The United States has announced that it will deny visa applications from Nigerians whose primary purpose of travel is to give birth on American soil in order to secure US citizenship for their children.
In a statement issued via its official X handle on Sunday, the US Mission in Nigeria emphasized that birth tourism is not a permissible reason for entry into the country.
“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,” the statement read.
The Mission clarified that consular officers have the discretion to reject any visa application where there is reason to believe the applicant’s intent is centered on giving birth in the US.
Birth tourism, a practice where expectant mothers travel abroad to deliver babies who automatically gain citizenship under “jus soli” (right of soil) laws, has increasingly drawn scrutiny from US authorities.
The issue gained political momentum during the administration of former President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens and undocumented residents, effective February 2025.
However, the policy has been entangled in legal battles. On Friday, a federal judge blocked the enforcement of Trump’s order, marking the third nationwide injunction since the US Supreme Court’s June decision limiting the scope of nationwide court orders.
In his ruling, Judge Joseph Laplante described US citizenship as “the greatest privilege that exists in the world” and argued that sudden changes to such a longstanding policy without legislative process could cause “irreparable harm.”
The court’s decision underscores the complexity of birthright citizenship in the US, but the State Department insists that visas will continue to be refused for applicants whose declared or suspected intent is birth tourism.
This latest warning from the US Mission in Nigeria signals tighter enforcement of existing visa regulations and a clear stance against the growing trend of citizenship-driven travel.
