Washington, Nov 13 (IANS) The US State Department has stated that it revoked more than 6,000 visas from people it said had engaged in or facilitated birth tourism, according to a post on its official X account.
“The Department of State’s Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force has now revoked more than 6,000 visas from foreigners who engaged in or facilitated birth tourism,” the department said on Thursday. “We are identifying and holding accountable everyone involved in this illicit practice.”
The reported figure is higher than the more than 4,000 birth-tourism visa revocations the department announced in an October 31 thread. Because both figures were expressed as thresholds, they do not establish an exact increase.
In the October thread, the department said more than 700 of the visas revoked for birth tourism belonged to Chinese nationals. The latest statement did not provide a nationality breakdown.
The department’s announcement concerns visa revocations; a revocation does not by itself establish that a person was deported or convicted of a crime.
A State Department rule established that travel “with the primary purpose of obtaining US citizenship for a child by giving birth in the United States is an impermissible basis for the issuance of a B nonimmigrant visa”.
The rule created a rebuttable presumption concerning that purpose when a consular officer has reason to believe an applicant will give birth during her stay. It did not change how US citizenship is acquired.
The department established its Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force on August 12, saying it had already revoked more than 600 visas globally. On September 23, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions targeting people who knowingly engage in or facilitate birth tourism, with certain family members also potentially covered. The department also announced an online visa-fraud tip portal.
–IANS
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