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Perplexity ChatGPT Claude Gemini

US Revokes Over 600 Visas in Crackdown on Birth Tourism

Perplexity ChatGPT Claude Gemini
US Revokes Over 600 Visas in Crackdown on Birth Tourism

The United States has revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals in a single month as part of an aggressive new campaign against "birth tourism". The revocation followed the announcement by the State Department to carry out the most concrete enforcement actions yet with the aim to completely sabotage 'birth tourism'.

The State Department said it had established a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force to identify visa holders who travel to the United States specifically to give birth. The enforcement target also includes the network of facilitators who help arrange such trips. The task force cross-references travel histories with data held by the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and other federal agencies to flag suspicious patterns.

"The Birth Tourism task force has taken action by revoking more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe to safeguard our nation from this abuse," the department said in an official fact sheet.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was more pointed in his own statement. An entire description of an organized industry has turned up in his version, which is built around gaming the visa system: "Elaborate birth tourism rings are profiting off the exploitation of America's laws, coaching foreigners to defraud the U.S. visa system, arranging travel and housing, and even forging documents, all to enable foreign nationals to obtain citizenship for their children," Rubio said, adding that "in just one month, the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has taken action to revoke more than 600 visas from foreign nationals across the globe."

The department disclosed that more than 100 of those revocations came from a single U.S. embassy in the North Africa region.

The executive order behind the crackdown

The task force's creation follows Executive Order 14419, "Ending Birth Tourism," which Trump signed on August 6, 2026, and which was published in the Federal Register five days later. The order authorizes the secretaries of state and homeland security to:

  • deny or revoke visas,
  • block entry,
  • remove travelers already in the country, and
  • permanently bar individuals found to have engaged in birth tourism

The only exceptions allowed in this case are of national interest and humanitarian interest. The order's language leans heavily on the idea of citizenship as something sacred rather than transactional. "Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws," the order states. The order also accused several operators of using "deceptive advertisements and inducements to entice foreign nationals to travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on American soil."

Most importantly, the officials have stressed that the crackdown targets visas and entry, not citizenship itself. It does not alter the legal status of children already born on U.S. soil. The full significance of the policy could be better understood if we keep in mind the real scopes of the orders:

  • The first one restricting automatic citizenship for children of certain foreign government employees and people in the country unlawfully, and
  • The second, the birth tourism order, focused squarely on choking off the practice at the visa stage before children are ever born on American soil.

The cases officials are citing

To illustrate the scale of alleged fraud, the State Department pointed to specific cases uncovered by consular officers. In one, a couple allegedly used a business conference and a "vacation shopping trip" as cover stories across two separate visa applications to give birth in the US. They also concealed the existence of their first U.S.-born child while applying to give birth to a second. In another, a foreign government official obtained a visa for what was described as a one-week official trip but instead stayed in the U.S. for three months and gave birth. A third traveler reportedly told consular officers she intended to vacation in Orlando, but instead traveled to Los Angeles and gave birth just five days after arrival. All three sets of visas were revoked.

The department said facilitators have turned the practice into "a lucrative industry." Many of the facilitators are also posing as medical or wellness professionals, and some are also forging medical records or coaching clients to conceal their true purpose of travel and avoid paying hospital bills. Online advertisements, officials said, have gone as far as promising "automatic citizenship" and "a future without borders."

Part of a much larger purge?

The birth tourism revocations are a small slice of a far larger visa enforcement drive. The State Department disclosed separately this month that it has revoked more than 175,000 visas since Trump returned to office. This is a part of a broader crackdown that has also swept up thousands of student visas and specialized worker visas as the administration tightens nonimmigrant travel across the board.

At GCEB1, our EB-1A experts are always staying updated on the latest immigration landscape. Stay tuned to us to get all the latest updates about the US immigration landscape. We wish you a safe and stress-free immigration journey ahead.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is "birth tourism"?

It refers to foreign nationals traveling to another country, usually on a tourist or temporary visa, for the primary purpose of giving birth there so their child acquires that country's citizenship; in this case, U.S. citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.

2. How many visas has the U.S. revoked under this crackdown?

The State Department says its Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force revoked more than 600 visas from foreign nationals worldwide in its first month of operation, with more than 100 coming from one embassy in the North Africa region alone.

3. What is the Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force?

It's a new State Department body created to review the travel histories and activities of visa holders globally, cross-referencing data from the State Department, DHS and other federal agencies to identify suspected birth tourism and the networks that facilitate it.

4. Does this crackdown change birthright citizenship law?

No. Officials have said the enforcement action targets visa issuance and entry, not the citizenship status of children already born in the U.S. Birthright citizenship itself remains governed by the Fourteenth Amendment and the Supreme Court's June 2026 ruling in Trump v. Barbara.

5. What triggered this specific policy push?

President Trump signed Executive Order 14419, "Ending Birth Tourism," on August 6, 2026, weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his broader attempt to end birthright citizenship altogether.

6. What powers does the executive order give federal agencies?

It authorizes the secretaries of state and homeland security to deny or revoke visas, prevent entry, remove travelers found to have engaged in birth tourism, and pursue facilitators, while allowing for humanitarian and national-interest exemptions.

7. What kinds of cases has the State Department cited as examples?

Officials described a couple who used a conference and a shopping trip as cover stories across two visa applications, a foreign official who overstayed a one-week trip by months to give birth, and a traveler who claimed an Orlando vacation but instead gave birth in Los Angeles days after arrival.

8. Who are the "facilitators" the task force is targeting?

The department says some operators market themselves as doulas, midwives or wellness advocates while actually arranging U.S. hospital bookings, visa coaching and, in some cases, forged medical documents, advertising services with promises of "automatic citizenship."

9. Is this the first time B-visas have been restricted over birth tourism?

No. The State Department first adopted a policy on January 24, 2020, allowing consular officers to deny B-visas to applicants believed to be traveling primarily to give birth in the U.S. The new task force builds on and intensifies that existing policy.

10. Are other countries cracking down on birth tourism too?

Yes. Destinations such as Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia maintain their own financial, medical or sponsorship requirements aimed at pregnant travelers, though the newly formed U.S. task force represents a more aggressive, high-profile enforcement push.

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