US revokes more than 600 visas linked to birth tourism

WASHINGTON, United States — WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has revoked more than 600 visas held by foreign nationals suspected of using tourist visas to give birth in the United States and secure automatic citizenship for their children, the department said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has the authority to revoke a visa when a visa holder is no longer eligible, the department noted, and a newly established task force is reviewing visa holders' activities worldwide by matching travel records against data held by the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies. The task force is also working to dismantle networks of agents and companies that organize birth-related travel, the State Department said. Earlier department figures showed that more than 100 visas had been revoked in North Africa over birth tourism links and that at least 400 suspected cases tied to six companies in Europe had been identified since 2024. The department cited several cases as examples, including a couple who traveled to the United States on what was described as a "conference and shopping trip" and gave birth to two children on separate visits, a foreign government official who entered on a one-week official duty visa, stayed for three months and had a child, and a visa issued for an Orlando vacation that was used instead for a birth-related trip to Los Angeles. The State Department warned that individuals who deliberately provide false information about the purpose of their travel could permanently lose their U.S. visa and entry privileges.