not state that being pregnant, by itself, makes someone ineligible for a visa or entry into the United States. The federal government’s stated target is people who engage in or facilitate birth tourism — defined by the administration as entering the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth, or helping someone do so.
The policy could also have economic implications for Arizona border communities if travelers become more hesitant to cross, the attorney said.
He said some people may worry that crossing into Arizona to visit family, attend celebrations or shop could put their Border Crossing Cards at risk.
“I think it’s going to have a chilling effect,” Ybarra said, adding that people could think twice about coming to Arizona to spend money or visit relatives.
The extent of so-called ‘birth tourism’ in the United States is difficult to quantify. The federal government does not publish an estimate of how many births result from birth tourism, and outside estimates vary.
The State Department’s new policy took effect September 23.
