The US government has restated warnings about Caribbean women hopping on to planes headed to the US with tourist visas and giving birth to children while there, saying this is an illegal misuse of visa privileges.
Through its embassy in Barbados, the mission issued an advisory last week saying that those with B-1 or B-2 visas or applying for the same to give birth while in the US will be classified as visa fraudsters. This can lead to denial of entry or landing and can also trigger other consequences.
The mission says that too many families are taking advantage of the 14th constitutional amendment under, which children born in the US automatically acquire citizenship, even though the Biden and the Trump administrations have both moved to deal with ‘birth tourism or anchor baby tourism.’
The missive says that consular officials in Barbados and across the Eastern Caribbean sub-region known as the OECS have been ordered to refuse visas if they believe that the primary purpose of travel is to deliver a child on American soil.
“Using your tourist 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. US consular officers will deny visa applications if the belief is that the primary purpose of travel is to give birth in the United States and obtain US citizenship for your child. This is not permitted.”
American government estimates say that around 40,000 such babies are born in the US each year to women with tourist visas. In contrast, they say that it is difficult to estimate how many more do so while undocumented or enter the country illegally.
In 2020, American authorities sent instructions to embassies ordering officers to explicitly reject visa applications if they believed the intent was fraudulent. The Trump administration has tried to go a step further by denying such children automatic citizenship outright, even as advocates have moved to challenge this in courts.
