US vowed to ban Nigerians travelling for birth tourism

The United States of America has vowed to withhold visa approval from Nigerians whose sole intent of travelling to the US is for the primary purpose of birth tourism.

The US Mission in Nigeria issued the warning yesterday in a post on its official X handle, saying the practice was not permitted in the US.

“We will deny your visa if we believe your primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States to get US citizenship for your child.

‘’This is not permitted. Using your visa to travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States so that your child will have U.S. citizenship is not permitted.

‘’Consular officers will deny your visa application if they have reason to believe this is your intent,” the Mission said in the post.

Birth tourism, a practice that allows pregnant women to travel to another country for the purpose of giving birth, enables the mother to secure citizenship for her unborn child based on the country’s birthright citizenship law.

The practice is particularly attractive in countries that offer jus soli (right of soil) citizenship, meaning that a child born on the country’s territory automatically becomes a citizen regardless of the parents’ nationality or residency status.