Washington, September 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The United States has announced new visa restrictions targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate commercial “birth tourism”, along with a new online portal for reporting suspected visa fraud.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the restrictions would apply to individuals and commercial networks that arrange travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth so that a child can obtain US citizenship.
“Foreign commercial birth tourism networks have exploited the US immigration system to sell US citizenship for profit,” Rubio said in a statement.
The policy, introduced under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, targets owners, operators and managers of commercial birth-tourism networks, as well as intermediaries who allegedly coach applicants to commit visa fraud.
The State Department said the restrictions could also apply to foreign medical providers who knowingly facilitate birth tourism and fraudulent use of Medicaid, as well as others who knowingly support or enable commercial birth-tourism operations.
Certain family members of people covered by the restrictions may also be affected, although the department did not specify which relatives or the circumstances in which the provision would apply.
Rubio said the policy would apply to people who knowingly engage in, have previously engaged in or facilitate birth tourism. The department did not disclose details of individual cases.
Under existing US visa guidance, birth tourism — defined by the State Department as travel primarily intended to give birth in the United States to obtain US citizenship for the child — is not a permissible purpose for a visitor visa.
Separately, the State Department has launched an online portal through which members of the public can report suspected visa fraud or misuse.
The department said the reporting system is intended to help identify schemes involving falsified documents and travel plans, sham marriages, shell companies, fabricated job offers and birth tourism. It said information submitted through the portal could be used to support immigration reviews or law-enforcement investigations.
Possible enforcement measures include visa revocation and referrals for further investigation, according to the department.
The State Department said public tips had helped identify many of the tens of thousands of people it says were held accountable for visa fraud during US President Donald Trump’s second term. It did not provide a breakdown of those cases or the actions taken against them.
Birth tourism generally refers to travel to another country for the purpose of giving birth there, with citizenship for the child being a principal objective. Commercial operators have marketed packages that combine travel, accommodation and childbirth-related arrangements.
The US policy debate is closely linked to the country’s constitutional framework on citizenship by birth. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, provides that people born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are US citizens.
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