US Embassy warns against ‘birth tourism’; visa applications to face stricter scrutiny

The US Embassy in India has reiterated that consular officers will deny tourist visas if they believe the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to secure automatic US citizenship for the child. 

In a post on X (formally twitter), the Embassy said, “US consular officers will deny tourist visa applications if they believe the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to obtain US citizenship for the child. This is not permitted.” The statement serves as a renewed warning amid an ongoing global conversation about so-called “birth tourism.” 

In January 2025, President Trump issued an executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who were in the country only temporarily or without lawful status. The order marked a major challenge to the long-established constitutional principle affirmed by the Supreme Court in its 1898 ruling that nearly all children born on US soil are automatically citizens.

The order has not been implemented, as several lawsuits led to preliminary injunctions in federal courts. Despite this, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released an implementation blueprint in July detailing how the policy would be enforced if the order survives judicial review.

The clarification aligns with existing US regulations — which were tightened by the Trump administration — that explicitly bar issuing B-1/B-2 tourist visas to applicants suspected of traveling primarily to give birth. In January 2020, the Trump administration introduced a rule requiring consular officers to treat childbirth as a medical purpose that must be justified with legitimate medical need and financial capability in the US, not as a pathway to citizenship. 

The policy emerged as part of broader Trump-era efforts to curb immigration, both legal and illegal. The administration repeatedly criticised birthright citizenship, arguing that the 14th Amendment was being “abused.” Although the US Constitution guarantees citizenship to nearly all children born on American soil, then-President Donald Trump signaled that he wanted to challenge or reinterpret that guarantee — at one point even suggesting he could end automatic citizenship through executive action, a move heavily contested by legal experts. 

Alongside this, the Trump administration introduced a series of restrictive immigration measures: 

• Stricter scrutiny of visa applications, particularly for tourists, students, and skilled workers. 
• Expansion of the controversial “public charge” rule, making it harder for immigrants deemed likely to rely on public benefits to gain residency. 
• Reduction of refugee admissions to historic lows. 
• Tighter rules on legal immigration pathways and increased vetting requirements. 

The US Embassy’s latest reminder indicates that concerns over misuse of the birthright citizenship provision continue to influence how visa applications are evaluated at consulates worldwide, including in India, one of the largest sources of US visa applicants.