US Warns Nigerians Against ‘Birth Tourism’

The United States Mission in Nigeria has warned Nigerians planning to travel to the country primarily to give birth and obtain American citizenship for their children.

In a post shared on its official X handle (formerly Twitter), the US Mission emphasised that using a visa with the primary intention of giving birth in the U.S., a practice often referred to as “birth tourism”, violates US immigration policy.

“Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have US citizenship is not permitted,” the statement read.

“Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent,” the statement said.

The advisory came amid heightened scrutiny of visa applications and increased enforcement against travel practices undermining immigration regulations.

“Birth tourism” refers to travelling to the U.S. while pregnant, with the sole aim of securing citizenship for a child born on American soil.

While birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, authorities maintain that misrepresenting one’s travel intent during a visa application is grounds for denial or revocation.

This development followed the U.S. State Department’s recent adjustment to its visa reciprocity policy for Nigeria.

Under the new guidelines, most non-immigrant, non-diplomatic visas issued to Nigerian citizens are now single-entry visas valid for just three months.

The US Government reiterated that its visa policies were based on international security and technical standards designed to safeguard the integrity of its immigration system.