Birth Tourism Crackdown Intensifies as Visa Revocations Rise

• The US State Department launched a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force on August 12 and has already revoked more than 750 visas
• Spokesman Tommy Pigott revealed that consular officers around the world are analysing travel patterns in real time to identify birth tourism networks
• Facilitators caught advertising guaranteed US citizenship while posing as healthcare providers are among those targeted in the operation

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 4 years of experience covering migration and global affairs.

Washington, USA - The United States State Department is running a coordinated global operation to dismantle birth tourism networks, having already cancelled more than 750 visas since launching a dedicated task force on August 12.

As reported on Monday, August 24, 2026, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told Fox News that the effort, carried out under President Donald Trump's direction, involves consular officers working alongside international partners and law enforcement agencies to detect travel patterns linked to the practice.

Birth tourism involves travelling to the United States specifically to give birth, so that the child acquires US citizenship at birth. Beyond citizenship, the scheme can later benefit parents, as a US citizen child is able to petition for a parent's immigration status once they turn 21. The practice has also given rise to a commercial industry in which facilitators advertise and sell services to help foreign nationals exploit these provisions.

US revokes visas over birth tourism

Pigott described one recent case where a woman entered the US on a tourist visa, claiming to be on a weeks-long holiday. Investigators noticed that her partner, based outside the country, made repeated trips to visit her, a pattern officials interpreted as support during the final stages of her pregnancy.

"That was an indication that this was actually a birth tourism effort here, and we were able to take action to revoke those visas," Pigott said.

The spokesman also pointed to more brazen examples, including advertisements that promoted "a world without borders" and "automatic guaranteed citizenship" while disguising their services as healthcare offerings.

"In reality, that is fraud," Pigott said. "These networks are set up in the United States and then further coach these individuals on how to not pay their medical bills. So you have fraud when you enter the United States and then the American taxpayer is left footing the bill."

Donald Trump calls practice 'disgrace'

President Trump publicly addressed the issue, criticising those building commercial operations around birthright citizenship.

"We're making adjustments because it's very unfair," Trump said. "They're building businesses around birthright citizenship. That's not the way it was supposed to work. It's a disgrace. They're buying their way in, and we're not going to let it happen."

The State Department stated that the number of revoked visas is expected to rise sharply in a short period.

Pigott also framed the crackdown as part of a broader immigration security agenda under the Trump administration, arguing that the previous administration "did everything they could to allow for the abuse of our legal immigration system," a period during which an estimated 10 million people entered the US without authorisation.

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US announces eligibility for Green Card application

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the United States government published a list of eight categories of people who qualify to apply for a permanent resident card, commonly known as a Green Card.

Eligibility ranges from family ties to US citizenship and employment in specialised fields to refugee or asylum status and victims of abuse.