The United States (US) government on Monday stated that it will deny visas to foreign nationals whose primary intent for travel is to give birth on US soil to secure citizenship for their children.

The US Mission in Nigeria in a statement, said that consular officers have been instructed to deny visa applications if there is reason to believe that the applicant’s main reason for visiting the country is to deliver a baby and obtain US citizenship for the newborn.

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“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 US Mission said.

This warning is coming following the rising scrutiny of visa applications and growing enforcement around what is informally referred to as “birth tourism”, the practice of traveling to the US to give birth so the child obtains automatic citizenship.